This past holiday season, the Edmonton SuperHEROS players, parents, and volunteers came together with their local firefighters to share their love of hockey, giving our players a special day they’ll never forget.
As proud parents watched from the stands, enjoying every second of being hockey-moms and dads, their SuperHEROS had the experience of a lifetime, playing with real-life heroes from the Edmonton Fire Department. The day was filled with fun and lots of smiles, culminating in the players, families, and firefighters celebrating the first half of the season, and all the progress that came with it, with lunch, presents, and new friends at their annual holiday party.
The event was spearheaded by Lenny, a volunteer with SuperHEROS’ Edmonton chapter, who brought this great event to life with the help of the amazing team of HEROS volunteers and members from the Edmonton Fire Department.
“I was thinking at the beginning of the year,” said Lenny, “I went ‘what are kids enamoured by?’ and it was firemen, policemen, sirens and fire trucks. So, I thought ‘I wonder if the firemen would be interested?’ so I contacted the EFF and they were more than happy to oblige.”
This special event was an example of what it means to have the support of the local community which goes further than hockey, and that when we all come together for a greater goal, we all win.
SuperHEROS players face cognitive and physical difficulties that make traditional hockey programming inaccessible to them. But when you adapt the game of hockey to accommodate players’ unique needs, and provide players with opportunities like this, that make them feel welcome in the greater hockey community, it’s easy to realize that anyone, regardless of the barriers they face in their day-to-day lives, can be a hockey player.
“A little boy or girl coming up and going ‘Lenny, I’m a hockey player.’ kinda doesn’t get better than that,” said Lenny.
This season was a roaring success for our SuperHEROS in Edmonton, who welcomed more than 20 additional players to the team thanks to generous support from the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation. HEROS couldn’t be happier to have welcomed these new players, and are excited to see the incredible things they’ll be able to accomplish both on and off the ice next season!