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Program Overview

Special Hockey of the Lehigh Valley [SHLV] is a recreational ice hockey program for children and young adults with Autism, Down syndrome, and other cognitive challenges. We’re run by a growing team of passionate volunteers who work to meet the unique needs of our players on and off the ice—in addition to teaching hockey, our program seeks to build confidence, foster friendships, and provide a supportive environment for all of our players and their families.
No prior hockey or skating experience is required to join—new players are provided with assistive equipment and work 1-on-1 with one of our many volunteer coaches until they are ready to skate on their own. Special Hockey adapts many of the rules found in traditional hockey to make the game safer and more enjoyable for participants. We don’t ever want cost to be the reason a child can’t play hockey, so SHLV is a low cost program—there have
been no registration or ice fees since we started and we have a substantial inventory of free equipment we loan to our players. For more information on anticipated participation costs or any other part of SHLV, please contact us.

 

SHLV is a program run and coached 100% by volunteers and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.  


SHLV is a proud affiliate of the American Special Hockey Association (ASHA)

Joe Guellnitz

Special Hockey of the Lehigh Valley

Phone: 484-524-3105

Equipment Managers Renee and Wess Bush

Phone: rbush098@aol.com