Bringing Passion to a Sport and Making it Safe and Fun so Everyone Can Play
Zoe Simonte, a senior at Staples High School in Westport, started planning out her program a year and a half ago during the pandemic. “Hearts4Hockey” was Zoe’s idea to create a modified and safe floor hockey activity for special needs teens and adults served by Healing Hearts, a 501(c)3 non-profit located in Stamford, Connecticut.
Zoe, an avid field hockey player since elementary school and a player for both her Staples High School team and her club team and now helping with the Westport PAL program, decided that she wanted to bring her love of the sport and share it with others who might not have the ability to participate and play safely. Since many of participants have neurodevelopmental disabilities, Zoe wanted to create an inclusive activity by removing any barriers that would preclude participation.
As Zoe says, “Field hockey has always been important to me. In fact, it’s been a big part of my life for many years. In addition to learning the technical skills of the game, field hockey has been a sport where I’ve bonded with teammates, learned sportsmanship, experienced the joy of winning, and, most importantly, how to support one another when we don’t win. I wanted to bring this feeling of inclusion, team building and support to these young adults.”
Zoe researched and found floor hockey equipment that had foam coverings over the sticks and had a soft ball that could be used to minimize the risk of injury. In order to provide enough equipment for all of the approximately 30 special needs participants to play, Zoe created a GoFundMe and reached out to her community, family and friends to support her program. She raised $1,375 to purchase the equipment which she then donated to Healing Hearts along with the remaining funds leftover.
Healing Hearts which is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization located in Stamford, Connecticut, provides social and recreational programs for children, teens, and young adults with special needs in Fairfield County to foster friendships, promote fitness, and support independence. Every Friday Healing Hearts offers their “Friday Night Club Night” which many of their long-term participants look forward to all week. Zoe was able to provide this enriching activity to Healing Hearts and make it part of their regular programming.
As Zoe said, “Through a safe floor hockey program, my goal (no pun intended) is to share my love of the sport and teach the participants at Healing Hearts some of the basic skills of floor hockey. I want everyone to play and feel included.”