ROYAL OAK — It was hard to tell who was having more fun.

It was either the special needs students, who rarely get out to a hockey rink, or the high school hockey players, who spend several hours per week on the ice.

But there they were at John Lindell Arena in Royal Oak on a recent Friday morning. The students, from Ferndale Public Schools, met up with hockey players from the Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart and Marian High Schools co-operative girls’ team, coached by Amy Shepler and Moriah Mumford, and the M-1 Griffins, a co-operative boys’ team from Royal Oak, Berkley and Clawson High Schools, coached by Paul Fox.

The objectives were simple. For the students, it was to experience what it was like to glide across the ice. For the hockey players, it was to pass along their God-given gifts to others.

The final outcome? Lots of fun for all.

“The smiles that they’re putting on these kids’ faces — just by putting them in a chair and pushing them around the ice, giving them that freedom and letting them experience how it feels to be flying around the ice, that cold air in their faces — I think they love passing on the love of being here on the ice,” Shepler said.

She, along with her mother, Karen, from the Ferndale Public School district, helped organize the event as a service day project for her players. It fell right in line with the objectives of Sacred Heart, where students there partake in service projects on a frequent basis — in an effort to embody the Catholic High School League’s motto of “More than good sports; good people.”

“I just kind of learned about the whole service day thing. It’s a wonderful thing and actually, I presented this activity before I knew about that,” Shepler said. “Knowing that the schools are doing that is just a wonderful thing — just getting our girls out there in everyday life and activities and situations, having them be a part of that and learning, it’s just a life lesson. It’s not something you can really learn in a classroom.”

Despite the chilly ice surface, it didn’t take long for her players to warm up to the idea.

“My coach told us that we had this opportunity, and I was really excited. It sounded like it would be fun,” said Arianna Breyer, a junior defenseman. “It’s been really fun. I’m really enjoying it. It’s a lot of work, actually. It’s a good workout.”

Otherwise, Breyer said, most of her service day experience has come at libraries, doing crafts with children and shelving books.

“I’ve enjoyed it. It’s really fun, the kids are awesome,” added Caroline Plagens, one of Breyer’s classmates and blue-line teammates. “It’s enjoyable; I skated with the kids, talked with them, asked them how their day’s going. I hope to take away that I’ve made a kid’s day, made them happy.”

“Honestly, they’re so sweet,” said Nicole Matti, a first-year hockey player who attends Marian. “It’s like a different experience when you push around these kids. You can tell they’re having so much fun.”

About 25 Ferndale students, ranging in age from junior high to post-high school, took part in the day on the ice.

“We have a giant range, everything from Down syndrome to moderate cognitive impairment, autism, cerebral palsy, we have non-verbal students. We have students who use an iPad to communicate,” teacher Katherine Gearns said. “There’s a wide variety out here, but a lot of smiles — that’s the one commonality.”

While it might have been a fun and different outing for the hockey players, it was actually a valuable life experience for the Ferndale students. 

“We try to do what’s called community-based instruction, so we go out in the community every other week, and we go to various field trip sessions — we go to Meijer, we go to a movie, and we teach the kids how to participate in the community,” Gearns said. “How do get your skates? How do you get someone to help you skate? How do you attend a movie? How do you pay for your ticket? Those are all functional skills that the students need to be able to participate in the community.”

Still, nobody downplayed the fun aspect, either.

“Everyone seems to be having fun,” she said. “I think the high school players are enjoying it just as much as the kids are. It’s great to see so many volunteers coming out to help our kids have a good time. It’s really special for them, and to this caliber, I don’t think any of them have had this much fun.”

“I just think it’s a wonderful, wonderful event,” coach Shepler said. “It’s giving these kids an opportunity that they wouldn’t normally get, being out here on the ice and experiencing it.”