“A different ability”: Tyvon Disbrowe’s hockey journey – Winnipeg | 24CA News
Tyvon Disbrowe spent the weekend competing within the Manito Ahbee Cup, a hockey match a part of the bigger Manito Ahbee competition in Winnipeg. Next weekend, he’s off to a ball hockey match. And the following weekend is booked, too.
The 17-year-old has been on the ice most of his life. He grew up in Berens River First Nation, a group on the east aspect of Lake Winnipeg, a 370 km drive from Winnipeg. His mom Sara-Jo Disbrowe remembers him as a younger boy skating on the pond close to their house as quickly because it froze, ready impatiently for the native rink to open within the winter.
“He’s played lots of different sports,” Sara-Jo mentioned.”[Hockey is] the one which caught.”
Tyvon’s ardour for the game got here from household.
“I grew up around hockey, with all my cousins and uncles,” he mentioned.
“He’s always included with his cousins, and that’s what makes it really great,” Sara-Jo mentioned. “They all want to make him part of the team, and they know he can do just as good as they can.”
Tyvon was born with a limb distinction on his proper arm. It ends simply after his elbow. He realized how one can maintain a hockey stick at age six with none extra gear. Though he has an attachment for his arm, he prefers to not use it for hockey.
“[It’s] pretty much just normal now,” he mentioned. “But it was a challenge when I first started.”
Throughout his life, Tyvon’s dad and mom have inspired him to maintain attempting when issues had been troublesome.
“He doesn’t use the word ‘I give up’ or “I quit,’” Sara-Jo mentioned. “That’s one of the things we love best about him, is his attitude for always wanting to try new things.”
Berens River solely affords as much as grade 9, so Tyvon and his household got here to Winnipeg to pursue his schooling. There, he acquired to play hockey extra usually — in health club class at highschool, and with the Selkirk Fishermen. He and his cousins have additionally labored to enter ice and ball hockey tournaments, fundraising to cowl the registration charges.
The Disbrowes name themselves a “hockey family.” A poster-sized picture hangs of their front room, displaying Tyvon and his two cousins stand searching at a rink, their final names emblazoned on the backs of their hockey jerseys.
It’s taking part in with household that Tyvon loves most.
“Just playing with my cousins,” he mentioned. “That’s probably the best memory.”
His subsequent transfer, he says, is attempting out for a AA workforce. He additionally hopes to play for his highschool’s workforce within the fall.
“Don’t think of it as a disability, think of it as a different ability,” he mentioned. “That’s what my mom and dad would always tell me when I would try to give up on things.”
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
