DENVER — Three mentors at a sled hockey camp held in Denver emphasized the importance of inclusion in sports and the impact this can have on developing athletes of varying abilities and identities.
The USA Hockey National Sled Hockey Team and the Colorado Sled Hockey Association hosted a three-day camp at Big Bear Ice Arena from late May into early June. Participants sharpened their skills on the ice by receiving training from respected coaches and members of the national sled hockey team.
Malik Jones, a 2022 Paralympic gold medalist and Aurora native, was among the national team members who attended to help with the camp.
"This is where I need to be, helping out these kids and trying to grow the sport," Jones said. "It's good to see these kids out here, you know, having a love for a sport even though they are disabled, they are able to find something they like to do."
Jones said he hopes that those who look like him are able to get inspired and realize they are capable of anything.
"Guys can look at me and see, 'Ok, he's of color, he's disabled, but he's still, you know, living his life, achieving his dreams,'" Jones said. "It doesn't matter what you look like, what your disability is, you can achieve anything [if] you just set your mind to it, hard work, consistency and anything can really happen if you put your mind to it."
Jones' accomplishments are a testament to this. Jerry DeVaul, president of the Colorado Sled Hockey Association and another mentor at the sled hockey camp, has witnessed Jones' talent and tenacity.
"We did a study up in Boulder and our guy, Malik Jones, he hit 18.5 mph from the goal line to half ice, and that's moving," said Jerry DeVaul, president of the association. "Some of these NHL guys are mid-twenties, you know, and he's just right there behind them, and he's using all upper body."
DeVaul also recognized the importance of camps like the one hosted in Denver.
"It's important to have this sort of camp because you allow kids to understand the growth that they need to develop throughout their journey," he said.
Throughout his life, DeVaul has worked on expanding the sport of sled hockey.
"I'll go all the way from Grand Junction to Durango, Pueblo, Fort Collins, Greeley, anywhere there is an ice rink, I'll go and I'll host a sled hockey clinic to try to spread awareness of what the sport is and where you can participate and how you can participate," DeVaul said.
The National Hockey League (NHL) has recognized his efforts: DeVaul is a finalist for the Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award, which the NHL annually presents to someone who has positively impacted their community through the game of hockey.
"The Willie O'Ree thing has been such a blessing because this whole time I did not realize people were actually watching what I was doing," he said.
Robynne Hill, a Colorado native and defenseman for the USA Women's National Sled Hockey Team, was also a mentor at Denver's sled hockey camp. She earned "Player of the Game" honors during the championship game at the inaugural 2023 Para Ice Hockey Women's World Challenge.
"When I was a kid, this wasn't an opportunity where I had female mentors," Hill said. "Now, these kids can say, 'Yeah, I want to be just like you because a woman can play this sport.'"
Hill's presence was felt at the camp, where one young girl and six other adult female players participated.
"To see that many girls out there on the ice has been an incredible thing to see and to be a mentor to them," she said. "And to educate these athletes that came to the camp to know, alright, there's one way to do something but there's also another way to do something as female male athletes, that's a little different."
Hill echoed what fellow camp mentors said about how crucial it is to have inclusive spaces in sports and diversity among coaches.
"Everybody dreams, and to plant that seed in their mind, like, 'You can do it, don't let anything stop you," she said.
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