By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Summer street hockey bears little resemblance to ice hockey. But the Black Swamp Ice Frogs have never been hung up on appearances.
On a recent weekend, rather than bundling up and lacing up their ice skates, the players slipped into their tennis shoes and mopped sweat as they practiced their hockey skills at the inline skating rink at Bowling Green City Park.
The Black Swamp Ice Frogs is a special needs hockey team, based out of Bowling Green at the Slater Family Ice Arena at BGSU. The team is for anyone with any type of disability – the only requirement is the desire to get on the ice and have some fun.
The same could be said for the summer street hockey event – fun minus the ice.
“This is a fun way for our team to get together in the summer,” said Ice Frogs coach Melanie Rohrs.
For the past 12 years, the Black Swamp Ice Frogs program has offered an adaptive version of hockey for athletes with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities.
“It gives them some freedom. They can go out and be part of a team,” said Beth Fritz, who is president of the Black Swamp Ice Frogs organization.
A key to the program is communication between coaches and parents – with conversations taking place about the type of accommodations a player may need.
“Before they even get on the ice,” Rohrs said.
Players must be at least 5 years old, but there is no maximum age limit.
“We don’t really have a cap in the age limit,” Fritz said, adding that a couple players on the team are in their 40s. “They just come because they enjoy it.”
The group practices weekly on Sundays at the BGSU Ice Arena, with the hockey season running from September through April.
Organizers stress that the type of hockey played by the Black Swamp Ice Frogs is much different than the very physical games played by the Toledo Walleye. The Ice Frogs play a non-contact version of the sport, with no checking.
There are no skill requirements for participants – with each player learning at their own speed in a safe environment. Players are not required to be proficient at skating when they join.
Beginning players are called “tadpoles,” with their training focusing on skating, falling and getting up – then doing it all again.
“We spend an hour a week teaching them they can do it,” coach Karen Owens said.
They may start the season knowing nothing about skating, but “by the end of the season, they are playing with the whole team,” Owens said.
As the “tadpoles” improve their skills, they become Ice Frogs. The organization currently has about 10 players.
“There’s lots of room for more,” Rohrs said.
In addition to learning skills, the players also develop friendships.
The Ice Frogs organization also gives parents an opportunity to make connections with other parents of children with special needs, Owens said.
The annual fee for team members is $250.
And no gear? No problem. Most of the equipment for the team – like skates, helmets, sticks and pads – is available to be loaned out during the season.
The Ice Frogs practice with local hockey players from high schools, BGSU and Wood Lane. The closest teams they compete against are in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Columbus and Cleveland.
Anyone interested may visit the organization’s Facebook page, email blackswampicefrogs@gmail.com, or call Rohrs at 513-478-0356.
