As for many, the COVID-19 pandemic dampened the hopes of the Space Coast Blast hockey team – hopes not for championships or even recruiting, but financial solvency.

"Coming out of COVID, there was a lot of concern that the program was going to struggle,” said Shawn Eising, a Space Coast Blast coach and father.

In October, Health First announced a round of community Wellness Grants, and Space Coast Blast made the roster, as it were.

"Our team is funded completely through volunteerism and community support," Eising told us. "Something like this [gives us] hope that we’re going to survive and continue to be able to offer individuals with disabilities an opportunity to play competitive sports.”

On December 23, WESH 2 News aired a profile of Space Coast Blast and its team captain, Beau Corbett.

 

“Getting in that sled for the first time, I just did not know what to expect,” Corbett said. “I think 10 minutes in, all that disappeared and I did not even remember that I was nervous. All you have to do is try it once. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. It’s not for you. But if you do like it, it can change your life. You never know until you try it," Corbett told WESH 2's Scott Heidler.

Two local sled hockey players were invited by the U.S. National Team to play in the Czech Republic, Corbett said in October, and now he is eyeing an opportunity to play in the Paralympics.

“I mean, before all this, I was dealing with disabilities and thought, ‘Woe is me,’ and everything, but then I meet all these other people with disabilities who are dealing with them fine, and I thought, ‘Why can’t that be me?’”

WATCH WESH 2 News' broadcast above. READ WESH 2 News' full report here.