New Film Celebrates 20-Year Anniversary of Floor Hockey Glory
Japan World Games Experience Made Lasting Impact on Hudson Valley Team
By Randy Robertson, NYC and Hudson Valley Regional Storyteller
New York, NY – There’s a moment in the new documentary film “A Winter Dream” when coach Joe Bellini says, “At that point I wasn’t really into the whole winning and losing, it was more about how can we use this to change lives.”
Bellini was coaching the North East Westchester Knights floor hockey team in 2004 when it won the Special Olympics New York State Winter Games to advance to the World Games in Japan in 2005. In trying to fill out the final roster spots for such a bold and challenging global trip, Bellini wanted to include a cross mix of players with talent who also would benefit from such a life-changing experience.
Players on the squad ranged in age from 13 to 49 at that time, and would be traveling around the world to live, practice and compete for almost three weeks. Looking back on that successful trip to Japan now, Bellini smiles with a sense of satisfaction knowing how much progress those special athletes have made in the past two decades.
“We’re still involved with a lot of those athletes,” Bellini noted in early July, just a few weeks after “A Winter Dream” premiered at a local movie theater in Cortland Manor. “Seeing the movie put the last 20 years in perspective. You can see the results and the impact we had.”
The mere existence of the 2.5-hour documentary film is proof enough of that impact. Greg Di Roma was the 13-year-old youngster on the Knights team that won the gold medal in its division at those World Games in Nagano, Japan in March, 2005. Now in his early 30s, Greg went on to college and works for a company that produces movies. He was the driving force behind “A Winter Dream” as he wanted to acknowledge the 20-year milestone of that magical golden run in Japan.
“I knew this film would be inspiring,” Greg said. “Seeing it playing at the theater in my hometown with so many of my family, friends and teammates there was surreal.”
Will Smith was a teenager playing on the Knights team and remembers the trip to Japan vividly. Will said the team lost its pairing games and was suffering from self-doubt for a while. When they finally broke through in the later rounds and won the gold medal, it not only validated Will’s trip, but he said it gave him confidence that he could overcome other obstacles in life when they inevitably arose.
“If it wasn’t for the trip to Japan, I don’t know where I would be now,” Will recalled recently. “It changed everything. It made everything possible.”
For almost a decade now, Will has been working in the Special Olympics New York Hudson Valley office in a variety of roles. He also still competes in numerous Special Olympics New York sports and has a leadership role in statewide programming.
Seeing Greg and Will achieve lasting success personally and professionally is exactly the kind of impact Bellini was hoping for then and enjoys seeing now.
Nancy Bellini, who has been with North East Westchester since 1984, still coaches numerous sports including basketball, softball, track, floor ball and bowling. Looking back on the trip to Japan in 2005, she said the logistics of managing 15 athletes in a faraway time zone was incredibly challenging and rewarding. In fact, when the team finally defeated Isle of Man 9-4 in the gold medal game, everyone wanted to keep the celebration going.
“It was so hard to leave the courts,” Nancy said in the film. “I think so many of them walked away with a huge sense of pride and also an understanding that they had to work so hard to get there. That’s a life lesson. You do have to work hard for what you want.”
Greg worked plenty hard in bringing this documentary to life over the past year. He started with 4.5 hours of footage provided by several parents who were there with video cameras back in the day. He also contacted as many of his former teammates as possible and arranged for sit-down interviews with many of them.
Hearing the athletes talk about the trip now, and what it meant to them, was really powerful. Many of the athletes recalled being bullied in elementary and middle school, then finding acceptance at North East Westchester. Building on that acceptance, they developed confidence playing sports and finally competing as a team in Special Olympics New York events.
Playing in Japan, including one game against Japan when former President Bill Clinton watched rink side, proved to be a transformative experience just as Joe Bellini had hoped. Looking back, he’s not surprised how well the Knights did in Japan and how well so many of his former players are doing now.
“Don’t sell this population short,” Joe Bellini said. “They’re capable of doing great things.”
For more information about the documentary, Greg advises readers to check out the website at https://www.gdrfilms.com/a-winter-dream-film.
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