3 of foundation's members won gold at 2002 Paralympics

06:51 PM CST on Saturday, November 20, 2004 By JOHNNY DALY / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

Body checks are James Dunham's favorite part of playing hockey.
When he uses his massive arms and shoulders to punish his competitors, the 40-year-old defenseman exemplifies an enforcer on the ice at 220 pounds.  Mr. Dunham suffers from viral encephalitis, which has left him paralyzed from the waist down since age 2. He had never tried team sports until five years ago, when he was introduced to sled hockey.
"Imagine if I was to give you wings and told you that with a little work, you could learn to fly," Mr. Dunham said. "This is what sled hockey is like for disabled people like myself." Mr. Dunham is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Sled Hockey Foundation, which recently moved its practices to the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Valley Ranch. The foundation fields adult and youth teams.
Created in Sweden more than 30 years ago, sled hockey was introduced to the United States in the early 1990s. The game is a copy of regular hockey, only with three 15-minute periods. Players sit on tubular sleds that are mounted to two hockey skate blades and propel themselves using two miniature hockey sticks with metal picks on one end. "Other than the sleds, everything is the same rules as the NHL," Mr. Dunham said. "It's just as physical and at times can be just as fast." Mr. Dunham is one of three foundation members who were on the gold medal-winning team at the 2002 Paralympics in Salt Lake City.
Since beginning in 1997, the foundation has sent numerous players to national and international events. Taylor Lipsett, a senior at Mesquite Poteet, is in Cologne, Germany, participating in the sled hockey World Championships. It is the second trip to Europe for Taylor, 17, who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta. He also played in the 2003 World Championships in Sweden. "On the international level, these games are no joke," Taylor said. "I've been lit up a couple of times by some Swedes that can inflict some real pain."
For most of the players, sled hockey has been a dream come true. Growing up in Duluth, Minn., Randy McGlocklin was a self-described "rink rat without skates." Mr. McGlocklin, 40, has Larsen's syndrome, and he has needed a wheelchair since he was a toddler. Active to his core, Mr. McGlocklin played wheelchair basketball, was a competitive weightlifter and did marathons for 20 years. But no sport was closer to his heart than hockey. "Internally I was screaming, 'Where have you been all my life?' " Mr. McGlocklin said. "I'm in my late 30s and in Texas, and I finally get my chance." In addition to playing for the foundation, Mr. McGlocklin is an assistant coach for his 9-year-old son Jake's select hockey team. For a man who has hockey in his blood, getting on the ice with his son has been the best part of the experience. "To physically share the game I love with my son and kids is one of the best feelings I've ever had," Mr. McGlocklin said. Many in the foundation said their top priority is helping kids with disabilities on the ice. Mr. Dunham said that many parents of disabled children are often cautious about letting their children participate in sports, but most of the children suffer only minor scratches and bumps. One of those children is 8-year-old Savanna Dearing, who has spina bifida. After she tried karate, Savanna's father, Keith, who is president of the foundation, thought she might take to the sled.
Ever since she handled her first puck, sled hockey has been Savanna's favorite activity. "Her self-esteem has gone through the roof," Mr. Dearing said. "I never thought hockey would be the sport she would take to, but it's become her passion."
E-mail jdaly@dallasnews.com
RULES OF THE GAME
* Played with the same rules of standard hockey, players sit in a bucket seat sled with an aluminum framing with two hockey skates mounted to the bottom. Players propel themselves with two small hockey sticks, which have metal blades on one end that allow the players to dig into the ice.
* Each team is allowed to have three able-bodied players.
The DFW Sled Hockey Foundation practices every Sunday at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Valley Ranch at 7:30 p.m.