Meet the club taking Flyerz Hockey to new heights

Tucked away in the little pocket of Northeast London, a boy is anxiously scanning the field of play. Hockey stick in hand, feet planted firmly on the ground, he anticipates the movements of his peers.

He blinks away the glare of the floodlights above, determined not to lose focus. A minute turns into two and it becomes a waiting game. It often is.

Like the wind, the game takes an unexpected turn. Possession is lost and the opposition barrels towards him. Instinctively, his hands grip his stick tighter as his eyes narrow on the play unfolding before him.

The opposing player comes to a halt, lining the ball up, ready to take the perfect shot. The player is quick, but he is quicker. A smack of his stick, and the ball escapes the back of the net. The game continues and his team lives to see another day.

Nirmiith Narayanamoorthy has been a member of the Waltham Forest Flyerz since 2015. Previously afraid to come into contact with the ball, now he runs towards it.

Every Tuesday evening, the hockey club runs a session at the Waltham Forest Academy for more than a dozen youngsters. The disability-inclusive hockey club offers free equipment, training sessions and matches for all ability levels.

At a recent session, the Sports Gazette was able to catch a glimpse of the Forest Flyerz in action.

What is Flyerz Hockey?

Flyerz Hockey is the term used for pan disability hockey in the UK. Since Access Sport partnered with England Hockey in 2012, Forest Flyerz is just one of over 50 Flyerz sections across England providing inclusive hockey for disabled people. 

In their quest to provide a sport that is inclusive to all, Forest Flyerz caters to individuals with differing impairments who play together regardless of their limitations. 

Shane Crowe is a current coach and ex-player at Forest Flyerz.

At first, the transition from playing to coaching was difficult to navigate: “It was quite a bumpy transition. I went from being the Flyerz captain to then being their coach. It was quite hard at first for [the players] to recognise me as their coach instead of their captain.

“It was only when I fully made that transition from being their captain to their coach, I found it a lot easier to gain their respect and to stop them referring to me as one of their teammates.” 

Now Shane welcomes the challenge of coaching the Flyerz: “To be honest, I love the challenge of coaching SEN because it’s a lot harder and takes a lot more focus. 

“Plus, I feel like I’m giving back because they’ve helped me so much.”

Growth, development and character-building

For most members of the Forest Flyerz, being a member of the team is a journey. 

Nirmiith feared the ball when he was starting out. Now, he is thriving: “I was scared of the ball when I joined Forest Flyerz, but now I have been progressing. 

“I love goalkeeping, defending and scoring goals.” 

Nirmiith’s mother remembers her son’s timid beginning well, she added: “When he actually started with Flyerz, he used to run away from the ball. He was so scared, it’s like he didn’t really want to engage.” 

The boy who walked into that first session, meek and afraid could not be further from the boy who now exudes confidence with each hit of the ball. 

“Now, I come because of him,” she added. “It’s like a treat for him. He’s become so confident as a hockey player that last year we even gave it a shot for the [England Hockey ID Open Selection event] trials.

“So that transition for me has been the most rewarding. My son in front of me is blooming.” 

Community at Forest Flyerz

At Forest Flyerz, players enjoy being part of a team. But are also welcomed by a community that strives to develop them as players and individuals.

During his time at Flyerz, Shane has grown in confidence, but has also been able to understand and manage his disability a little better. 

He said: “Before I joined Forest Flyerz, my ADHD was out of control. They’ve helped teach me how to handle certain situations a lot better. I still have my moments where I struggle but I deal with situations a lot better than I did. 

“Even just having someone that I’ve known for multiple years who I can go and talk to if I need to.”

The Forest Flyerz community has not only touched volunteers and players, but the parents as well. 

One parent added: “The coaches are very inclusive and they’re very friendly as well. They make us feel very welcome. They’re not focusing only on the children, but they’re focusing on the families as well. 

“So it’s more like a family wellbeing kind of session. Because we’ve got friends here, it kind of becomes our little once a week evening out. I think that’s what’s so great about this.”

The future of Flyerz Hockey

Since its inception in 2011, Flyerz Hockey has been able to exist and thrive due to the organisations who have promoted it and the volunteers who represent it. 

Helen Richardson-Walsh, Olympic gold medal winning Great Britain hockey international has been an avid campaigner of the Flyerz initiative. While Flyerz Hockey has been the focal point of media coverage over the years, covered by the BBC, Metro and The Telegraph. 

In 2019, two UK Flyerz teams competed in the Euro Para Hockey tournament and both made the finals. The following tournament was held in 2023 where two Forest Flyerz players participated. 

On representing Team GB at the 2023 Euro Para Hockey tournament, Shane said: “It was good playing for England and GB, especially winning the medals.

“But more it was promoting ID Hockey. Showing that just because you’ve got a disability, doesn’t mean you should be sat indoors doing nothing. You can still get out there and do your part.” 

The ambitions of Flyerz Hockey are not over just yet. With hopes to expand into more clubs and become a Paralympic sport one day, Flyerz Hockey is only getting started. 

But for now, stowed away in their own corner of London, Forest Flyerz continues to welcome members of its community into a game played by all, for all.