As the countdown of my favorite John’s Journal stories from the 2021-22 school year continues, today our focus is on the first adapted floor hockey team from Mankato. I was invited to attend the team’s first game, and I was blown away by what I saw. It was highly inspirational.
Here’s the
story that was originally posted on Jan. 10 …
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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