By: Silvana Villarreal
02/06/2023
Nathaniel “Nate” Mata, a local valley resident who founded the non profit organization RGV Rollers was recently awarded the Herbert Carnegie Trailblazer Award in Toronto, Canada this past January for his efforts in bringing hockey back to the valley.
The RGV Roller organization website said their mission is “to knock down financial and cultural barriers, and bring youth, adolescents and adults to the rink regardless of gender, background or skill level.”
The Carnegie initiative was named after black hockey player Herbert Carnegie, who was denied entry to the National Hockey League due to racism, aiming to raise acceptance and inclusion in the sport.
“I think because we care about those other things, getting people into the sport and lowering that barrier entry, anyone in the hockey world thinks it’s special,” Mata said about receiving the award.
A sport that Mata is passionate about, has since become accessible to anyone interested in learning, despite financial status because of his desire to help make hockey a mainstream sport in the valley.
“We have either donations, monetary donations, or people will donate their old gear. We even had companies pay for people,” Mata said about financial help organizations have provided for people in need. “We don’t want the financial challenges to be the reason people don’t play.”
Since the Trailblazer Award, the recent exposure has increased the numbers of participants exponentially.
“Of all ages, we are seeing people be interested. The youth program has been incredible. We went from 30 kids in our first season to 55, and now we are getting over 60, approaching 70,” Mata said.
RGV Roller youth league coach Ben Plantan said the organization has been growing a lot, keeping the sport alive in the Valley, despite the lack of an ice rink.
“The amount of growth and excitement we’ve seen for it [hockey league] has been super encouraging,” Plantan said. “A year ago today, we didn’t even have a kids league.”
After the loss of the ice rink, his family switched to rollerblade hockey and was brought together by the community surrounding the organization.
“We wouldn’t have hockey in our lives, if it wasn’t for RGV Roller,” he said.
To donate or for more information about the organization, visit the RGV Roller website.
