GATES MILLS, Ohio — A Gilmour Academy hockey player has, through sponsorships, secured $15,000 necessary to fund ice sleds, protective equipment, programming and ice time in establishing a sled hockey and adaptive skating program at the school’s Floyd E. Stefanski Ice Center.
The new program is designed to provide state-of-the-art adaptive sports equipment and dedicated ice time throughout the year for children and young adults who have mobility challenges.
The initial program will take place from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday (July 24), when young athletes from Youth Challenge will play adaptive sled hockey and take part in adaptive sled skating at Gilmour’s ice arena, 2045 S.O.M. Center Road. In addition to sled hockey and skating, the event will include food and beverages, as well as giveaways.
Sled hockey was invented in the the early 1960s at a Swedish rehabilitation center by a group who, despite their disability, wanted to continue playing ice hockey. While playing, participants sit on a sled specially designed with two hockey skate blades.
“I am excited to raise money and awareness to acquire new sled hockey equipment, to establish a mobility skating program for the community, and to share my passion for hockey with these young players,” Stafford stated in a Gilmour release. “Sled hockey is an amazing sport and activity, and my goal is to establish a long-term program at Gilmour Academy for the community to be able to utilize the new equipment and to have ice time.”
Stafford, who is entering his senior year, is the first player in Gilmour’s history to have played at every level in the school’s hockey program. He began in Gilmour’s Mite Hockey program and has risen through the ranks to now play on the program’s top team, the U-18 AAA prep team. The nationally ranked prep team, of which Stafford has been selected a co-captain, includes players from throughout the United States, Canada, and as far as Russia.
Stafford maintains a straight A average in the classroom and is a member of Gilmour’s National Honor Society.
“Vince Stafford is a leader in every capacity,” said the Prep team’s coach, Mike Chiellino. “He is always seeking new and innovative ways to help others and establish programs that provide incredible value. We are excited for sled hockey and to have it be part of Gilmour Academy now and in the future.”
USA Hockey is providing the sleds for the inaugural program through its “One Kid . . . One Shot . . . A Hockey Player for Life! Program.” Stafford’s efforts will help provide the resources for the purchase of sleds to be permanently housed at Gilmour.
“I am grateful that this program has the potential to have a permanent home at Gilmour Academy,” said USA Hockey’s Disabled Program Chair J.J. O’Connor. “This type of expansion and exposure will show people the significance of the sport and the disabled athletes, who have overcome adversities, that they are hockey players just like everybody else.”
Youth Challenge provides adapted sports and recreational activities for young people with disabilities.
“We are super excited about this opportunity that Vincent Stafford is providing for us and our crew,” said Youth Challenge CEO Chris Garr. “Our athletes are excited to participate in sled hockey and to be part of this valuable program.”
Gilmour Academy Head of School Kathy Kenny said she is proud of Stafford’s work.
“(Stafford) continues to seek ways to use his passion for hockey for the good of others,” Kenny said. “Earlier this year, he raised money for Rainbow Babies, and he now has created this opportunity for disabled teens to play hockey. He is a leader on both his hockey team and in our school community, and serves as a great example of ‘having the competence to see and the courage to act,’ just as our Holy Cross mission calls us.”
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