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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, April 29, 2016 | 40 Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com The thrill of skating Holy Trinity students help visually-impaired kids get comfortable on the ice and maybe play hockey, too By Herb Garbutt Burlington Post staff Sports "Connected to your Community" The smile on Nizar Tahli's face says it all as he shuffles along the ice. "He's only got two per cent vision, but he makes the most of what he has," says Donna Gillies Marson, itinerant vision teacher for the Halton District School Board. This is a unique experience for Tahli, having just moved to Canada earlier this year from Syria. But even for the other 15 students who have grown up in Canada, the opportunity to put on skates and glide around the ice is a special occasion. Since Courage Canada, now the Canadian Blind Hockey Association, held its first skate in Halton six years ago, it has continued to grow. And while some, like Tahli, were firsttimers on skates, there are others like Eljesa Caka, a Grade 7 student at Alton Village public school, who has taken part each year. "The kids will start asking me in September, `When are we going skating?'" says Gillies Marson. This year, students from Holy Trinity's Hockey Focus phys-ed class assisted the participants. And though the Trinity students themselves had only three days of skating instruction, they were put to the test in conveying what they learned. "It was a little more complicated because you had to be very descriptive in explaining how to do something," said Emily Baxter. Caka, who moved around with ease and stood out only because of the yellow Canadian Blind Hockey Association jersey she was wearing, said the high school students helped her with her turns. Gary Steeves, president of the Canadian Blind Sports Association, said while the goals are to teach skills and develop hockey players, he said there is still a bigger purpose, even for those who will never pick up a hockey stick. "We want to develop hockey players, but we also want to get them active. We want them to realize there is not anything you can't do when you're blind," said Steeves, who founded Vancouver's blind hockey program and continues to play net. "When I was in school, my class would go skating and I would go to the study room. I wanted to do what my sighted friends were doing." Steeves said the long-term goal is to get blind hockey into the Paralympics, but first it must build the pool of players in Canada and get more countries playing the sport. Blind hockey uses a larger, metal puck with ball bearings inside that rattle to allow players to track the puck by sound. It uses three-foot high nets and players must pass the puck once in the offensive zone -- allowing defenders to track the puck's movement -- before scoring. "For a sport where you use your eyes and your vision so much, I was really surprised to see how well some of the kids did," said Ethan Rivera, a Grade 10 student at Holy Trinity. Matt Morrow, executive director of Canadian Blind Hockey Association, said while the program was originally just skating it has increasingly given participants an opportunity to try blind hockey. He said when the first skate in Halton was held, only one participant had even held a hockey stick be- fore. Earlier this month at River Oaks Recreation Centre, at least half of the students tried their hand at hockey. "It's fun to try new things," said Arvin Nazari. "It's something different and it's cool to try it out. Will (Barber) helped me out today." And for the Trinity students, it was a chance to share the game they love with others. "I've been involved in hockey my whole life," said Quinn Stargratt. "It's exciting to be a part of giving these kids a new opportunity." in above photo, Jennifer Meunier, 10, shoots at Emmett Serensits, 16, while Ava Suntok, 16, stickhandles in the background at River Oaks Recreation Centre. In photos below, from left, Will Barber guides Arvin Nazari, 13, around the ice; London Kan, 7, gets help from David Gunner, 15; and Robert Policelli assists Nizar Tahli, 10, with his balance. Holy Trinity's Hockey Focus phys-ed class came out to help blind and partially-sighted aspiring hockey players work on their skills. | photos by Nikki Wesley ­ Oakville Beaver