Editor’s note: The following story was submitted for the Shaler Area Student Section, a collaboration between TribLive and The Oracle, the student newspaper of Shaler Area High School.
Go to a concert and just about every artist has opening acts that are trying to grow their name. The same thing can be said for the Pittsburgh Warriors Hockey Club.
The Pittsburgh Warriors is part of USA Warriors Ice Hockey, a nonprofit hockey organization committed to improving the physical, emotional and social well-being of wounded, injured and disabled U.S. military veterans through the sport of hockey.
The organization was founded in 2008 in Washington, D.C., by a small group of veterans who believed hockey could be more than a game. From those early practices in D.C., USA Warriors grew into a formally organized organization dedicated to serving veterans with the motto of healing through hockey.
The Pittsburgh Warriors played a showcase game Jan. 23 at Robert Morris University’s Clearview Arena. The Warriors were the opening act for the RMU Hockey team before the Colonials game against Holy Cross. The Warriors team also was recognized during the first intermission of the RMU game.
One of its members is Shaler Area High School teacher Adam Rosenwald, who served four years in the Army as an Airborne soldier.
“The Airborne motto is ‘All the Way.’ You train with a higher set of standards, live it and prepare to die by it,” Rosenwald said. “After my four years of service, I learned you can leave the Airborne, however, being Airborne never leaves you.”
“I found hockey by making a conscious decision to pick up the phone one day and ask someone for help. It took a decade-plus after getting home. The decision to pick up the phone and say, ‘I don’t like the way I feel, I don’t want to feel the way I feel anymore,’ led to counseling and therapy. It was that decision that led to a year later that this is a resource — and I had no ice hockey experience,” Rosenwald said.
The game of hockey serves as a therapeutic way for veterans to come together and play regardless of their knowledge of the sport. Through weekly practices, each player will gain experience so they feel ready to pick up the stick and score some goals.
“The second I stepped on the ice, I had no thoughts. Once I got off, I realized my mind has never felt so clear,” Rosenwald said.
The team consists of those new to the sport as well as longtime players. Everyone welcomes one another. The brotherhood bond already is established since everyone has one thing in common: the military.
“We all have the same similarities with our military experience and already have a bond as soon as we meet each other,” said Zachary Tyler Raymond, known as “The ZTR”, a five-time Defender’s Cup Champion.
But even with similarities, everyone has his or her own story. Every player had to readjust to civilian life in their own way and live with the unforgettable. Everyone readjusted in their own way, whether that was getting used to everyday food, learning a new daily routine or how to interact with people.
“When you’re in the military, you worry about staying alive. When you come home, you have to worry about bills, stresses, kids, everything,” Rob Hardin said.
Joining the organization wasn’t just for the love of the game, it was the biggest life-saver for many of the veterans.
The most recent data from Department of Veterans Affairs shows the average number of daily veteran suicides was 17.5 in 2023.
“Hockey has been a life-saver. In October, I was in the depths of suicidal depression. At the time, I had a gun in my house. I called a friend on the team and asked them to come get it,” Larissa Lichty said. “He came out that night and took that gun off of me. I was already in the process of getting help from the doctors, but just having somebody who cared was huge and pretty much life-saving. Hockey has kept me going.”
The Warriors are more than veterans coming together to play hockey, they are a family. They are each other’s biggest supporters. There is more to the game than keeping the players busy, and it is among many of their reasons to keep going.
“I had a lung transplant so it was a good way to stay healthy and stay in shape,” Broc Kennedy said.
The Pittsburgh Warriors are looking to help any and all veterans.
The general criteria is usually an honorable discharge and a service-connected disability. All equipment is donated, making hockey an affordable, accessible way for veterans of all ages to play.
Any veteran interested in joining is encouraged to reach out to a current player via social media, attend a Warriors event, visit online at pghwarriorhockey.org or email support@pghwarriorhockey.org.
“It’s not the growth of the program, it’s the growth of connections,” Rosenwald said.