Welcome to the New England District Disabled Hockey Page
Richard Oliver - District Disabled Director
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Blind Hockey coming to Connecticut!
Blind hockey is very new in Connecticut and I am looking forward to establishing a club for blind adults that will be able to meet for practice, scrimmages, and eventually be able to travel to other states to play games against other teams in New York, Washington, Toronto, and Montreal.
I am looking for assistance in locating a hockey rink that is accessible, by public transit so that the players will be able travel to the rink independently as much as possible. I am also looking for help locating full gear for our goalie Liz. Gear for players new to the game would also be helpful so that they may try hockey for the first time. Sighted volunteers who are willing to play "blind rules" hockey along with the visually impaired skaters are also be welcomed as we are starting out with just a few blind hockey players and will need to fill spots on the ice. I'm guessing that the majority of recruits to blind hockey will be new to the game and will require some instruction which will require coaching and drills. If you know of any volunteers that are willing to provide hockey skills training, it would also be helpful.
Over the next few months, I will be reaching out to the blind community within the State of Connecticut to recruit new players and resources for the game. I'm looking forward to growing the game of blind hockey in Connecticut, and hope that this may be the starting point for future stars of the US national blind hockey team that will certainly be competing in the Paralympics in the years to come! I am also planning to attend blind hockey events in Newburgh, NY as well as the Disabled Hockey festival in Detroit, MI in April. I know that there is another blind hockey event coming up in Washington DC on February 20th. I invite you to come along too and check out blind hockey for yourself.
I appreciate your time and consideration of my request for assistance in growing the game that we all love in a new direction that will make a difference in the lives of many people who are blind or visually impaired. Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you or others may have, as well as any suggestions of how we can make blind hockey happen here in Connecticut.
For more information about blind ice hockey, please visit www.courageusa.org and www.couragecanada.ca I have also started a Facebook page for blind ice hockey Connecticut, and encourage you to "like" the page to follow along as we grow! www.facebook.com/BlindhockeyCT/
Thanks again for everything, and I look forward to hearing back from you soon!
Best Regards,
Joel Klug
802-558-5735
