Kyle Alveshere had just eight days to put his team together. But the South Washington County Thunderbolts adapted floor hockey team's first season turned out to be a success, on and off the floor.
The team, a cooperative between East Ridge, Park and Woodbury high schools, was 6-3 in the regular season and earned a trip to the state tournament in its first year.
"We learned on the fly," said Alveshere, a special education teacher at East Ridge who was a head coach for the first time this past season. "I didn't go in with huge expectations. I just wanted to get the program started, let the kids have fun and learn life lessons."
The Minnesota Adapted Athletic Association, providing competition in cognitively impaired (CI) and physically impaired (PI) divisions, provides youths with disabilities the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a high school sports program. Minnesota is the only state where the high school league sponsors adapted athletic programs and state tournaments.
South Washington County's first practice was on Jan. 5, just eight days before the team's first game. Though the Thunderbolts were coming off state championship victories in adapted softball and soccer in the CI division, Alveshere admitted there was a big learning curve teaching the game of hockey.
"We were starting from scratch," Alveshere said. "It was challenging but fun. We started with the basics of holding a stick, puck handling and passing. It was really cool to see their improvement throughout the year. That's the reason you coach."
Senior captain Dylan Kubitschek, a key player for the Thunderbolts soccer and softball teams, said he jumped at the chance to play floor hockey.
"I did not want to sit around all winter and do nothing," Kubitschek said. "I wanted to play floor hockey from the first day I found out it was going to happen."
