The determination, effort and sense of teamwork from Special Olympics Airdrie (SOA) athlete Malaki Fischer’s has garnered praise from his coach and the organization. Despite joining SOA’s floor hockey program just two months ago, Fischer impressed his coach, Dale Foreman, and is being honoured with SOA’s Athlete of the Month award for March. Fischer was presented with a certificate March 12 during the program’s weekly floor hockey practice at École Airdrie Middle School. The C.W. Perry Elementary School student said he is honoured to receive SOA’s monthly recognition. Since joining SOA, Fischer, 12, has been a regular attendee of the program’s weekly floor hockey sessions. “It’s really great,” he said, adding he enjoys the competitive atmosphere the sport provides. Fischer’s mother, Rebecca, said she was thrilled to learn her son had been named SOA’s Athlete of the Month. “He’s always wanted to be a part of hockey, and he just thrives on high-energy sports,” she said. “This is something that gets him out, gets him active and he likes to be a part of a team.” Foreman, SOA’s head floor hockey coach, said Fischer has earned the Athlete of the Month recognition through his willingness to work hard and be a team player. “He joined us back in January and he’s been fitting right in, participating with all the crew,” he said. “He’s very thoughtful with all the players, he passes very well and he’s really developing his skills strongly.” With SOA’s winter sports season coming to a close, Foreman said he hopes to see the athlete play other sports in the spring and summer. Fischer said his other favourite sport is basketball, and added joining SOA was “a great idea.” Rebecca said floor hockey has been a learning curve for her son, but is something he’s come to highly value and doesn’t want to miss out on. While he had to miss a few practices early on because he forgot to bring his equipment, she said he’s managed to improve his memory to make sure he gets to play every week. “So far, [SOA] has been a fantastic organization to work with, and it fits our family perfectly, with what his needs are and what our needs are,” she said. “They’ve been awesome.”
