ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Tim Hortons Iceplex hosted hundreds of athletes this weekend for its annual Friendship Festival, an international special needs hockey tournament. News10NBC was there to capture what makes this event special for so many.
“It is just amazing to see everybody smiling, laughing, cheering each other on and it’s just a positive environment where everybody’s supporting each other,” said Nikolle Van Stralen, head coach of the Rochester Ice Cats.
Van Stralen emphasized that her players are happy regardless of the outcome.
“Oh, they’re just so excited. You know, make good passes to their teammates, score goals. They always come back to the bench with huge smiles on their face,” Van Stralen said.
Kris Clarke, an original Ice Cat who has been on the team for 29 years, shared his thoughts.
“We started with five or six kids, here we are now,” Clarke said.
The tournament featured 14 teams from places like Canada, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Clarke expressed his joy about the event.
“It’s unbelievable how these kids, every time they come here, they have a happy face on there. And when they leave, they’re happy,” Clarke said.
Clarke felt a sense of accomplishment seeing the happiness of the younger players.
“It just feels like I improved something. These kids, they look up to me and other senior players,” Clarke said.
The Friendship Festival lived up to its name, providing a platform for athletes to have fun and make new friends.
To learn more about the Festival and how you can get involved with the Ice Cats, go here.
Rochester Ice Cats host Friendship Festival at Iceplex WHEC.com.
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