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34 | April 26, 2018 | The glencoe anchor sports<br />
glencoeanchor.com<br />
New Trier’s Weber shines at hockey festival<br />
Michael Wojtychiw<br />
Sports Editor<br />
For 14 years, the USA<br />
Hockey Disabled Hockey<br />
Festival has allowed hockey<br />
players with disabilities<br />
to play the sport they love<br />
throughout the course of<br />
a weekend against others<br />
who are in similar situations.<br />
According to the festival’s<br />
website, the mission<br />
of the festival is to provide<br />
a fun and exciting weekend<br />
of hockey in a grand<br />
event, as well as promote<br />
and grow disabled hockey<br />
throughout the country.<br />
The event is the largest<br />
disabled hockey event<br />
of its kind and became so<br />
large this year that it had to<br />
be split up into two weekends,<br />
April 5-8 for those<br />
that are blind/visually impaired,<br />
deaf/hard of hearing,<br />
special, warrior/standing<br />
amputee and April<br />
12-15 for sled hockey.<br />
One of the players able<br />
to participate in the event<br />
was New Trier senior, and<br />
Glencoe resident, Adam<br />
Weber.<br />
Weber, who is autistic,<br />
has been a member of<br />
the Blackhawks Special<br />
Hockey squad for the past<br />
five years, was making his<br />
debut at the festival and<br />
was thrilled to have the<br />
opportunity to play at this<br />
year’s festival.<br />
“It was a fun experience<br />
and there were a lot of<br />
teams there, from the U.S.<br />
and Canada and one other<br />
team from England,” Weber<br />
said.<br />
Weber got a chance to<br />
play in four games during<br />
the festival and was a scoring<br />
machine. He scored<br />
seven goals and dished out<br />
an assist, helping his team<br />
to a nice finish during the<br />
tournament.<br />
“It’s so awesome that I<br />
could score a lot of goals<br />
and I think it was great to<br />
move the puck, too,” he<br />
said.<br />
Chicago Blackhawks<br />
Special Hockey is dedicated<br />
to providing children<br />
and adults with developmental<br />
disabilities the opportunity<br />
to play hockey.<br />
Team members range in<br />
age from 5-55, and include<br />
both male and female athletes.<br />
The team is comprised<br />
of players that have<br />
autism, Down syndrome<br />
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or other intellectual disabilities.<br />
Chicago Blackhawks<br />
Special Hockey strive to<br />
promote and emphasize<br />
the development of sportsmanship,<br />
team spirit, increased<br />
confidence, pride<br />
and team unity while having<br />
a great time in the process.<br />
It is open to anyone<br />
who is interested in playing,<br />
as long as the individual<br />
can skate.<br />
Chicago Blackhawks<br />
Special Hockey had multiple<br />
teams in the festival,<br />
and Weber played on<br />
two of them, the A and B<br />
teams.<br />
“I was a forward on both<br />
teams but think I’m more<br />
of a winger on both sides,”<br />
Weber said.<br />
Weber and his Chicago<br />
Blackhawks Special<br />
Hockey teammates practice<br />
once a week and play<br />
in a couple tournaments<br />
each year. The team played<br />
in two tournaments in the<br />
fall but is done until play<br />
resumes this fall.<br />
A tournament like the<br />
USA Hockey Disabled<br />
Hockey Festival, however,<br />
is not like any of the tournaments<br />
that Weber and his<br />
teammates normally play<br />
in. With the tournament<br />
being split into two weekends<br />
this year, it allowed<br />
all of the participants to<br />
have their moment and<br />
shine. It’s something that<br />
makes a weekend special<br />
for all of those involved.<br />
“The Festival was great<br />
and the best part was<br />
hanging out with my teammates,<br />
having fun on the<br />
ice and also being able to<br />
pass the puck and shooting<br />
the puck hard,” the Glencoe<br />
resident said.<br />
As one would imagine,<br />
the hockey fanatic<br />
and hockey nut is a huge<br />
sports fan who loves the<br />
Blackhawks and Cubs.<br />
Two of his favorite moments<br />
have been when the<br />
Blackhawks have won the<br />
Stanley Cup and when the<br />
Cubs won the World Series<br />
in 2016.<br />
But what does Weber<br />
like to do in his free time?<br />
You guessed it, more<br />
sports-related things.<br />
“I like to hang out with<br />
my dog and watch clips on<br />
YouTube that are sportsrelated.<br />
I also like to watch<br />
sports on TV, watch movies<br />
and listening to music<br />
Adam Weber poses for a picture during the USA<br />
Hockey Disabled Hockey Festival April 5-8 in West<br />
Dundee. Photo submitted<br />
on Spotify.”<br />
Weber is set to graduate<br />
from New Trier in June<br />
and says that while he isn’t<br />
sure of his educational<br />
plans next year, he might<br />
take a year of transition<br />
seminar and then after that,<br />
go to a college for students<br />
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with special needs and disabilities.<br />
Whatever his next step<br />
may be, one thing is for<br />
sure, we aren’t done seeing<br />
him on the ice scoring<br />
goals and representing his<br />
town.<br />
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