The Minnesota State High School League Adapted Floor Hockey tournament took over Coon Rapids High School on Friday and Saturday. Dozens of people were seen in the stands cheering on the teams.

Coaches at the tournament say adaptive sports have been around since the 1980s but weren’t acknowledged by MSHSL until the 1990s. 

The sport is for students in grades 7-12 who have a disability. Every year, there are two team champions: the Cognitive Impairment (CI) division and the Physical Impairment (PI) division.

Schools came from across the state with those in attendance including Maple Grove, New Prague and Stillwater.

On Friday, defending CI champion The Blazing Cats, from Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville, defeated Mankato. Defending PI champion Brainerd won over Minneapolis South.

Maple Grove PI adapted floor hockey coach Jonah Pridey says adaptive sports not only provide kids with disabilities the opportunity to play sports but it also promotes overall health, quality of life and social life.

“Accomplishments are different for each kid. Some it’s just being a part of the team, that’s a really big accomplishment. Some it might be scoring the game-winning goal or, you know, getting a couple goals or getting a good pass,” said Pridey. 

“You can meet new people; you can be a good sport… and it’s just very, very fun,” added Ben Pfeifer, a Crimson adapted floor hockey player. 

For bracket information to check out who was crowned in this weekend’s event click here.