Early on in my recovery, there were a number of things I thought I would never be able to do again. Playing hockey was one of them. A year and a half later, my mindset has drastically changed and I have realized that the only limits I have are the ones I place on myself.

I recently had the pleasure of participating in a sled hockey clinic with some amazing people. Prior to my amputation, I played ice and roller “stand up” hockey and thoroughly enjoyed playing both. It’s funny, when I played, I never referred to it as “stand up” hockey, it was just hockey. Now I realize that hockey can certainly be played sitting down.

If you have spent any time in an ice rink, you will know that ice rinks have a certain smell to them. Not what I would call a bad smell, just a unique smell. A smell that I honestly thought I would never smell again. I even considered selling my hockey equipment at one point but fell short of actually putting the items up for sell. I just wasn’t ready to let that part of my past go and looking back, I am glad I held on to everything. One of the physical therapist leaders from Gator Amps informed me of a sled hockey clinic that the Space Coast Sled Hockey program and their coach, Tom Reinarts, were hosting in Orlando for all skill levels. All equipment provided, just show up ready to skate. We had to go.

Walking in the rink, that “smell” hit me in the face and I could not contain my smile. We headed to the locker room and to my amazement, there were several young men and women getting geared up to play; this is a very popular adaptive sport. It was also hard to overlook the many wheelchairs and assistive walking devices that were scattered around the locker room area. As we were gearing up, it was fun listening to the seasoned players talk about recent games and throwing jabs at one another about their play on the ice, true locker room talk. Once we were ready, volunteers, many of them parents of the players, assisted us in getting strapped into our sleds and onto the ice. We learned the basics of skating, turning, stick handling, passing, and the ever-important lesson of how to get up when you tip over. I asked one of the coaches how to stop and he smiled and said, “just do the best you can.” Apparently, that lesson takes more then just one session to learn!

Three weeks later, Coach Tom sent out a message that the local Jacksonville NBC affiliate wanted to highlight sled hockey as part of their Olympic and Paralympic hockey coverage this year and they reached out to Coach Tom to see if he would bring a group up for a skate and interview session. Coach Tom was gracious enough to allow me to skate with some of his best youth players and USA Women’s Sled Hockey Team member, Karina Villegas. To say I was humbled would be an understatement, they skated circles around me, literally! All of the players were however, very helpful, encouraging, and inclusive while on the ice. They really made me feel like one of the team.

I am truly grateful to have met and skated with some outstanding athletes who don’t place any limits on what they can accomplish. To Tripp, Brett, Anthony, Beau, and Karina, good luck in your upcoming tournaments and thanks for putting up with the new guy on the ice, it was an experience I will never forget.

My Take Away: On the ice, the playing field was leveled. And even though in the locker room we could all see and understand the different levels of challenges that we faced when we were not on the ice, it just didn’t matter once we were strapped into our sleds and chasing the puck. We were just hockey players enjoying the game that we love. A brief escape from the wheelchairs, braces, crutches, and prothesis’. It makes me think of the people we interact with in our day to day lives. You don’t know what someone is dealing with behind closed doors when they return to their “locker room.” You may not see the depression or the abusive spouse, or the addiction they are battling. Those that seem to have it together the most may be the exact ones that need that encouraging word, a friendly smile, or that act of kindness.   Make it your goal this week to help or encourage someone. You just don’t know what a difference it will make.