Coyotes donate gear, custom jerseys to special needs hockey program

The Arizona Coyotes donated custom uniforms and hockey gear to a Phoenix-based special needs hockey team, the One Step Bobcats.

BY CHARACTER COUNTS

Dec 14, 2016, 6:00 PM

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The OneStep Bobcats Special Needs hockey team thought they were coming out for an arena tour.

But we had something better in mind. pic.twitter.com/Cpxl6H2UZj

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) December 14, 2016

It’s the season of giving, and the Arizona Coyotes are giving back to the first special needs hockey team in the state.

The Coyotes invited the One Step Bobcats to their home in what the Bobcat players thought would be an arena tour. But the Coyotes’ guests got much more than expected.

Arizona’s locker room was adorned with custom sets of Coyotes jerseys with the players’ names on the back, and the Coyotes then opened up the Gila River Arena ice for the players to test out their new gear. The donated sticks and pads should help the Bobcats’ organization continue to provide an outlet for special needs hockey players in the Valley.

“I hope (hockey) gives them the confidence to take that into society and live more independently and be taken seriously,” the team’s head coach, Jared Woosley, said.

Learn more about the American Special Hockey Association’s team from Phoenix here.