Bronkhorstspruit’s Jack Valadas plays ice hockey for SA
“Ice hockey is my happy place, it is where I go when the world gets too much.”
Local ice hockey player, Jack Valadas (37), is part of the South African ice hockey team that competed at the Grand West Ice Station in the Ice Hockey Division 3B World Championship in Cape Town from March 13 to 18.
He has been playing ice hockey for 25 years since 1996.
At only 12 years old, he represented South Africa at Regensburg, Germany, in 1997.
“It was my first SA team and ever since it was always more than a sport to me,” Valadas said.
The highlights of his career so far are captaining the South African men’s team and also winning MVP for South Africa in Luxembourg
Besides playing for the SA senior men’s team, he currently also plays for the Wildcats in the local league.
Valadas has competed in many countries, but one goal on his list is to be able to participate in the Olympics.
He won more than 100 medals in his career and the memory of the massive crowd supporting the teams at the open-air ice rink in Regensburg is imprinted in his mind.
“Being a young kid from South Africa, I had never seen something like that before,” he added.
Valadas received his national colours for senior men in 2002 when he was only 17 years old, and that was just the beginning of his lifelong dream.
“Ice hockey is an intense, fast-paced high-speed and high adrenaline sport that still requires a lot of small skills to master.
“It is ranked as the third hardest sport in the world to master.
“You must be resilient and passionate, and you need to be able to think fast on your feet while remaining calm,” said Valadas.
He competed at the Grand West Ice Station in the Ice Hockey Division 3B World Championship in Cape Town from 13 to 18 March.
“We generally begin preparing for world championships by increasing our ice time, practising four times a week and spending time in gym sessions involving strength training, as well as upping our cardio,” he said about the preparation process.
His biggest mentor and inspiration is his father who supported him and taught him all that he knows.
“My father introduced me to the game. First to Portuguese hockey, which is where I began, and then to ice hockey. He also taught me how to skate,” Valadas said.
Being on the ice is something that he is passionate about.
“Nothing else matters when I am playing ice hockey,” he said.
His sportsmanship can be seen inside the rink and speaks volumes about his love for the sport.
“I think I am a very sporting person and a good competitor.
“It is euphoric, there are no words to describe winning a world championship gold medal, you will just have to work hard and win one for yourself to experience that feeling,” he said.
