MANKATO – The first goal in the history of the
Mankato adapted floor hockey program was a beauty, as was the celebration, as
was the entire first game ever.
Mankato, with athletes from Mankato East and
Mankato West, played host to the team from Stillwater/Mahtomedi on Monday inside
the little gymnasium at Franklin Elementary School, which has stood in a quiet Mankato
neighborhood since 1928. A large crowd of fans watched from balcony seats, and
they saw quite a show.
The game’s opening goal came quickly. After Mankato
junior goaltender Jacob Watson made a couple of sharp saves, the puck was
knocked to the opposite end of the floor. It found its way to the stick of
Mankato ninth-grader Shanti Esters, who gave it a whack and saw it bounce off
the goalie’s pads. Shanti gave it a second knock with the same result, and the
third time was the charm. The puck went in, the crowd went wild and Shanti
began a celebratory run down the court.
She was so excited, and rightfully so, that she
lost her footing at midcourt and went down. Her big smile, shining brightly
through her facemask, never wavered as she tumbled. And after landing, she
posed. Yes, she posed, putting one arm behind her head, sticking up one knee with
that perfect smile on her face. It was magical.
“That first
goal today and the celebration, it was probably one of the best things I've
seen in my 19 years,” said Mankato East activities director Todd Waterbury, who
helped shepherd the team into existence. “It was just a lot of fun with the joy
around here, a lot of positivity.”
Shanti
scored again in the third period, setting off another round of cheering. The game went the way of Stillwater/Mahtomedi, which won 17-2, but
the outcome was much less important than the event itself.
“I really
truly didn't know how it would go. But our kids did great,” said Mankato coach
Dylan Boettcher, 28, who attended Franklin and played hockey at Mankato East. “They
exceeded my expectations. Honestly, the scoreboard doesn't necessarily show it;
Stillwater is a great team, it looks like they've been playing for a long time.”
The crowd
was hockey-flavored, including a whole bunch of players from the Mankato West
girls hockey team, as well as some from the Minnesota State Mankato women’s squad.
Between the second and third periods, anyone wearing a hockey jersey was invited
to come down to the court and try to make a shot from one end to the goal on
the other end. The hockey-playing girls from West, using a different kind of
stick and a much lighter puck than they are used to, didn’t have tons of luck
but they sure had fun.
The Mankato
athletes wear uniforms that are black and gray, just like the combined
East-West girls and boys lacrosse teams. They looked awfully sharp. The pregame
period was filled with music on the little gym’s PA system … the tunes included
“Sweet Caroline,” “Ice Ice Baby” and “Party in the USA.” It was good stuff.
All the
players from both teams were introduced before the game began; athletes
waved their stick in the air and some waved a hand to their families sitting up
above. The Guns N’ Roses classic, “Welcome To The Jungle” played as the game
began.
After the
clock ran out on the first adapted floor hockey game in Mankato history, the
teams lined up for a postgame handshake line, just as in every other high
school sport. They thanked the officials, Ryan Swafford and Aaron Anderson, who
are veteran hockey officials working their first adapted floor hockey game.
The hockey players
from Mankato West came down once more and gathered with their counterparts on the
floor hockey team for a photo. They held a sign that read “Let’s Go Mankato.”
Boettcher
gathered his team around him, telling the kids, “You guys did a great job. Have
a good night with your families.”
Dylan’s
wife, Heather, watched from the balcony in a chair that included this
hand-written sign: “Reserved for coach’s very pregnant wife” … the word “very”
was underlined. A cesarean procedure was scheduled for the next day, with Dylan
and Heather looking forward to welcoming their first child.
East and West
already have adapted bowling programs, with floor hockey the district’s
first adapted team sport; the MSHSL also sponsors adapted programs in soccer
and softball. The Minnesota Association for
Adapted Athletics pioneered those activities in the state, and they came under
the MSHSL umbrella in 1992. Programs are offered for Cognitively Impaired (CI) and
Physically Impaired (PI) students. The Mankato team is in the CI division.
“It’s important
to me to make sure it’s a big deal,” Dylan Boettcher said. “I’m hoping this can
be a jump start for adapted sports in Mankato. I’ve fallen in love with the
people involved in activities for special needs kids.”
Waterbury offered an apt summary of the new program,
saying, “The
opportunity is what we're all about. That’s what the League's about, it's what
our district’s about, to increase the opportunities for those who don't have a
lot of chances to be involved in an activity.
“I just
think it's the best thing we could do. You saw the people here today. Not only
our school community, but the college representation that was here and all the
other folks. It tells you the importance of it and what a big deal it is.”
--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of
Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn
and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts.
Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org
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