Hockey and Service Join Forces

The Littleton Hawks have a long history of great players and coaches. They have a long winning tradition and always have great, competitive teams. Matt Fitzgerald and Adam Vahling play for Littleton’s Midget Major AA team. They are not only continuing Littleton’s tradition of greatness on the ice, but they are proving themselves to be great young men off the ice as well.

Adam, 17, is a senior at Highlands Ranch High School and Matt, 16, is a junior at Arapahoe High School. And as young as they may seem, they are mature beyond their years.

“Adam and Matt are just great all-around kids,” coach Jim Van Buskirk said, “they are both great players and team leaders.”

Van Buskirk has a lot of praises for the two boys. Adam, who plays left wing, and Matt, who plays goalie, both lead by example. They show up to every practice and every game ready to play hard, Van Buskirk said. They just got back from Kamloops Thanksgiving Tournament in Canada where they had a blast and got to play some teams from Canada. The team really showed well and had two wins and two losses. In league, they have six wins and two losses and are hoping to have a great year with regional and national aspirations.

When Fitzgerald was asked what he thought of Canada he said he loved it.

“It had a really cool, small-town feel to it. You could tell they really loved their hockey up there, even when you went into Walgreen’s they had hockey equipment,” Fitzgerald said.

On the ice these players are both very good. Adam has been playing hockey for about 13 years and Matt has been playing goalie for six years. While both are impressive on the ice, their maturity level and commitment to their families and communities is what makes these boys admirable men.

“Both of them are very family oriented and supportive of their families,” Van Buskirk said of the boys, “they both also do a lot for their communities.” 

All by himself Vahling started his own Thanksgiving drive last year where he got in touch with the Denver Rescue Mission and helped gather blankets and food for the homeless during the holiday. Fitzgerald volunteers tons of time as a goaltending coach for the Colorado Girls Select Hockey Program and is an impressive student-athlete with multiple AP and honors classes. Both of them volunteer for the One Goal Program, which helps bring hockey into the lives of those who can’t afford equipment and never had a chance to play hockey before.

“A lot of the team volunteered time to the One Goal Program but these guys were truly dedicated and showed up almost every single time,” Van Buskirk said.

Not many kids are this active in their communities. 

“It feels nice giving back to the community and giving kids a chance to play hockey,” Vahling said.  He also plans on doing the Thanksgiving food and blanket drive again this year with help from the Denver Rescue Mission and South Suburban. 
Also interesting was when these players were asked who their favorite NHL players were and why, they came up with similar answers. Adam said Chris Drury because he likes his style of play and the guy he is off the ice. Comparable to Matt’s answer Roberto Luango because he is a great athlete and a great person.

Neither athlete is sure about their future hockey lives. Fitzgerald hopes to make a junior college team and go from there while Vahling hopes to play Division-II or III hockey. 

Whatever their future lives may hold, with positive attitudes and conduct like this, the futures of these young men are surely bright.