Michigan FAR Flyers special hockey is dedicated to the development and enjoyment of hockey for developmentally or physically challenged athletes. Michigan FAR Flyers team is made up of players and volunteers from various counties in the south east areas of Michigan. We are a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization consisting of parents, volunteers, sponsors and of course, our exceptional athletes.
The Michigan FAR Flyers team of special athletes is part of USA Hockey’s American Special Hockey Association (ASHA) program and FAR Conservatory. Both are 501 (c) (3) non-profit organizations.
We joined ASHA in 2002 and have participated at the Special Hockey International (SHI) Tournaments ever since.
We have sent two teams each year to the SHI and have also participated in the USA Hockey National Disabled Festival five out of the last six years. This year we sent one team to the Festival in Maryland and two teams to the SHI in Orangeville, ON.
Our team is part of the FAR Conservatory of Therapeutic and Performing Arts Ice Skating program, which has been encouraging special athletes in ice hockey and figure skating for over 25 years.
Our coaches and volunteers work closely with the athletes to keep both practice and competitive efforts running smoothly. We like to make it as fun as possible for the players. We schedule about 10 games during the season at other rinks and invite the same number of teams to play us at our home arena.
Most Saturdays we break the group into two squads for our weekly scrimmage games. We usually work on skills the first 30 minutes than use the remaining hour for the scrimmage game. We keep a game-like atmosphere by keeping score, using coaches as refs, and keep the teams balanced by matching lines.
Our coed Varsity team practices and plays every Saturday during our season September thru March at the Viking Arena in Hazel Park at 4-5:30 pm. All levels of skill are accepted and encouraged.
We held our sixth annual fundraiser Sunday June 13 for the Michigan FAR Flyers Special Hockey Team which will help cover the cost to prepare for and play in the National and International Tournaments.
Thanks to all that made it a worthwhile event and helped us exceed our goal again this year.
If you would like to join our team (see FAR section below), play our team, or have any other questions, feel free to call or e-mail me.
Ben Niemiec
ASHA Mid America District Representative
Head Coach
Michigan FAR Flyers
248-890-7332
benniemiec@aol.com
This is the web site of the Non-Profit that Michigan FAR Flyers are part of. The new Catalog of Classes will be in the mail by the second week of August.
Their new web site should be published this month.
See the page below to retrieve the required forms to sign up for the team.
Direct Links to Required FormsFAR Conservatory of Therapeutic and Performing Arts
1669 West Maple Road
Birmingham, MI 48009
Mike Hickey is President of American Special Hockey Association (ASHA). His email address is: mhickey@specialhockey.org
The Michigan FAR Flyers joined ASHA in 2002 as one of their USA Hockey Disabled teams. We helped host the first ever USA Hockey National Disabled Festival in 2005. It was held in Fraser, Michigan. We have attended 5 of the last 6 Festivals since then. In April we sent a team down to the 2010 Festival in Laurel, Maryland that went 2-1.
The 2011 USA Hockey Natonal Disabled Festival will be held in Blaine, Minnesota. The dates are April 1-3, 2011.
This is the Special Hockey International (SHI)Web Site. It has information about the special hockey teams that are members from Canada, USA and England.
The Michigan FAR Flyers joined USA Hockey and SHI in 2002. We attended our first SHI Tournament that year in Whitby, Ontario. We have traveled to a SHI tournament each year since. At the 2010 SHI Tournament in Orangeville, Ontario our two teams came back with a combined record of 5-1 against six Canadian teams.
The 2011 SHI Tournament host team will be the Boston Bear Cubs of Marlboro, Massachusetts. The dates are April 28-30, 2011. The Boston Bear Cups' web site is www.masspecialhockey.org.
The 2012 SHI Tournament host team will be the Werewolves of London of London, England. The dates are April 16–20, 2012.
The 2013 SHI Tournament host team will be the Kitchener Ice Pirates of Kitchener, Ontario. The dates are April 11-13, 2013.
2010 SHI Tournament picture gallery by our team's photographer Mark Wiedelman.
Below are the web sites for USA Hockey and Michigan Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA). Carol Schwanger is the Director of Disabled Sports for Michigan Amateur Hockey Association and USA Hockey. Her Email address is: greatjaws1225@yahoo.com
All Michigan FAR Flyers players and coaches will be signed up for USA Hockey in September after they are officially registered with the team.
www.maha.orgBelow is the web site of another special hockey team here in Michigan - The MORC Stars.
www.morcstars.comThere are two other teams starting up in Michigan in the near future in Grand Rapids and in Ann Arbor. Their information will be added to this site when it is available.
Below is the web site for Special Olympics Michigan.
www.somi.orgFor additional information concerning Special Olympics in Oakland County contact Area Director Karen Kelpin at 248-370-0922.
Proceeds from this event benefitted Special Olympics Michigan.
Below is the web site for the Great Michigan Race.
www.greatmichiganrace.comThe Michigan FAR Flyers' game was the warm-up for the big event of the evening when the Detroit Red Wings Alumni team took on a hard working hockey team.
A number of the Red Wings Alumni players skated with out team during the first intermission. See the picture galleries below from this event.
Picture gallery by our team's photographer Mark Wiedelman.
dipllc.zenfolio.com/p182059293Picture gallery by Distictive Image Photography - Troy Michigan.
Below is the web site for Laptop Publishing. The link below will take you to a site that allows you to watch a DVD created by my brother Karl about our team's search for a game. It's really a good look at the history and future of Special Needs Hockey in the USA and Canada. He followed our team to a number of events over an eight year period and helps capture the efforts and enjoyment of players, parents, volunteers, coaches, and friends participating in one of the best sports in the world - Ice Hockey.
www.laptoppublishing.com