Florida Snowbirds Hockey Club keeps the passion for the sport alive

Ever since Terry Noble could walk, he’s been skating with a hockey stick in his hand, looking to make a play.

“Every time I put my skates on it’s a privilege,” Noble said.

Noble, 83, has been with the Florida Snowbirds Hockey Club for 20 years. Twice a week, these guys grouped in either the 65 and over or even 75 and over, take the ice at the Skatium in Fort Myers to play the sport they love.

“We’re going to have a 240 plus year line,” George Bogdanovic said. He went on to say, “Every ten years I say this is it for me. I passed the 40 50 60 70 and now I’m in the 80s.”

“It feels like youth again,” Kirk Armstrong said. “Sometimes when you get dressed up get the skates on you don’t have too many aches and pains feels pretty good.”

The passion for the sport is still there, but the style of play is different.

“Somebody asked me if we still check and I said it’s called incidental contact. And apologize afterward,” Noble laughed.

The fun and, most importantly, each other keeps these guys on the ice.

“We made a lot of good friends here and the male comradery is really special in this stage of my life,” Armstrong said.

“When you get off the ice and take a shower, you feel like a million bucks,” Bogdanovic said.