Moapa Teen Plays For Golden Chariots

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

A wheelchair-bound local youth has spent the last several months learning, of all things, the sport of ice hockey. Since last April, Moapa teen Jesse Rubio has been playing for the Vegas Golden Chariots hockey team.

The Golden Chariots is a sled hockey team for kids with disabilities, sponsored and sanctioned by the Las Vegas Golden Knights NHL team.

In sled hockey, the players have custom-made sleds that they use to move around on the ice and play the game.

“The only official requirement to play sled hockey is that the players have an inability to play upright hockey,” explained Golden Chariots board member and parent Chad Smith in an interview with The Progress. “So it doesn’t matter what your disability is, we will take you.”

Thirteen-year-old Jesse Rubio, who lives in Moapa, has a rare condition called Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia. It is a skeletal condition which causes shortened trunk and limbs. It is often accompanied by severe spine curvature and other skeletal problems.

Jesse has experienced a tough couple of years. In August of 2020, he had a major surgery for a spinal fusion. Doctors used two rods and 23 screws to straighten out his spine. Over the long run, Jesse said it has helped him. But it was a long and difficult recovery.

“My spinal fusion did get me to a really low point where I just got really depressed,” Jesse said. “It was really hard for me and it took a long time to come back from it.”

But by early in 2021, Jesse was eager to do something that would allow him to function, play and be a kid. When a friend told him about the Golden Chariots team, he was curious.
“I wasn’t really sure of it because I don’t usually like to be very social sometimes,” Jesse said.
But then he attended one of the team’s practices to watch how it worked. He watched the other team members functioning in different ways on the ice and, pretty quickly, he was hooked.

“Of course, every kid on our team has different special need requirements,” explained Chad Smith. “And Jesse kind of hit a lot of different check-marks on that. But I’m telling you, the first time he actually came to practice and watched what some of these kids were doing, he was just all smiles! I mean, he just couldn’t wait to do it.”

It took several weeks to get Jesse fully equipped. Through a generous sponsorship from the Engelstad Foundation, the nonprofit organization behind the Golden Chariots is able to fund all of the equipment to outfit each player. So Jesse was specially fitted for a new sled as well as all of the other protective equipment, sticks and uniforms that are needed to play the sport.

“I remember that Jesse was just chomping at the bit, you know?” Smith said. “He was asking if his sled is here, if it is ready yet.”

Once the sled arrived, Smith said that they had to work with Jesse on how he would be able to hold the sticks. Because Jesse’s hands are very small, it was difficult for him to grip the standard hockey sticks. But that wasn’t anything new for the Golden Chariots team.

“In the special needs world we all kind of just roll with everything,” Smith said. “Every child is different and every child has their own equipment set-up. So we worked with Jesse and his family and got things going for him.”

They finally got Jesse out on the ice and started playing. “Every time that kid hits the ice, he is just smiling,” Smith said. “And his smile is just the most addictive smile!”

Little by little, Jesse has gotten used to the sport. He is not yet able to move himself on the ice. That is customarily done using specialized hockey sticks equipped with a spike that can be used to dig into the ice and propel the sled forward. Jesse is not yet able to grip the sticks that allow wthat kind of force.

But that is also no problem. Jesse has a partner in adult volunteer Frank Muscary, who skates behind him and pushes his sled forward during games and practices. That is called playing with a “pusher.”

As Jesse has gotten more familiar with the game, he (and his pusher) have also become more and more competitive. Jesse said that he recently had to spend time in the penalty box because he was going too fast on the ice during a game.

Smith chuckled at that.
“Yeah, the rules on the ice for pushers are that you can’t exceed the average speed on the ice,” he said. “So you try to find me a referee that can add up the top speed and the slowest speed and calculate what the average speed is while a game is going on. But hey, that’s alright. It is all in fun.”

Jesse said that being able to play hockey has been good for his outlook and his mood.
“I’ve actually been able to do something like the rest of everyone else,” he said. “I get to do the same things as normal people do, just in a little different way. So it is a good refresher for my mind and I actually get to play a sport.”

Practices for the team take place every Sunday afternoon at the City National Arena in Summerlin. That takes a good deal of commitment for both Jesse and his family.

“There is really something to be said for that family’s dedication,” Smith said of the Rubio family. “I know where they live way out there in Moapa. And they travel all the way in to City National Arena every week for a one hour practice. And they come out in force. I mean the whole family shows up to support him. It is a family thing for them. It is pretty great!”

Jesse’s mom Evelia Rubio said that all of these efforts are worth it for the sense of fulfillment that she sees in her son.

“Sometimes (Jesse) gets depressed because he is a teenager and usually kids his age are playing soccer or football or whatever, and he stays in a wheelchair,” she said. “But I am so happy that they have this program for my son. It makes him feel better because he has some exercise and distraction from those things. And he feels more comfortable with himself.”

Jesse’s father Maximo Rubio said that Jesse has been an example of patience and goodness for the whole family. “We named him after Jesus and he has definitely followed along well with that name,” Maximo said. “He has a lot of goodness and kindness in him.”

Smith said that the Golden Chariots team is always looking to recruit other special needs kids who might be interested in playing sled hockey. For more information about the program visit the team website at vegasgoldenchariots.org of go to the team’s Facebook page. Questions may also be directed by email to info@vegasgoldenchariots.org.