{"id":75422,"date":"2024-03-19T14:14:08","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T20:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=75422"},"modified":"2024-03-19T14:14:08","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T20:14:08","slug":"weve-become-such-a-big-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2024\/03\/19\/weve-become-such-a-big-family\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We\u2019ve become such a big family\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Striving on ice: <\/strong>The Calgary Scorpions of the Calgary Sledge Hockey Association getting ready for practice. (Will Fisher\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A<\/span>ll the sounds on the ice are familiar. Skate blades stopping and starting, pucks ringing around the boards, players cheering each other on, and lots of chirping. If your eyes were closed, you wouldn\u2019t know it\u2019s sledge hockey.<\/p>\n

The Calgary Scorpions, one of four teams that are a part of the Calgary Sledge Hockey Association, know how to enjoy practice. Incessant laughter is only interrupted by the coach\u2019s instructions, then it comes right back.<\/p>\n

The team has formed a bond. A lot of these players have grown up together, helping each other deal with their disabilities on and off the ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve become such a big family,\u201d said Alan Halbert, president of the CSHA. \u201cIt\u2019s a unique family. Seeing how the sport impacts kids socially, physically and mentally, that\u2019s worth more than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halbert got involved in sledge hockey when his son Auren, a single-leg amputee, started playing at eight years old back in 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was looking for a sport that he could perform at,\u201d Halbert said. \u201cI still have the photos from his first time on the ice. Biggest smile on his face I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, at 21, Auren plays for Team Canada.<\/p>\n

\u2018A sense of community\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

From playing together and supporting one another for years, the senior team \u2013 the aforementioned Calgary Scorpions \u2013 prides itself on its unity.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is each other’s biggest cheerleader,\u201d Halbert said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s always pushing each other, bringing them up to be the best person they can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

And just like any other team sport, sledge hockey teaches valuable lessons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s helped me gain a sense of community,\u201d said Shane Mott, a member of the Scorpions. \u201cThere are a lot of like-minded individuals. I feel like as a group, we\u2019ve had similar experiences.”<\/p>\n

Mott is 21 now but took up sledge hockey more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gained a lot more confidence in myself and my abilities, as well as a lot of leadership and teamwork skills,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Playing sledge hockey in Calgary helped Mott form lifelong bonds. He and one of his best buddies in the whole world, Kale Crisp, have been teammates since they were both kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of my friends, I still play with,\u201d Mott said. \u201cThere are quite a few people I\u2019m still in contact with that I grew up playing beside.\u201d<\/p>\n

A big tournament coming up<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the end of March, Calgary is hosting the Western Canadian Sledge Hockey Tournament.<\/p>\n

The 23-team competition is the biggest of its kind in the region, featuring teams from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and B.C. who will all come to play at WinSport.<\/p>\n

The CSHA will send three teams. The Calgary Venom will represent the organization in the junior division, while the Stingers and Scorpions will play in the intermediates.<\/p>\n

Last year, the Scorpions won gold in the intermediate \u201cB\u201d division. They went undefeated, finishing the tournament off with a 4-0 shutout victory over the B.C. Sledge Hawks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty stressful when you\u2019re playing,\u201d Mott said. \u201cBut that\u2019s my favourite memory. You\u2019re just elated when it ends.\u201d<\/p>\n

So while practice is upbeat and fun, there is still a goal in mind. The Scorpions want to repeat as champions.<\/p>\n

The growth of the sport<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the International Olympic Committee added sledge hockey to the Paralympics, the popularity of the the sport has skyrocketed, both in terms of visibility and enrollment.<\/p>\n

With CSHA doing all they can to market themselves to the public, Calgary\u2019s numbers also continue to climb.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone in Canada loves hockey,\u201d Halbert said. \u201cSo we promote as much as we can, and people tend to gravitate towards us when they find out about sledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have kids from age five to adults up to 65. There\u2019s always a spot for somebody to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The growth of the sport just means the growth of the family that CSHA started.<\/p>\n

For anyone out there thinking about taking up the sport, take Mott\u2019s advice:<\/p>\n

\u201cJust come out and try it. We\u2019re good at helping out new players and making them feel welcome. You won\u2019t regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about the CSHA, visit their website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Shots on goal: <\/strong>A Calgary Sledge Hockey Association coach warming up a goalie during practice. (Will Fisher\/The Press<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All the sounds on the ice are familiar. Skate blades stopping and starting, pucks ringing around the boards, players cheering each other on, and lots of chirping. If your eyes were closed, you wouldn\u2019t know [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":867,"featured_media":75428,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S4 Sledge hockey WF","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1109,1106,17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-75422","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-life","8":"category-mental-health","9":"category-physical-health-and-wellness","10":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/867"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75422"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75752,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75422\/revisions\/75752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}