Ryan Roper has been defying odds all of his life. The Delaware native’s dreams of playing hockey have been stifled by a health condition, but after years of sitting on the sidelines, his dream of hitting the ice is now a reality.

“They didn’t think he’d walk,” Meghann Roper, Ryan’s mom, said. “And he did.”

Courage is a mindset and Ryan certainly has the makeup. The 8-year-old has cerebral palsy and until now, he was forced to watch his sister’s hockey games and practices from behind the boards.

“I first met him, I didn’t know what was going on with Ryan,” Chad Everett, a hockey coach with the Delaware Stars youth hockey program, said, “and I asked his mom in casual conversation one day, ‘Hey why doesn’t he skate?’ and that’s when I learned everything.”