At the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games Steven Cash won a gold medal in sled hockey.
Steve Cash, sophomore, business major, wants everyone to know that, “the only disability in life is a bad attitude.” Steve Cash not only talks the talk and walks the walk; he also plays ice hockey sitting down.
Sled hockey is an adaptive sport in which players sit on a sled, a metal frame attached to two skate blades, and use two modified sticks not only to handle the puck but also to maneuver the sled.
Sled hockey is one of the most popular sports in the Paralympic Games. At the most recent games in Vancouver, the United States sled hockey team won the gold medal. Cash was the team’s goaltender and did not allow a single goal to be scored despite being shot on 33 times. Because of Steve Cash, the United States 2010 team was the first Paralympic hockey team to not allow a single goal to be scored on them during the entirety of the games.
After being born, Steve Cash was diagnosed with cancer in his leg and when he was three the leg was amputated. He started playing stand up hockey at age 10, following his two older brothers into the sport. His older brother James Cash had been a goalie and Steve Cash followed suit.
St. Louis sled hockey coach Mike Dowling found out Steve Cash had a prosthetic, and introduced him to sled hockey, at 15. After playing only six months of sled hockey for the St. Louis Sled Hockey Blues, Sponsored by the Disabled Athletic Sports Association and the Blues organization, Cash was recruited onto the national Paralympic team. He was with the team for the 2006 Torino games, though in a back up position playing only one period the whole tournament. His performance in the 2010 Vancouver games, in which he played 210 minutes, has led USA Hockey Magazine to call him “one of the top goaltenders in the world.”
“Steve has been a great representative for UMSL, for St. Louis, for Missouri and for the U.S.A.,” his brother, James Cash, said. “My brother is willing to meet any challenge and excel at it.” James played a year of club hockey for UM-St. Louis while he received his Master’s in Accounting in 2008.
After finishing college Steve Cash wants to continue to play sled hockey as well as spread his positive message of overcoming life’s challenges, whatever they may be.
“Every now and then I’ll go to elementary schools and talk to kids but I never really thought about pursuing a career in motivational speaking until recently,” Steve Cash said.
“I could make a living out of telling my life story.” Along with his business classes, Steve Cash is also taking a communications course this semester to learn more about public speaking.
Sled hockey has taken him to places like Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic and Japan in addition to places closer to home like Vancouver. He plans to compete in the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.
“I plan to keep playing as long as my body allows me and as long as I’m doing what I’m doing,” Steve Cash said.