"Hockey is perfect for special kids" I Special guests at Traktor Ice Arena
A team of players with mental disorders visited the practice of the Traktor Chelyabinsk.
March 29 was an important day for the Traktor Ice Arena as special guests visited it. A team of junior players with ASD and other mental disorders that plays special adapted hockey that they began to learn in November and learnt how to skate in February made their debut on the ice of the Traktor Ice Arena. They also had a chance to watch a live game of the Traktor Chelyabinsk back in February when the team faced the Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.
Firstly, the kids had a trip around the staff-only area of the arena, visited the serviceman`s office and came on ice to say hi to the players and the coaching staff of the Traktor Chelyabinsk. Then the junior team watched the main part of the practice and later joined the professional athletes on the ice.
Elena Levina, manager of the Autonomus non-commercial organization Center of cultural and sportive development for people with special health conditions called Territoriya Uspekha (Area of Success):
– Apart from the fact that I am a manager of the organization, I am also a mom of a special kid who is a member of the team. Once we visited a skating session at the Uralskaya Molnia skating rink and tried to teach our son to skate when we noticed there is a hockey team practicing at the second rink. We were so excited and came up with the idea of creating a special school for kids with special needs. Hockey is a team sport, and one of the ASD problems is socialization deficiency, it is when kids don't have a sufficient level of communication and interaction. Hockey also positively affects mental development as well as physical one. That's why we decided that that would be a perfect combination for kids with special health conditions.
A practice with the Traktor Chelyabinsk is a new and useful experience for us. Many of the children don't complitely understand the speech as they mainly concentrate on visual perception of the world. And when they saw and watched the professional team practicing, the way they interacting and listening to the coach, it was really great for them.
After the end of the practice the junior players presented the Traktor Chelyabinsk with a sign with good wishes and drawings that will take its place in the locker room. Later, the kids got their presents in return and visited the team museum.
The junior kids` team is called Territoriya Uspekha (Area of Success) and they practice at the Nikita Nesterov`s hockey center that is located in Fiesta mall in Chelyabinsk.
Nikita Tertyshny, forward of the Traktor Chelyabinsk:
– Once I saw the video about such meetings with athletes on the social media. I contacted our guys from the media department and they took care of everything. All the players agreed, of course. Now we have time for such deeds and meeting and I think it is a right thing to do. For me, such kids are no different from other children. It is a good experience both for the kids and us, we talked a little and had a chance to get a different perspective on many things. At first they were a little shy, maybe even scared, but all of our guys are kind, many of us have kids of our own. It took us a few minutes to warm them up and they played with us normally. They are just kids. We just need to be kinder, to smile more and they will be more opened for a contact.
World Autism Awareness Day is marked annually on April 2. Last year Traktor Ice Hockey Club made partnership with the ANO Zvezdny Dozhd (Star Rain non-commercial organization). The Traktor Chelyabinsk`s players Sergei Telegin, Mikhail Kotlyarevsky and Mikhail Rolgizer will take part in the charity event Dobry Lyod (Ice of Kindness).
Firstly, the kids had a trip around the staff-only area of the arena, visited the serviceman`s office and came on ice to say hi to the players and the coaching staff of the Traktor Chelyabinsk. Then the junior team watched the main part of the practice and later joined the professional athletes on the ice.
Elena Levina, manager of the Autonomus non-commercial organization Center of cultural and sportive development for people with special health conditions called Territoriya Uspekha (Area of Success):
– Apart from the fact that I am a manager of the organization, I am also a mom of a special kid who is a member of the team. Once we visited a skating session at the Uralskaya Molnia skating rink and tried to teach our son to skate when we noticed there is a hockey team practicing at the second rink. We were so excited and came up with the idea of creating a special school for kids with special needs. Hockey is a team sport, and one of the ASD problems is socialization deficiency, it is when kids don't have a sufficient level of communication and interaction. Hockey also positively affects mental development as well as physical one. That's why we decided that that would be a perfect combination for kids with special health conditions.
A practice with the Traktor Chelyabinsk is a new and useful experience for us. Many of the children don't complitely understand the speech as they mainly concentrate on visual perception of the world. And when they saw and watched the professional team practicing, the way they interacting and listening to the coach, it was really great for them.
After the end of the practice the junior players presented the Traktor Chelyabinsk with a sign with good wishes and drawings that will take its place in the locker room. Later, the kids got their presents in return and visited the team museum.
The junior kids` team is called Territoriya Uspekha (Area of Success) and they practice at the Nikita Nesterov`s hockey center that is located in Fiesta mall in Chelyabinsk.
Nikita Tertyshny, forward of the Traktor Chelyabinsk:
– Once I saw the video about such meetings with athletes on the social media. I contacted our guys from the media department and they took care of everything. All the players agreed, of course. Now we have time for such deeds and meeting and I think it is a right thing to do. For me, such kids are no different from other children. It is a good experience both for the kids and us, we talked a little and had a chance to get a different perspective on many things. At first they were a little shy, maybe even scared, but all of our guys are kind, many of us have kids of our own. It took us a few minutes to warm them up and they played with us normally. They are just kids. We just need to be kinder, to smile more and they will be more opened for a contact.
World Autism Awareness Day is marked annually on April 2. Last year Traktor Ice Hockey Club made partnership with the ANO Zvezdny Dozhd (Star Rain non-commercial organization). The Traktor Chelyabinsk`s players Sergei Telegin, Mikhail Kotlyarevsky and Mikhail Rolgizer will take part in the charity event Dobry Lyod (Ice of Kindness).
