It's summertime at Hertz Arena -- a hockey stick hits a puck with a satisfying smack that echoes through the air, Calypso music streams from overhead speakers, food vendors serve up pizza, burgers, fries and drinks -- and hockey camp is in full swing.
But this is not just any hockey camp. Type 1 Timer Youth Hockey Camp is the only camp of its kind in the country. Founded three years ago by Chicago residents with deep connections to Southwest Florida, Megan and Geoff Hoffmann, whose oldest son, Henry, has Type 1 diabetes, the nonprofit camp is specifically for children with hockey skills of all levels who have Type 1 diabetes and their families.
Geoff Hoffmann is co-CEO of the Hoffmann Family of Companies, a multi-generational family-owned company that owns many local businesses, including Hertz Arena, the Florida Everblades, Naples Transportation & Tours, the Naples Princess and the Florida Weekly newspaper.
For the Hoffmann's and many families attending the camp, there were more questions than answers when they first found out about their child's Type 1 diabetes.
"Our son, Henry, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes eight years ago," Geoff Hoffmann said. "He was 7 years old. He's a big athlete, a really big hockey player. And one of his first questions was, 'Can I still play hockey?' And we said, 'Absolutely.' The hockey team embraced us and embraced him. We didn't have a lot of experience with Type 1 diabetes. You know, we've always just felt the special connection to hockey here. Professionally, we've gotten really involved in Southwest Florida as a couple. So, really, even though hockey brings us together, what's really the bond is Type 1 diabetes."
Diabetes is a chronic condition with no known cause in which the pancreas does not produce enough -- or any -- insulin, a hormone responsible for allowing sugar to enter cells and produce energy.
Many things affect blood sugar, such as "stress, food, dehydration and activity levels," not just what a person eats, Megan Hoffmann said.
"It's an autoimmune disease," Megan Hoffmann said. "(Henry) didn't do anything wrong. It's just his body turns on itself. It's like you're walking a tightrope, and you want to make sure that you're not too high or not too low. But he's never stopped, and we've never let that, or anything, prevent him from doing what he loves most."
Geoff Hoffmann explained that Type 1 Timer Youth Hockey Camp got its name from combining Type 1 with a hockey term -- a "one-timer" in hockey refers to when a player receives a pass from another player and immediately makes a slapshot, which requires precision and perfect timing from both players.
During the recent four-day camp, the Hertz Arena recreational facilities in Estero were home to elite hockey coaches, professional hockey athletes with Type 1 diabetes, sports psychologists, endocrinologists and nutritionists, as well as children and families who came together to share their love of hockey and learn more about living with Type 1 diabetes.
"I'm proud of the fact that we bring all these kids together from all over North America that connect over having Type 1," Megan Hoffmann added. "They have a common love for hockey. I feel like we've created a community of not just the kids but the families. The parents are hanging out, and we're all learning from each other. You see it in the rink, but you also see it in the evenings at our events that we're doing and with all the kids with their technology devices that help with diabetes management. You know, they're good buddies on and off the ice.
The hockey team has kids from all stages, with some living with Type 1 since they were infants to others diagnosed in the past six weeks, Megan Hoffmann said.
"We're all on different journeys with this and the kids are on different journeys," Megan Hoffmann said. "We had a mom from Boca Raton here. Her son was diagnosed on Father's Day this year, and she heard about our camp through a Google search. She reached out, and we said, 'Yes. Come. This will be the best thing for your son -- to meet other kids, do what he's doing every day and see that there is life with Type 1 diabetes. Come and join this community and really be a part of it. It will only help him and yourself.'"
The Hoffmanns are grateful for the welcome they and the campers' families received from the local community. Everyone from current players to former is coming out to help the kids and "Southwest Florida has been incredibly welcoming and accommodating," Geoff Hoffmann said.
"I can't imagine better partners," Geoff Hoffmann said. "Everyone's doing this to give back to the community...We have Kevin Delaney coming in from Chicago. He's the Blackhawks' skills and skating coach. Luke Kunin, a professional hockey player with Type 1 is donating his time. We had Gavin Brindley come in -- he grew up in the Everblades' program program and plays for Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL. He was on the ice yesterday. And everyone's doing this because they feel compelled. There's no financial reward. It's just an amazing collection of people who have given so much time and effort to create a special experience for these kids."
Jump on board
Kunin plays professional hockey for the San Jose Sharks and previously played in the NHL for the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators. As an athlete and Type 1 diabetic, he made the perfect mentor and role model for the aspiring hockey players at camp. Kunin traveled to Florida with his wife, Sophia, who played in the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association and for the Professional Women's Hockey League in Minnesota.
"I've had a really good relationship with the Hoffman family for a few years now, and they started this great camp," Luke Kunin said. "It's something that we wanted to partner with and jump on board and help in any way we could -- just come and talk with the kids and the families and jump on the ice with them. It's our second year here, and we really enjoy it."
A special experience for Luke Kunin was sharing what he's learned about balancing diabetes with the sport from such a young age.
"It's definitely something that you carry with you every day," he said. "I wasn't going to let it stop me from playing in the NHL and doing what I wanted to do. So, that's kind of the message I try to share (with) them. I just look at it as it could be a lot worse, and we're all very lucky to still be able to play. You've just got to take care of yourself and be on top of your sugars, taking your insulin and just all the day-to-day.
"Type 1 diabetes and hockey are both very big parts of my life, so I'm passionate about both, and seeing the kids do both -- it definitely puts a smile on our faces, and we're happy to be a part of it," Luke Kunin added. "I think what the Hoffmann family has done with this camp and the people they bring in is pretty special to see."
'A community I didn't know we wanted'
Katie and Kevin Boyce came to Naples with their daughter, Emily, from Franklin, Mass., to attend the camp for the first time. Katie Boyce learned about the Type 1 Timer Youth Hockey Camp from an ad in a hockey magazine.
"Our daughter, Emily, she's now 10," Katie Boyce said. "She was diagnosed in December -- I'll never forget this date -- Dec. 28, 2022. So, for a little over a year and a half now, she's had diabetes."
Kevin Boyce explained that Emily's love for hockey started one night when her family was watching the NHL All- Star Game. Her interest was sparked as she watched Kendall Coyne, captain of the PWHL Minnesota hockey team, beat the NHL players in a speed skating competition. The next day, the family went to the town rink; the rest is history.
Kids see these advocates, such as Luke Kunin, for the game and Type 1 that inspire them, Kevin Boyce added.
Being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes affects a child's entire family, and emotions overflowed as the Boyces explained the profound impact the camp had on them in just a few short days.
After Emily had been on the ice for some time, Katie Boyce stood in silence and awe with tears in her eyes, grateful for the new group their family discovered.
"It's like a community I didn't know we wanted to be a part of or needed because we're very independent," Katie Boyce said. "Emily's very independent. She's the only child in her school with it."
Katie Boyce explained how she realized Emily "hit it off with girls the first night during the meet-and-greet." She watched as her daughter plucked up the courage to introduce herself to a new group of girls. In no time, the girls were eating lunch together."
"I know they're going to be in touch," Katie Boyce said. "I know she's going to have a hard time leaving once the program's over because it's amazing how quickly they kind of bonded."
While the kids learned about hockey from the pros, the parents learned about managing Type 1 diabetes from medical experts and gained insight from other parents and professionals about what situations to anticipate and how to handle circumstances in their children's lives that they hadn't encountered yet.
"This program has ... reinvigorated me to make sure I'm understanding and learning more," Katie Boyce said. "We've been going to the classes here. There are just so many things -- like for the future -- the right language to use or the way to frame our questions to her to try to get her to understand. Even just something simple as when she gets older, and kids want to go and drink."
Everyone has their own stories and questions that are relatable, Kevin Boyce added. Hearing what others have to say, "just makes everything seem simpler."
The Boyce family was impressed by the camp's organization and itinerary, mentioning that it was "so nice, well-rounded and well-run" with all the daytime and nighttime activities.
"Last night, we went out on the Naples Princess and had a dinner cruise," Katie Boyce said, beaming.
"I'm glad that we're kind of in at the beginning, and we're hoping our daughter can grow with the program because she's only 10," Katie Boyce said. "We'll come here for another handful of years or something like that. Whatever she wants, we'll make it happen. She wants to come back every year. I love it."
'Everyone's like me'
Volunteer Jacqueline Brown has had Type 1 diabetes for 30 years. Her husband told her about the camp, and she couldn't wait to get involved.
"I feel almost like a little bit of a chaos creator," Brown said.
Brown explained how she was running around restocking snacks, putting towels out, connecting with people and wrangling the kids.
At the camp, everyone played a game of guessing the blood sugar "to normalize whether it be low blood sugar or high blood sugar," Brown said, and the kids loved it.
"You are a normal kid," Brown said. "You have to do a little bit of extra work, but you can be a diabetic, you can play sports, you can do whatever you want. Don't let it stop you from anything."
Many campers wore glucose-monitoring devices called Dexcoms that alerted them when their glucose levels reached certain markers.
"It's just so incredible, seeing all these kids. I've heard multiple times, 'Everyone's like me ... wearing a Dexcom'. All the Dexcoms beep, and everyone's like, 'You? Is it me? Who is it?' Even being an adult, being around this community of diabetics is awesome. On top of it, seeing them on the ice, playing this badass sport -- it is so cool," Brown said.
Get geared up
The Type 1 Timer Youth Hockey Camp brought life-long connections and inspiration to families from all over North America, and the Hoffmann family promises to bring the camp back for years to come.
"Henry really inspires us, and I think a lot of these kids have that same impact on their family and their hockey teams," Geoff Hoffmann said.
Type I diabetes is relentless and 24/7, Geoff Hoffmann added. "There's no breaks from it," and it's tough to understand, but these kids make it look easy.
"You can't just not pay attention to it or else you can have some really consequential impacts," he continued. "These kids are all remarkable in that they don't complain about it. They inspire me. This camp gets me geared up for the next 364 days -- because these kids, they're real champs. They're champions."
Geoff Hoffmann concluded with a sweet story.
"We've got two age groups -- 7 to 11 and then 12 through 16," he said. "In the 7 to 11 group, one of the volunteer hockey players said, 'You know, sometimes, even at 20 years old, I feel alone. Does anybody else ever feel alone because they have this disease?' And then a voice spoke up and said, 'Yeah, I do all the time until I'm at camp.'"
Geoff Hoffmann said that, at that moment, he felt his mission had been accomplished. |