Travis G. Harris is the Founder/President of North Carolina Warriors.
He is a Retired 2nd Class Petty Officer.
What inspired you to create a North Carolina Warrior hockey team for veterans?
I came across a post in a veteran Facebook group, and growing up in Upper Michigan, hockey has always had a special place in my heart. Being able to couple that with giving back to other disabled veterans was an easy decision to make. I created this program, not so much as to create a big family, but more so to bring veterans together. After about 18 months of this program being in existence, it has grown far beyond the ice. These brothers and sisters have become good friends, building bonds that you had with your active duty brothers/sisters.
What were some challenges you had to overcome to get the team together?
The biggest challenge was bringing together people from different branches, with different mentalities, and different skill levels. Then add in the fact they do not all live in the Raleigh area and some are driving 2-4 hours to come play.
How did you get the word out about trying to put this team together?
Due to the fact that I was currently coaching youth travel hockey, and playing on 3 different adult league teams, I practically lived at the rink. Once I got it going, I posted in a local hockey Facebook group and that is how I met Donald Urbany who had already been playing for another USA Hockey Warrior program in Maryland. After that, I started posting in local community pages, veteran groups, and word of mouth around the rink spread quick of what we were doing.
About how many players are on the NC Warriors?
As of November 9th, 2020, we have 64 rostered disabled veterans, and 2 volunteer coaches.
Are they all from North Carolina?
All but 2 of them reside in North Carolina, the other 2 live in South Carolina.
Do you have any long-term goals for the team? If so, what are they?
To continue to grow the program, to give back to our local communities, to give back to the veteran families in our state, and to spread the word about the greatest game in the world. Eventually we would like to create a youth hockey program that mixes veteran families with local families. A big dream of mine would be to eventually own a hockey rink of our own, that’s a stretch but it’ll be something I will always strive for.
Do you feel like you have reached most of not all of your short term goals for the team?
Looking at other USA Hockey Warrior programs around the country, I think we have progressed and grown a lot faster than most other programs and that is thanks to our members and the amazing support we get from everyone.
What has been the most rewarding part of the team thus far?
Seeing the joy on their faces on and off the ice, and the feedback I get from their families on how much this program has changed their behavior at home. I never created this program for recognition or for glory, I don’t even like taking credit for things that I do, I just like to be able to give back and know that I’ve made a difference in someone’s life.
What was the inspiration behind the Warriors logo?
The thought behind the team logo had come from the biggest military icon in North Carolina, BB-55 USS North Carolina, the most decorated warship during WWII.
How do you promote bonding with the guys on the team on and off the ice? What about the wives and girlfriends, are they close? Do you think this program has given them a good support system and group of friends as well?
We stress, over and over, that the mission of this program is always brotherhood/sisterhood first, on and off the ice. Winning is a hard thing to get military veterans not to focus on, due to our competitive nature, but over time as they are in the program longer, they start to realize what we have and leave the anger or discouragement on the ice. The wives/girlfriends have started growing closer, they had a wife’s night out this past December and have started their own Facebook group chat to keep in touch. This program has given a lot of people something to look forward to, and the friendly military banter that everyone remembers is right there with the friendship.
What is the most important thing you want to accomplish with the NC Warriors?
I want to continue finding disabled veterans that miss that brotherhood, whether they play the game of hockey or not, and show them how therapeutic playing a team sport with like-minded veterans can be. Our reach throughout the state of North Carolina is not as vast as I would like it to be. I would like to get to the point where we have a team in each major city throughout the state, where they can build up themselves to self-support while still being a part of the overall North Carolina Warriors program. This program is so much more than I could have ever expected it to grow into. I started it because I wanted to create a veteran hockey team and travel around and play other teams, this program has turned into one giant family. These veterans in the program will drop whatever they are doing to help out another member, even if they’ve never met that person before, and that’s something I never thought I’d see come from this program.
North Carolina Warriors Hockey
FB: https://www.facebook.com/NorthCarolinaWarriors
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NCWarriorHockey
Website: https://www.northcarolinawarriors.com
