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UNE, Maine Adaptive host sled hockey demonstration
The University of New England Department of Physical Therapy recently partnered with Maine Adaptive to hold a sled hockey demonstration at the Harold Alfond Forum in Biddeford on Sunday, April 24.
Maine Adaptive engages and empowers people with disabilities in many forms of sport, and the event was an opportunity to engage their clients in the relatively new sport of sled hockey, in which participants sit in adaptive sleds and propel themselves on the ice using modified hockey sticks.
This was the second such sled hockey demonstration, the first being held in fall 2021. Many students in UNE's Physical Therapy program volunteered at the event, where they welcomed participants, fit them for sleds and helmets, and shuffled equipment.
Marissa Lyon, PT, Ph.D., D.P.T., NCS, assistant professor of physical therapy at UNE, said the demonstration was an example of community-based learning — a cornerstone of the D.P.T. program’s curriculum — in which all partners benefit.
A UNE physical therapy student guides a man on an adaptive sled.
“With the community-based learning model, your goal is always to have an opportunity for everyone involved to benefit,” Lyon explained. “Here, the students are getting to learn, hands-on, how to adapt to the needs of people with differing disabilities. The participants can try this new sport, and Maine Adaptive benefits by being able to hold this event again with more volunteers and have access to the ice.”
Student volunteer Rachel Jordan (D.P.T., ’23) said the event was a valuable way to gain experience with clients prior to graduating from the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
“As physical therapists, we’ll be working with a variety of individuals with differing levels of ability,” Jordan said. “Opportunities outside of school like sled hockey allow us to practice making personal connections with people in the community and learn to access each individual's needs. The more experiences we can get as students, the better practitioners we’ll become.”
Alex Ferreira (D.P.T., ’23) agreed with Jordan, saying his participation in the event would make him a better clinician after graduating.
“This helps broaden the scope of what I can practice, and it also broadens our scope of different populations that we might treat later on,” he said. “And, aside from us, it’s benefiting the participants by having so many helping hands around. It’s a friendly social event as well as an educational component.”
Jim Murphy, executive director of Maine Adaptive, said the partnership with UNE is one of the ways the organization can expand its recreational offerings.
“We're expanding our offerings to new participants on a regular basis, and this is a demonstration of what a new sport is,” he said. “This is a great example of what we’ve been doing for 40 years.”
The sled hockey demonstration is just one example of the ways Maine Adaptive and UNE have partnered to better the health of their communities. Other activities include an adaptive skiing partnership, in which about 40 UNE students have participated; a host of fundraisers and social events, including a Halloween race last fall; and student internships at Maine Adaptive representing various UNE academic programs.
“We're very lucky that we get to partner with Maine adaptive,” Lyon said. “Maine Adaptive brings years of experience with organizing these types of events, and we would never be able to do something like this if we didn't have this partnership with them.”