Salamone eyes gold at Paralympics

Life after sled hockey important for Salamone

by Ralph Schwarz
December 29, 2005

Alexi Salamone

While most Western New Yorkers have snow on their minds these days, Alexi Salamone is thinking about gold.

Paralympic gold to be precisely, as the 18-year-old Grand Island resident will compete as a member of the U.S. Sled Hockey team at the 2006 Paralympic Games in Torino, Italy, next March.

“Our mission is to win the gold medal,” he said. “The U.S. Sled Hockey team won the gold medal in 2002 in Salt Lake City, so we like to continue that legacy. And we know we can do it.”

Born Near Chernobyl

Salamone represents one of the up-and-coming players on the U.S. national team. Born in 1987 near Chernobyl, Ukraine, just 14 months after one of the greatest nuclear disasters ever recorded hit this area, he grew up with deformed legs, which had to be amputated by the time he was 4 years old. After spending the first six years of his life in an overflowing orphanage, he was adopted by Joseph and Susan Salamone of Grand Island and moved to the United States in 1993.

Wearing prostheses, the double-leg amputee eventually got his first taste of ice skating through the Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped in 1995. His strong work ethic earned him the Jessica Rose Thomas Award two years later. This annual S.A.B.A.H. award recognizes those skaters with physical challenges who best exemplify the qualities of courage and determination. In 1999, at age 13, Salamone tried sled hockey for the first time.

“I got into sled hockey through a friend back when I graduated from elementary school,” he said. “But it was not a big priority for me. At that time, I was still wearing my prostheses while playing on a sled, so I wasn’t really fast.”

Instead, Salamone took up wrestling. Competing without his prostheses, he excelled for the Grand Island Vikings Wrestling team from 2001 to 2003. As a freshman, he won his first high school wrestling tournament in the 96-pound class of the junior varsity division. But despite all of his wrestling success, he still showed an interest in sled hockey.

Making The Switch

“All through wrestling, I continued playing a lot of hockey, but only on certain weekends,” Salamone said. “But once I was influenced to take my prostheses off, I was much faster and more agile in the sled. And, therefore, I had more interest in the game.”

Salamone’s decision came after Joe Howard, a member of the U.S. Paralympics Sled Hockey team who watched the young forward compete on the Buffalo Freeze, convinced him to play without his prosthetic legs. Using a new sled specifically designed for players without prosthetic legs, Salamone’s sled hockey career took off in 2003. After being selected for the U.S. junior national squad in August 2003, he tried out to the senior team just one month later. Encouraged and coached by 2002 Paralympics sled hockey gold medalist Chris Manns, Salamone earned a berth on the U.S. senior team.

Being only 16, he was one of the youngest players to join the senior team, but the seasoned veterans welcomed him immediately.

“I was welcomed right from the start because of my disability,” Salamone said. “I’m a double-leg amputee. In the sport of sled hockey, a double-leg amputee has more potential of being a successful player from the aspect of speed. Without legs, we can turn quicker and go much faster because there is less weight on us.

“What also helped: I was really mature for a kid at 16. Therefore, I was nicely welcomed. I got introduced to the guys on the team, started laughing with them. And from there on, it was all open-hearted.”

Playing Abroad

As a member of the national senior sled hockey team, Salamone participated in his first international tournament in Germany in November 2003. The next year, he was named to the roster of the team competing in the sled hockey world championships in Sweden in that April. Playing left wing on the second line, he helped Team USA advance to the championship finals. In the end, the U.S. squad had to settle for second place after losing to Norway 2-1 in a hard-fought game. But despite the loss, the experience in the tournament helped Salamone to work on the mental aspect of the game, something he still considers his biggest challenge.

“Being just 16 and going to the world championships in Sweden, it was very tough for me to get focused and do what I had to do,” he said. “I was always thinking about if we make it to the championship game, like a really young kid. Eventually, I learned just to think about each day, each game at a time. But I would say, even today, that’s the challenge I have to face once in a while.”

Regarding the physical aspect of the game, Salamone keeps himself in top shape. Since sled hockey players use two shortened hockey sticks with a blade on one end and a pick on the other end to move across the ice much like a cross-country skier, good upper body strength remains important. Having a background in wrestling certainly helps here.

“As far as physical strength and endurance, I developed certain muscle groups that you need for sled hockey during wrestling,” Salamone said. “And coming from wrestling, it didn’t take me a very long time to get acclimated with the sled. I’d say the transition was relatively easy.”

Staying In Shape

When he is not with the rest of the team in training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., Salamone can be found skating at the Bud Bakewell Riverside Ice Rink or working out at M.O.G. Fitness on Grand Island.

“I’m not one of the people who stop completely when they away from the rink,” he said. “I still keep active, even when I have a break. I like to go to the gym a lot or ride my hand-cycle.”

The hand-cycle is a three-wheeled bike that is lowered to the ground. Instead of pedaling with their feet, riders have to use their arms to move forward.

“It’s really a good shoulder and back exercise as well as endurance,” Salamone said. “I like to go around a lot and try do at least 15 or 20 miles during the summer every other day to keep in shape. And it’s really fast. I probably top 20 mph, which is not bad for such a bike.”

Between now and the Paralympic games in Turino, training camps and exhibition games will dominate Salamone’s schedule.

“I’ll be gone twice a month for training and competition,” he said. “And I’ll do a lot of training at home, so that definitely fills up my schedule.”

Life Away From Hockey

A senior at Grand Island High School, Salamone also has to keep up with his schoolwork as he is expected to graduate by next spring.

“I go to school when I’m home,” he said. “On the international trips and in training camp, we have study hall sessions. Because there are about eight players on the team who are still going to school, our coaches set up those sessions for us. That also helps me to keep us with school work.”

Being a Paralympic hopeful also brought him some leeway with his teachers in regards to his homework assignments.

“I’m really happy this year, because my teachers are more noticeable and know more of what I’m doing,” he said. “This makes me feel good because they understand what I’m going through. Instead of pressing me to get stuff done, they are really supportive; so I’m really happy to have this group of teachers this year.”

Overcoming his own physical disabilities to excel in sled hockey at a relatively young age has made Salamone a role model for the sport. Being labeled the new star of the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey team, he welcomes these new responsibilities, in particular when meeting with children who are also leg amputees.

“Being a role model doesn’t rest hard on my shoulders,” he said. “I always liked to talk to smaller children who are just starting the sport or who don’t understand how to take their disability and how to keep on going with life. So I try to motivate, give some tips or encourage someone who may not think they can do it. I like to give them a hand or teach them a few things.”

Next Goals

Although Salamone feels excited about competing for the gold medal with the U.S. Sled Hockey team at the 2006 Paralympics, he admits that there is more in life than sled hockey.

“I would like to study drafting or architecture at a four-year college,” he said. “I think it’s a great field to get into. I also think that if I continue my career in sled hockey, I have to find a job that works around my schedule. So if I get my own business, I still can play sled hockey and travel as much as I like to.”

From a sled hockey perspective, competing in the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada, would be the next step for Salamone.

“My goal after Turino is to go to college and still keep being in shape for Vancouver in 2010,” he said. “I do believe that there is life after hockey – settle down, family, work, make a living. But you always can go back and do it again. I’m still young so I can still attend at least another two or three Paralympics.”

But for now, Salamone has set his mind on the 2006 Paralympics in Turino from where he would like to return with a gold medal.