Volt hockey offers new opportunity

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This article was published 15/11/2022 (1242 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s undeniably hockey taking place at the Riverheights School gymnasium, but with a fundamental difference.

The players chase around after balls with their sticks and there are nets at both ends, but Volt hockey isn’t your average game. Instead, it features youngsters, who are facing a number of ailments or developmental challenges, guiding chairs via a joystick with a hockey blade mounted at the front.

“I like it because it gives a chance to people who don’t have the ability to play actual hockey or don’t have the equipment or aren’t strong enough to skate,” said Zander Wallin, who is one of the participants and son of Westman Volt Hockey organizers Chad and Michelle Wallin. “This is a good chance for people to play a sport that they truly love.”

Sawyer Morgan and his sister Kaelyn were also on hand to give it a try. Kaelyn said she liked the chance to race around.

When asked what he enjoyed about it, Sawyer answered with one, very energetic word.

“Hockey!”

Their mother Amber said it’s a wonderful program.

“It’s really exciting,” she said. “I haven’t been able to put either of them into something because there hasn’t been anything to put them into, or there’s such a small window to get them into something. I got the paper from school and was so excited to jump on this chance.

“I wasn’t sure if we would like it because they’re very sensitive to noise, but so far, so good. You saw him whipping around like a daredevil.”

The Wallin family might be known to Brandon Wheat Kings fans as the billets of Jordan Papirny and Braden Schneider, and for their previous attempt to give their son a taste of the sport.

Zander, who has mobility issues from cerebral palsy, was able to take to the ice in 2021 for the first time after receiving a special pair of skates built by his father with help from Wheat Kings equipment manager Scott Hlady.

Chad and Michelle were still searching for a sport for their son last spring when they learned about Volt hockey.

“We were looking for an event for our son to participate in with Zander always being a sports fan and always being relegated to the sidelines and following his brother (Sawyer) around with hockey and baseball,” Chad said. “We found that we were a little bit limited in this area with activities and through a friend through social media, we saw the first Volt chair we’d ever laid eyes on.”

The sport originated in Europe and came to Canada in 2016 after a team in Toronto was launched. It has since spread to other Ontario centres and Alberta, and organizers in Sweden held the inaugural World Cup in September.

Wallin immediately made some inquiries through the Variety Children’s Charity of Canada to see how they could bring the sport to Westman. That led Wallin to an organization in Portland, Ore., which was selling six used chairs after COVID essentially ended their program.

“Our timing was impeccable, and with Variety wanting to grow the program outside of Ontario and Alberta too, they loved the fit to partner with someone in Manitoba,” Wallin said.

With a tremendous initial capital investment required, Wallin turned to individual donors and the business community to help pay for and maintain the carts. The youngsters aren’t charged a penny to participate, so the costs have to be met in other ways.

“Brandon is tremendous, whether you need volunteers or corporate funding or personal funding,” he said. “We started this, just my wife and I and a few buddies sitting around my kitchen table, saying ‘How can we bring this into fruition?’ and from there it just started and has snowballed.”

Wallin said when he approached people about the program, there was an immediate belief in what they were trying to do.

“They saw the need for kids in western Manitoba who are limited to the participation things that they can do,” Wallin said. “It’s been tremendous … A lot of people have helped us along the way.”

Among them was COR Enterprises, which dusted off, polished up and painted the chairs, and made sure they were in good working order.

It’s quickly paid off.

The youngsters, who can be joined in the chair by an adult if needed, are surrounded by yellow T-shirts in the gymnasium, with an incredible volunteer-to-participant ratio.

With the program still in its infancy, they’re likely a ways from playing games. Instead, the youngsters are learning to navigate the chairs.

“As soon as you get the hang of it, it’s not that bad at all,” Zander Wallin said.

The short-term goal is to get as many participants as possible, which is also a challenge. It’s not like a central registry exists of children who could benefit from the program, so the organizers are using a variety of methods to overcome that significant hurdle and reach out to parents.

Word of mouth and working directly with the Brandon School Division have been key, with the division offering storage, gym space and sending letters home to kids in the life skills programs.

Chad Wallin said with the word “hockey” in their name, some parents might immediately think it’s not for their children, but they’re wrong.

“The first week we had five or six different disabilities or ailments here, from cancer to Down syndrome, cerebral palsy to autism,” Wallin said. “You would be hard-pressed to find a more inclusive sport than this. You need a functioning thumb and finger … As long as you can work the joystick, that’s all you need.”

The program will run at Riverheights School on East Fotheringham Drive every Wednesday evening from 6 to 9 p.m.

They plan to follow the school year with a break at Christmas, and finish up in May before resuming in September. If the demand exists, Wallin is open to adding extra nights.

They’ve had 15 different participants so far, with three groups of five on the gym floor for about 45 minutes each.

“I don’t want to see dusty chairs,” he said. “We really need the help of the community as a whole now that the equipment is here and the volunteers are here. If they see a child who may benefit from this or may like to come and try it, we would certainly love to hear from them.”

They’re making Volt hockey accessible to school-age children as they start up, in the Grade 4 to Grade 12 range for now, although they won’t say no to anyone.

There is no commitment expected, with children welcome just to try it.

After a trial run a few weeks ago to test out the used equipment and get accustomed to it, they’ve now held two sessions.

“The reaction is really gratifying and satisfying,” Chad Wallin said. “Having a child with special needs, you often wonder where they fit in. Is there something they can participate in like everybody else gets a chance to?

“You see the smiles on the kids’ faces, but equal to that are the smiles and relief on some of the parents’ faces when they see that their kid can be part of a team and learn some important life skills and social skills and get a trophy or a medal just like someone else is a pretty cool feeling for them too.”

Wallin has already ordered three new chairs from the sport’s hotbed in Sweden, at a cost of about $10,000 each, which includes shipping. They are expected to arrive at the end of November, and will ensure nobody has to sit on the sidelines and watch.

Long term, Wallin wants to sustain the program but also to build it. There are no age limitations, so there is the possibility of adult programs as well in the future.

The two 12-Volt batteries on each chair recharge in about an hour — a full battery easily lasts for an entire evening session — so they could essentially run seven days a week and divide into age groups or skill sets.

Also, since the 120-pound chairs are portable, their use could expand outside the city to other communities.

“It’s pretty cool,” Wallin said. “Just to see the smile on their face but for them to have the opportunity to participate and make buddies and to wear a jersey and those type of things, it’s what you want for your kid.

“Everybody wants that for their kid.”

Anyone wishing to enrol their child, volunteer, donate or learn more can email the organization at westmanVolthockey@gmail.com (one word with no hyphens).

They’ll be helping with a program that’s already proving to be a hit with its participants.

“I’m pretty excited,” Zander Wallin said. “It gives me a chance to be friends with people I’ve never met before in my life.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson