EXETER, N.H. — The players on the New England Warriors sled hockey team have tenacity. Mahlia Schneck is one of their newest players, but what she lacks in experience she makes up for in determination.
Schneck is one of the smallest players on the team, but she's also the youngest at 16-years-old. Most of her teammates are in their 30s and missing limbs because of experiences during their time in the military. Schneck might be young, but the veterans on her team have accepted her as one of their own.
"I've learned that I have a really good athletic ability," said Schneck. "I have a good core and just like I'm good at working with a team rather than by myself."
The Freeport High School student was adopted by her parents from China. They aren't sure exactly why it is that their daughter is missing both of her legs below the knee. They believe she might have been in a fire accident because of burn scars on her knees.
Schneck's skills have improved immensely since she started playing sled hockey three years ago. She is the youngest player that New England Warriors coach, Bob Jacques, has ever worked with.
"Three years ago, when she was a lot younger she still held her own," said Jacques. "She had the spunk and the attitude and I think it impressed all of them and made them like her even more because they'd give her crap and she'd give it right back."
The small and mighty Schneck has played several sports that require her to focus on herself, such as running track. Sled hockey is her first team sport. It's where she's learned what it's like to play as a unit. More important to her than any assist, goal, or win.
"It's not like about if we get the scoreboard all the way up. It's about how we play," said Schneck. "We play as a team, we don't just play individually."
The New England Warriors is a sled hockey program which is a chapter of the USA Warriors. It consists of wounded, ill and injured veterans and supporters.