{"id":1317636,"date":"2020-01-11T22:03:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-12T05:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=992524"},"modified":"2020-01-13T08:59:47","modified_gmt":"2020-01-13T15:59:47","slug":"sunday-profile-glenwoods-troy-benson-takes-gold-in-hockey-at-deaflympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/sunday-profile-glenwoods-troy-benson-takes-gold-in-hockey-at-deaflympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday profile: Glenwood\u2019s Troy Benson takes gold in hockey at Deaflympics"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Troy Benson helped Team USA win three medals in the Deaflympics, including the gold last December.<\/strong>
Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

In the rink, deaf hockey player Troy Benson can\u2019t hear the ref\u2019s whistle or the shouts from a coach. But that didn\u2019t stop him from helping team USA end a 20-year losing streak to Russia at the 2019 Deaflympic Games in December.<\/p>\n

Benson, 29, has loved hockey since he was a child. Growing up in Michigan, Benson\u2019s whole family played hockey.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was a hockey player and I got into it. Then, I realized I got really good at hockey, and I fell in love with it,\u201d Benson said.<\/p>\n

Throughout his youth, he played hockey for his school teams, despite having progressive hearing loss.<\/p>\n

Growing up, and growing deaf<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As an infant, Benson suffered from a hernia and had to be put on machines to oxygenate his blood.<\/p>\n

But the treatment also damaged his hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever they gave me helped me survive, but that\u2019s what affected my hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he grew, his hearing continued to deteriorate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember in high school I could hear OK, but as the years went by my ears got worse slowly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His hearing loss could be challenging. He remembers pushing to be at the front of the line so he could make out the coaches\u2019 instructions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was growing up playing in regular hockey teams for peewee sports and stuff like that, it was hard for me because not everybody understands what it\u2019s like not to hear, or sometimes I was the only (hearing impaired) one on the team and they didn\u2019t pay attention to me,\u201d Benson said.<\/p>\n

The whistle is also out of Benson\u2019s hearing range. <\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes you\u2019ll see me playing hockey, and when the whistle\u2019s blowing I\u2019ll still be skating and shooting, which is embarrassing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But the hardest part was during practice when a coach would blow the whistle and shout instructions from the sidelines. If Benson didn\u2019t catch the words, he would have to follow what his teammates were doing.<\/p>\n

That system must have worked, because Benson continued playing offense on regular hockey teams throughout his youth.<\/p>\n

Once Benson found the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association (AHIHA) hockey camps during high school, he realized what he was missing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat really changed my life because I was able to learn a lot more about hockey. They would give me accurate answers that I could understand, and I became a better hockey player,\u201d Benson said. <\/p>\n

Finding success<\/strong><\/h4>\n

After high school Benson attended a few years of community college, and even tried out for the NHL (he was cut in the second round). That\u2019s when he came to Glenwood Springs, where his eldest brother, Trace, lived and fell in love with the friendly people and gorgeous views.<\/p>\n

Benson first made it on the American team for the World Deaf Ice Hockey Championships in 2013, and even though Team USA didn\u2019t place, he was hooked.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Russia took the ice hockey gold and Canada the silver, leaving the USA with bronze at the Deaflympics that took place in Russia.<\/p>\n

Two years later, Benson helped his team win the gold at the 2017 World Deaf Ice Hockey Championships.<\/p>\n

Deaf means different things<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are treatments, like cochlear implants, that Benson could try, but he\u2019s also learned to adapt to his disability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just have to accept the fact that I have to deal with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The term deaf covers a broad range of hearing impairment.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody thinks when they hear a person say \u2018I\u2019m deaf,\u2019 they think they can\u2019t hear (anything),\u201d Benson said.<\/p>\n

Benson can hear certain mid-range frequencies, but high pitched or especially low voices are out of his hearing range.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople need to understand that being deaf is unique, everyone is different,\u201d Benson said.<\/p>\n

No limits on the ice, or off<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Tryouts for the USA teams happen in the summer, and Benson tries to keep his skills up in the off-season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardest part here is motivating myself. I have to go out on the ice and remind myself that I represent team USA,\u201d Benson said.<\/p>\n

When not playing competitively, he still gets out on the ice as often as possible for drop-in games and asks the other players to be extra aggressive so he can keep his skills tight.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring hockey season here, I always tell everybody, please try to get me, try to hack me, trip me, push me, whatever you got to do to take the puck away from me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His fellow hockey players confirm this.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get him a couple of times,\u201d said Keith Pleva, who also plays drop-in hockey at the community center. Usually, Pleva can take the puck when Benson tries something fancy and Pleva is in the right place at the right time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll get him once in a great while,\u201d Pleva said.<\/p>\n

When not playing hockey, Benson still seeks action and speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an athletic freak,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what sport it is, I\u2019ll get involved even if I\u2019m terrible at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deaf or not, nothing holds Benson back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always live by the quote I heard from one of my teammates: The only disability you have is your attitude,\u201d Benson said.<\/p>\n

Miracle on Italian ice<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When Benson arrived in Valtellina-Valchiavenna, Italy for the December 2019 Deaflympic winter games, Team USA hadn\u2019t defeated the Russian ice hockey team head to head in more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

The US was first to score in the Dec. 17 game, with Benson, left wing, giving the assist<\/a>. Team USA never lost their lead, and ended with a 7 \u2013 3 victory over Russia<\/a>. Benson was named most valued player for that game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a couple of assists and played really well that game, but I wasn\u2019t expecting to be player of the game,\u201d Benson said.<\/p>\n

Team USA went on to beat Canada 7 \u2013 3 for the gold<\/a>, with Benson scoring in the second period.<\/p>\n

With a gold medal, a silver, and a world championship title, Benson says he\u2019ll keep trying out for the deaf hockey team representing America until he can\u2019t cut it anymore.<\/p>\n

 \u201cI just love the game of hockey,\u201d Benson said.<\/p>\n

tphippen@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Troy Benson helped Team USA win three medals in the Deaflympics, including the gold last December.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent In the rink, deaf hockey player Troy Benson can\u2019t hear the ref\u2019s whistle or the shouts from a coach. But that didn\u2019t stop him from helping team USA end a 20-year losing streak to Russia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1317636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-06 05:43:21","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317636"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1317653,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317636\/revisions\/1317653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}