Twenty kids with disabilities laced up skates and glided across the ice at Kalamazoo's Wings Event Center on Sunday, taking part in the first-ever Miracle League on Ice session. For many of them, it was the first time they had ever stepped onto a rink.
The inaugural session welcomed 20 athletes onto the ice, according to MLive.com. Among them was Reese Achter, who skated on ice for the first time at the event, and Krystyna King, who said she was nervous because she had never been on the ice before. The new program expands Miracle League of Southwest Michigan's offerings with an introductory skating class. The nonprofit works to remove barriers to sports for children with mental and physical disabilities and previously offered baseball as its only sport.
Skating Skills Take Center Stage
Miracle League on Ice is designed as an introductory class that focuses primarily on the skill of skating, with participants using skate aids to navigate the ice, the outlet reports. The program introduces youth hockey sticks and pucks to those who feel ready for them, and it runs for six nonconsecutive weeks. Registration was still open at the time of publication, though the outlet notes only that the window remained open as of its report.
Community organization volunteers assisted athletes on the ice throughout the session, with the Kalamazoo Optimist Hockey Association and the Greater Kalamazoo Skating Association both volunteering time and coaches. Matt Kakabeeke, executive director of the Kalamazoo Optimist Hockey Association, personally helped Miracle League participants learn to skate and called it a great opportunity to serve an underserved population, per the same account.
A Community Effort on and off the Ice
Four teams from the South Central High School Hockey League pitched in as well: Mattawan, Portage Muskies, Kalamazoo Eagles and Kalamazoo United. Meijer sponsored the league and covered the ice fees at Wings Event Center, helping make the session possible. Jeanette Curry, executive director of Miracle League of Southwest Michigan, described the local support as a blessing.
Dave Cooper, who has played hockey at Wings Event Center for 20 years, was also part of the scene as many Miracle League participants experienced skating for the first time in their lives.
Part of a Broader Adaptive Skating Landscape
Miracle League on Ice is the second program of its kind in Michigan, the article notes. A separate initiative, run by Easterseals MORC Miracle League at Lakeland Arena in Waterford Township, offers adaptive skating and hockey to individuals with special abilities ages 5 and up. That organization's broader slate of adaptive recreation, described by the City of Southfield, has evolved to include bowling, hockey and skating skills, adaptive fitness, and social events. A 2024 announcement from Huron Valley Schools described a similar six-week format at Lakeland Arena, with weekly ice time, skate rental, a jersey, medal and certificate for participants.
Miracle League of Southwest Michigan's roots are in baseball, where it has long welcomed kids ages 5 to 19 to play regardless of their abilities, according to WWMT. Its Schoolcraft baseball field features a custom-designed, cushioned rubberized surface meant to help prevent injuries during play. With the addition of ice skating, the organization has expanded its offerings well beyond the diamond and onto the rink.
