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Youngstown sled hockey team beat Phantoms’ Bantam A team in charity game
Sled hockey team bests Phantoms’ Bantam A team in charity game
By BRIAN DZENIS
BOARDMAN
Wheelchair sports aren’t easy, but for Youngstown native Liston Spann, it’s worth the effort.
“There’s people I know in wheelchairs that don’t want to do anything, they might be sad, scared or afraid. I guess it depends on the individual,” Spann said. “I had a lot of butterflies, but I told myself that I would try it.”
The 42-year-old Spann said he doesn’t want to be a homebody and that’s the attitude a lot of the Youngstown Boom players have. The Boom, who are run by the Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio, features players pre-school aged through adults with disabilities. On Saturday, the Boom took on the Youngstown Phantoms’ Bantam A team and won, 5-0, at the Ice Zone in Boardman.
The able-bodied side, which also had the USHL Phantom’s James Winkler, couldn’t match up with the Boom, who were used to moving about on sleds. The Phantoms played most of the game in their own end of the ice. Winkler collided with Spann, the Boom’s goaltender, in the third period. Normally, that’s a slight in ice hockey, but Spann laughed it off.
“He couldn’t stop,” Spann said. “You could tell it was his first time.”
Spann lost the use of his legs after he was wounded in a drive-by shooting in 1992. He was a teenager going to a party with a group of friends when a car rolled up and fired shots. One of them struck his spine.
“It was difficult. It was hard not just giving up and going into a depression because you lost the use of your legs,” Spann said. “The mindset was, ‘I’m still here.’ I didn’t let myself get down even though I still have my problems where I might get depressed. I work through it.”
The Boom are one of six sled hockey teams in Ohio. The team is currently two-and-a-half years old and has 21 players. Despite having a couple adult-aged players on the team, the Boom are considered a youth team. Sled hockey teams are classified by skill level rather than age. An adult can be placed on a youth team.
One of ASPO’s goals is to eventually split the Boom into adult and youth teams.
“It’s been great growth,” said Courtney Kurth, the ASPO’s outreach coordinator. “We’ve been trying to get in touch with local schools, therapists and hospitals so that we can share our program and let people with physical disabilities know about us and it’s starting to take off.”
Sled hockey requires a little more thinking ahead than the stand-up version. The Boom’s better players could navigate the ice by simply dumping the puck to a place where an opponent isn’t and getting around them before they adjust. Turning is one of the hardest skills to learn.
“You’re supposed to tilt your body and that’s where it gets difficult,” said Jacob Hostetter, a Canfield native with cerebral palsy. “Some people [use their sticks for support]. I don’t, but others can take their sticks and point them inward to do that.”
Did the able-bodied folks gain a new appreciation for disabled athletes? Yes. Was it fun for all involved? Sure. Was it great to say you’re a better skater than a USHL forward?
Kellan Shipman, 6, offered an enthusiastic, “Yeah!”