Losing a Leg Doesn’t Stop Puck-Stopper : Amputee Goalie Turns Handicap Into Benefit in High School Soccer

TONAWANDA, N.Y. â€”  Mike Ginal was about 10 years old when he began realizing his handicap could be used to his benefit.

Ginal had stopped at McDonald’s with teammates after they clinched a state hockey title for their age group. Ginal, who began playing hockey a year after part of his left leg was amputated at age 3, wore his prosthesis backwards and walked around the restaurant.

Customers gawked. His buddies were laughing hysterically. Woody, as he would be known, unquestionably was the center of attention. He started understanding that he was just different--not less fortunate--than the other kids. Actually, he was one of the best goalies around.

“Everybody has their own view on whether a person is handicapped,� Ginal said. “For some people, I have to prove myself before I’m worthy, but I’ve never felt it made it tougher. It’s been like that my whole life.�

Ginal, 17, is the starting goaltender on one of the nation’s largest hockey programs. He is a three-time amputee junior golf champion, a straight-A student, school choir member, student council president, hospital volunteer, Big Brother and who knows what else.

He figures he would not have developed the discipline necessary to juggle several activities had it not been for his leg--had he not suffered from cancer as an infant and eventually had the amputation below the knee.

Only recently has he understood that hockey actually found him rather than the reverse. And now he realizes that his leg actually might have helped develop a trophy-winning golf swing.

“Sometimes I think about what it would be like (to have both legs), but I don’t think I would have turned out the same,� Ginal said. “It’s really been nothing but a blessing for me.�

Last year, he won the U.S., Canadian and British junior golf titles held for amputees. Ginal, who has a 7 handicap, played a round with Nick Price last summer and was the subject of a segment on ESPN’s weekly golf show.

He helped his St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute hockey team to New York’s No. 1 ranking in three of his four years on the varsity. He was one of two goaltenders from the state chosen to attend the U.S. National camp, a school for developing hockey’s elite.

Ginal is the only player in the six-team, 111-member program to have played four years on the varsity. Most opponents don’t even know they are playing against a handicapped goalie. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“He’s just a marvelous young man,� St. Joe’s hockey coach John Mickler said. “You talk about an overachiever. I’ve learned more from Mike Ginal in four years, certainly, than he’s learned from me. The kid has every reason to fall, yet he refuses. He’s so driven.�

Doctors amputated Ginal’s leg after he developed cancer in his knee as an infant. Experimental surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia included rebuilding his knee with bones from his amputated foot.

His recovery period included plenty of time in front of the television, watching his beloved Buffalo Sabres.

A group of Sabres that included Hall of Fame forward Gilbert Perreault built a fund in November 1982 to help Ginal’s family pay medical bills and buy an expensive prosthesis necessary for skating.

“It was very, very hard for me at the beginning,� said his mother, Heidi Ginal. “A lot of times, I didn’t even go on the ice because I was wondering, ‘What kind of parent I was allowing this? Maybe I should be protecting him more.’ I’d have to shut my eyes tight and just let him do it.�

Going into the weekend, Ginal led the Western New York Federation league with a 2.40 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. He is considered among the top five high school goalies in the state.

“When I started the game, I just wanted to have fun and make friends,� Ginal said. “Gradually, I’ve learned I can do it. I’ve said to myself that I could be the best. I just kept playing and playing and never got cut. I kept wanting to move up.�

Many high school athletes are hoping they can obtain an education through athletics, but Ginal is trying to use his academic record to get into an Ivy League school, then get a tryout with the hockey team.

He’s not ready to became a major Division I goalie. But as far as he’s concerned, an opportunity will eventually surface based solely on his ability.

A Division III college coach asked him last year why he would want a goaltender with one leg when he can find plenty with two. Then he watched Ginal play a few games. And now he’s recruiting him--unsuccessfully.

“People are always skeptical at first,� Ginal said. “People are unsure at first and look the other way. But you keep getting in their face and showing them you’re there. All I ever wanted was a chance to show myself and show that I can get the job done.�