River Hawks Sign Owen Teplitsky Through Team IMPACT
12/18/2024 3:28:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell ice hockey Head Coach Norm Bazin announced a new team member, signing eight-year-old Owen Teplitsky through Team IMPACT.
Owen is an 8-year-old from Reading, Massachusetts who was diagnosed with a Rare Genetic Disease and was officially introduced at a signing day press conference on Friday, December 13 on campus. You can find the link to the full photo gallery here. He will participate in many activities with the team including games, practices, and other team events.
Team IMPACT, a national non-profit organization, has developed a unique multiyear program that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college athletic teams across the country. Based on a clinical model, Team IMPACT guides a symbiotic relationship between teams and children focused on socialization, empowerment, and resilience.
"Team IMPACT is excited to see Owen join the River Hawks," said Emma Simches, Regional Director of Programs, Northeast at Team IMPACT. "We are proud to work with UMass Lowell, their athletic department, and coaching staff to create lifelong bonds and life-changing outcomes between student-athletes and their Team IMPACT teammates."
UMass Lowell has worked with Team IMPACT for the past 13 years, matching children across 34 teams.
"We have several expectations," said Bazin. "However, the main one is that you're on time, which means early, and you go to school, you do as well as you can, and you go to every class. Some guys here had a hard time learning that and figured that out after a while. So, you think you can handle that? Alright, well we are excited."
Senior captain Owen Cole also shared a few words about how excited the team is to welcome Owen.
"It is something big for us to have Owen on the team," said Cole. "It's been a lot of fun with him. I know I've pushed hard to do this Team IMPACT thing, and I've had a lot of fun getting to know him. One of the biggest things at UMass Lowell is that often, we are the underdog, and I think for Owen, obviously with Team IMPACT, a little bit of the underdog, but he doesn't let anybody know that he's struggling, and he works so hard, and I think that's a really big part of being a UMass Lowell River Hawk.
"And then the family piece too. His brothers usually come with him and his parents, they've had a couple of us over to have a meal with Owen and we played some knee hockey. It is a lot of fun, and he works so hard, so I think that's why we're really lucky to have him on the team and why I think everybody is so happy when he is here."
About Team IMPACT
Team IMPACT's unique multiyear program signs children facing serious illness and disability onto college athletic teams across the country. Based on a clinical model, Team IMPACT guides a symbiotic relationship between teams and children focused on socialization, empowerment, and resilience, ensuring everyone involved has the personalized game plan they need to win – effectively building confidence and independence. Founded in 2011, Team IMPACT has matched over 3,000 children with 700+ colleges and universities in all 50 states, impacting more than 75,000 student-athletes. If you know a child or team who may be interested, please visit www.teamimpact.org.
Media Contacts
For UMass Lowell: Tim O'Brien, Timothy_Obrien@uml.edu
For Team IMPACT: Katie DePaolo, kdepaolo@teamimpact.org
Owen is an 8-year-old from Reading, Massachusetts who was diagnosed with a Rare Genetic Disease and was officially introduced at a signing day press conference on Friday, December 13 on campus. You can find the link to the full photo gallery here. He will participate in many activities with the team including games, practices, and other team events.
Team IMPACT, a national non-profit organization, has developed a unique multiyear program that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college athletic teams across the country. Based on a clinical model, Team IMPACT guides a symbiotic relationship between teams and children focused on socialization, empowerment, and resilience.
"Team IMPACT is excited to see Owen join the River Hawks," said Emma Simches, Regional Director of Programs, Northeast at Team IMPACT. "We are proud to work with UMass Lowell, their athletic department, and coaching staff to create lifelong bonds and life-changing outcomes between student-athletes and their Team IMPACT teammates."
UMass Lowell has worked with Team IMPACT for the past 13 years, matching children across 34 teams.
"We have several expectations," said Bazin. "However, the main one is that you're on time, which means early, and you go to school, you do as well as you can, and you go to every class. Some guys here had a hard time learning that and figured that out after a while. So, you think you can handle that? Alright, well we are excited."
Senior captain Owen Cole also shared a few words about how excited the team is to welcome Owen.
"It is something big for us to have Owen on the team," said Cole. "It's been a lot of fun with him. I know I've pushed hard to do this Team IMPACT thing, and I've had a lot of fun getting to know him. One of the biggest things at UMass Lowell is that often, we are the underdog, and I think for Owen, obviously with Team IMPACT, a little bit of the underdog, but he doesn't let anybody know that he's struggling, and he works so hard, and I think that's a really big part of being a UMass Lowell River Hawk.
"And then the family piece too. His brothers usually come with him and his parents, they've had a couple of us over to have a meal with Owen and we played some knee hockey. It is a lot of fun, and he works so hard, so I think that's why we're really lucky to have him on the team and why I think everybody is so happy when he is here."
About Team IMPACT
Team IMPACT's unique multiyear program signs children facing serious illness and disability onto college athletic teams across the country. Based on a clinical model, Team IMPACT guides a symbiotic relationship between teams and children focused on socialization, empowerment, and resilience, ensuring everyone involved has the personalized game plan they need to win – effectively building confidence and independence. Founded in 2011, Team IMPACT has matched over 3,000 children with 700+ colleges and universities in all 50 states, impacting more than 75,000 student-athletes. If you know a child or team who may be interested, please visit www.teamimpact.org.
Media Contacts
For UMass Lowell: Tim O'Brien, Timothy_Obrien@uml.edu
For Team IMPACT: Katie DePaolo, kdepaolo@teamimpact.org
Players Mentioned
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