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Wounded warriors thrive on Colorado sled hockey team

sled hockey

MONUMENT, Colo. (KRDO) - The road ahead for many veterans can be uncertain and stressful after their service, but there is a local team whose entire purpose is aimed at keeping wounded warriors motivated, competitive, and serving in a whole new way.

Hockey is a sport of agility and speed. But instead of skates, this team has sleds, and it's just as aggressive.

The Warrior Avalanche team is made up of Paralympians and wounded veterans. They travel for tournaments and practice out of Monument.

"When you come out here, these guys don't let you make any excuses at all," says Jerry Devaul.

"We get to play and everyone gets a little more confidence in themselves again and then goes back out into the world," says Erik Tasto.

After serving three tours, Devaul lost both his legs in a coal mining accident.

"It was traumatic, but things that you see when you are in Iraq or Afghanistan kind of prepared me for the time when my legs were gone," says Devaul.

After a rocky few years, Devaul picked up sled hockey. And he says the sport saved his life.

"How do I get there, I've gotta change everything I'm doing," says Devaul. "Right now I'm a zombie with the prescription pills and just going through the motions of life and not even really living life and after that it was like oh man there it is, that is my new glory right there, I just found the coolest sport ever."

As for Erik Tasto, this sport has given him a new sense of purpose after he was paralyzed.

"[Spend] at least a year [thinking] of all the things you can't do and trying to figure out why it happened and getting beyond, that is what's important," says Tasto. "Because you can sit there and dwell on it forever and it takes getting out, then seeing somebody else do something and then eventually doing everything else on your own because it's all easy you just have to try."

These men are resilient, to say the least. And after sacrificing so much for our country, playing on this team is a way for Jerry and Erik to serve in a new way.

Motivating one another and the rest of the Warrior Avs to be positive and hopeful even when they leave the ice.

"It's almost like being in the military," says Devaul. "You are fighting for one common goal with winning championships and stuff, but during that you have to build yourself to be a better athlete and a better person, better on the ice and off the ice."

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Brynn Carman

Brynn is an anchor on Good Morning Colorado. Learn more about Brynn here.

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