skip navigation

USA Hockey Foundation Grant Helps West Michigan Special Hockey Association Grow

By Greg Bates - Special to USAHockey.com, 09/17/14, 1:00PM MDT

Share

Jean Laxton is hoping the West Michigan Special Hockey Association (WMSHA) continues to grow.

It’s on the right track, and a $2,000 grant from The USA Hockey Foundation will go a long way toward the association reaching its goals.

Laxton founded the WMSHA two years ago in Grand Rapids, Mich. There was some open ice time at the Patterson Ice Arena, so she had an idea to try to get children and young adults with developmental disabilities involved in hockey.

“This was something that was always near and dear to my heart,” said Laxton, who is the general manager of the Grand Rapids Amateur Hockey Association (GRAHA), the parent organization for the WMSHA. “My degree prior to getting into hockey as a volunteer over 20 years ago was in psychology and human services, so I’ve always had a soft spot for kids with disabilities, and I worked in a group home for disabled adults for three years.”

Laxton has really gotten the program going with the assistance of Charlie Keider, who recently moved to Grand Rapids and started helping in May. Keider learned a great deal about running a special needs hockey organization from his time working with the Detroit MORC Stars, a program that is very similar to WMSHA.

The mission of WMSHA is to offer an amateur level hockey program for children and young adults with Down syndrome, autism or any other developmental disability. WMSHA is open to any player over the age of 5, male or female, who is physically able to play but would be unable to participate in any other organized program due to a developmental disability.

The WMSHA is in its early stages of existence and is drafting its own bylaws to become a stand-alone organization from GRAHA. Since the WMSHA is working on getting approved as a non-profit, the organizers don’t want the athletes to be responsible for paying for ice time at the Patterson Ice Arena or for equipment. Donations and grants have become a critical means to keep the organization going in the right direction. Along with the $2,000 from The USA Hockey Foundation, the WMSHA received a OneGoal grant from the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association.

“Equipment and ice time always seems to add up,” Keider said. “To be able to offer that to parents as a freebie basically that we’re giving you ice time, we’re giving you equipment is big. … $2,000 in some people’s minds isn’t a lot, but it goes a long way for us.”

With The USA Hockey Foundation grant money, the WMSHA will be able to pay the applications fees involved with getting non-profit status and buy equipment, including helmets, cones and possibly jerseys. Laxton has purchased a number of helmets to keep the players safe and protected on the ice. Also, the organization bought some walkers as skate aids because a lot of players aren’t able to skate freely.

The WMSHA has a good relationship with the Patterson Ice Arena, so the players in the WMSHA are able to use the rink’s skates for free during practice.

“It’s very important,” Laxton said about the grant money. “Every little bit helps. We’re appreciative of anything that we can get to assist to be able to continue to be able to put this on for the kids.”

Ready for the Season

The new season for the WMSHA gets under way Sept. 24, and the athletes will get an hour of ice time once per week.

In the past, the age of players has ranged from 4 to 27. Laxton is expecting a similar pattern this season. She is hoping around a dozen players will participate in the program.

“We have a wide range of abilities, some that can skate and some that are really struggling to even get around on the walker, but we have to start somewhere,” Laxton said. “We’re happy to take anybody that walks in.”

Keider will be running the on-ice instruction and has other volunteer coaches helping out. However, he’d also like player assistants who can help each skater understand what the coaches are teaching.

If practices go well, Keider would like to play some games and eventually have the team compete in tournaments.

“The goal is to make it a full team and then possibly its own league where we have a West Michigan Special Hockey League, and it’s not just one team, it’s multiple leagues for the west Michigan region,” Keider said. “I think that’s a reasonable goal.”

The team is nicknamed the Patriots, and the players are excited to get on the ice. Keider spoke with a player in the offseason who is 18 years old and aged out of the traditional youth organizations. However, he’ll get a shot to play with the Patriots.

“His first comment to me was, ‘Maybe we can get practice jerseys with our logo on it,’” Keider said. “He’s really excited to have his own team.”

That wouldn’t be possible without grants.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

Recent News

|
Donate Now Button

Most Popular Articles

Q&A with Bret Hedican

By The USA Hockey Foundation 02/23/2018, 7:15am MST

Olympian discusses hockey and his family

John Johannson reflects on his brother, Jim

By John Johannson 02/23/2018, 7:15am MST

A Game of Generations

By Touchpoint 01/31/2014, 3:45pm MST

It's been often said hockey is a lifelong game. For some that means they continue to lace up the skates decades after there are any fans in the stands. For some it means they give back by coaching, officiating or volunteering. For others the lifelong connection is through the network of teammates, friends and life lessons learned along the way; a bridge of sorts that keeps them closely connected to the sport in the business world. USA Hockey recently caught up with 1968 Olympian Jack Morrison, who continues to find success off the ice, long after he received his accolades on the ice.

When you see Jack Morrison these days, he has the contented look of a life well-lived.

Morrison, a Minneapolis native who played on the 1968 Olympic team in Grenoble, France, was the only American to be among the top 10 scorers (tied for eighth) in the tournament, registering two goals and six assists in seven games. In 1967, he completed an illustrious collegiate career at current NCAA champion, Yale University, where he was named first-team All-American East as well as first-team All ECAC his senior year.

He left Yale as its all-time leading scorer, with 51 goals and 68 assists for 119 points. 

“When I look back on that period of my life, it was an honor to be mentioned in the same company with players like Ken Dryden and Jerry York (who were fellow All-Americans), and, of course, to be an Olympian,” Morrison said. “Due to the Vietnam War, we were unpopular among the French crowds. The Czechs and Russians were actually more well-received. We had a fantastic team and probably could have fared better. It was a terrific experience nevertheless.”

Following amateur athletics, Morrison attended Harvard Business School and, after a stint with Kidder Peabody, went to work for the Pillsbury Company, where he rose to the position of Executive Vice President and President, Pillsbury Consumer Foods Group. After the company was acquired by Grand Met (now Diageo), he decided to join three longtime associates to form Goldner, Hawn, Johnson & Morrison, which quickly became a highly successful private equity firm.

Morrison received an extraordinary opportunity to wear a different Team USA uniform, when, in the middle of his presidency, former college classmate, George W. Bush, requested that he serve on OPIC (the Overseas Private Investment Corporation) and, later, PFIAB (the Presidential Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board), overtures he happily obliged.

While his sense of duty to country is longstanding, Morrison has also maintained an enduring commitment to Minnesota, which has been home to he and Chris, his wife of 46 years, since 1975.

He and his son, Jeb, have invested in a handful of small Minnesota companies and Morrison has been a longtime director at Andersen Corporation (Bayport, Minn.) and Hormel Corporation (Austin, Minn.).

Jeff Ettinger, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer at Hormel Foods, is quick in his praise. 

"Jack Morrison has been an outstanding member of the Hormel Foods Board of Directors since 2004,” Ettinger said. “He is a man of broad interests and experience, from his Pillsbury days, to other boards, to the Bush White House, to his hockey connections, to his private equity success. He brings both business sense and common sense to his role as lead director with our company."

Jay Lund also lauded Morrison’s contributions and character.

"Jack was one of Andersen’s first outside directors,” said Lund, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Andersen Corporation. “Over his 16-plus years on our board, he has helped guide our company through a major business transformation and the most severe recession in the housing industry since the Great Depression. As Lead Director, he has been a mentor and friend for me and a great ambassador for our company."

Although numerous exciting opportunities have come Morrison's way since his playing days, his family and friends, above all else, are his abundance. Kelly, his daughter, resides in Minnetonka and Jeb is close by in Hopkins. They each have three children, which makes him one busy grandfather – as five of his six grandchildren play organized hockey.

It's an identity that suits him though and, in his eyes, the most enjoyable "jersey" he's ever worn.

“I love the game and have always been most comfortable when I’m on the ice,” Morrison said. “The only thing better than that is watching my grandchildren play.”

Tag(s): Home  Special Hockey 

Share