TEWKSBURY — An upcoming sled hockey game is being offered by a local nonprofit as one way area veterans can have some fun, meet other veterans and leave their worries behind.
“It’s a nice little veterans’ get-together,” said Jaye Stanfield, director of wellness at Clear Path for Veterans New England, of the sled hockey game.
In partnership with Northeast Passage, the Clear Path New England Team, a nonprofit based in Devens, is offering the Veteran Sled Hockey session from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 13, at Breakaway Ice Center, 20 Carter St., Tewksbury.
The pitch on their flyer reads, “This highly competitive and exciting form of hockey is open to veterans of all athletic abilities. Whether you’ve played before or are trying it for the first time, this is a great opportunity to get involved, stay active, and connect with others. No experience needed. Professional instruction and all equipment will be provided on-site.”
Clear Path for Veterans offers a number of different services for veterans, but hopes are high for this sled hockey game to be a game-changer for giving veterans a chance to unwind.
“In this case, I love hockey and I thought it would be a great opportunity,” said Stanfield.
“It’s open to veterans in the area,” he said noting that they are still trying to get enough for two teams, which would be 20 participants. He said he’s put the word out to various other veterans groups to try to see if anyone want to play in the sled hockey game.
“Some may use adaptive equipment. If there are veterans out there who have physical limitations brought on by their service, we are able to account for it.”
If they can’t find enough participants, guess who will be playing sled hockey? Stanfield.
“I’ll be doing sled hockey,” he said affirmatively.
He said they put on various events to pique the veterans’ interest but sometimes it’s hard to figure out what they’d want to do.
“I think it’s always a challenge because you could have eight veterans sign up and then only three show up.”
He said some of the activities they’ve done include going on hikes, and equine therapy.
He said many veterans are dealing with the challenges of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, and certain activities seem to help alleviate that.
“We have a lot of interest in fishing.” The fishing trips will be resuming soon, in the spring. They also have people paint pictures.
“To me, the measurement of success is if I’m able to help that one veteran. If a veteran says, ‘That did a lot for me,’ then I did my job.”
“We’re trying to build community, and get people moving.”
He said they’ve had good luck with the equine therapy and the hikes in recent years, and this year they were “looking at what we can do, and how much higher you can go.”
“Typically, when we’re doing an activity, a group of veterans will show up and everyone is real quiet, but in the course of doing something, people start talking, that’s when you start making connections and veterans are able to identify other veterans for support.”
“You find a friend that you didn’t know you had.”
“You find something interesting for people do to that they want to do. Leading a hike, you might have two veterans that build a connection and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re building a community and now these people have someone they can rely on. Once you get people moving, you find that these conversations happen, if you’re coming off a shift of hockey, or you’re hiking or you’re doing a class.”
He also noted they have a former Navy member who teaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu. “He understands the value of the physical exertion, and the shared experiences. I was in Iraq in 2004, 2005, in the infantry. When I got back, the best therapy for me was martial arts.”
He said many veterans are trying to process their feelings, and some have issues with drugs and alcohol. “It just reverts right back, as a soldier, where you’re looking out for your troops, you’re taking care of your guys, and now I’m taking care of my girls and guys,” in the different activities.”
“I have to find a way to engage these people … even if it’s not like, ‘Hey, let’s confront your troubles head-on.’ I’m not going to you (saying), ‘I want you to confront these demons,’ but doing a portrait of yourself, that gets people thinking.’”
“Just come out and have fun and those connections happen out there.”
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