CRANBERRY TWP — Growing up in Oregon, Rico Roman knew almost nothing about ice hockey.

But after getting injured and losing a leg from an explosion in Iraq, fellow veterans encouraged him to give sled hockey a try.

“I said 'no' so many times, but I finally got out there, and I was instantly hooked,” he said.

Roman, who went on to win a gold medal at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games as a member of the U.S. national team, shared his story Monday morning with several hundred Seneca Valley School District staff members at the annual welcome back meeting.

Roman enlisted in the Army in 2001 after finishing high school. In 2007 he was in Iraq serving his third tour of duty when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.

“If you've ever had the wind knocked out of you, that's what it felt like,” he said about the explosion.

His left leg was badly hurt. Though doctors were able to save it, he was in constant pain and eventually opted to have it amputated above the knee.

He now uses a prosthetic leg.

After his surgery he became passionate about sled hockey, a form of ice hockey in which players sit on sleds and propel themselves using sticks similar to cross-country ski poles.

Roman tried out for the men's national team in 2010 to play in the Vancouver games, but realized that he had much to learn.

“Those guys ran circles around me, but it made me more determined to be a part of that team,” he said.

In 2014, he tried out again and became the first war-wounded veteran to make the national team. They went to Sochi, Russia, where they beat the Russian team in the final to capture the gold medal.

Roman, 35, now lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife and two children, and he is still a member of the national sled hockey team. He hopes to compete in the 2018 Paralympic Games, which will be in South Korea.

He encouraged the teachers to help students discover something they are passionate about, just like how he discovered sled hockey after losing his leg.

“You all see potential in students that normal people just don't see. I think it's just being understanding and helping them find out what they are passionate about,” he said.

The welcome back meeting was at the Victory Family Church which allowed the district to use its auditorium for free, Superintendent Tracy Vitale said.

Before Roman's talk, Vitale told the staff that the motto of the morning's event was “Live Your Passion” as inspired by the just-finished summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

She told the story of Yusra Mardini, an 18-year-old Syrian refugee who swam and pushed a sinking boat for three hours in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece and was credited for saving 20 lives. Mardini went on to qualify for the Olympic Games as a swimmer and was one of 10 athletes to compete under the Olympic flag.

“We are public education. We have students like Yusra in our classrooms, and they need us for more than just our subjects,” Vitale said.

Classes begin Wednesday in the district.

School board President Eric DiTullio thanked the teachers for making differences in the lives of students and also for filling out applications for grants to bring money and new programs into the schools.

“We appreciate that hard work and dedication that goes into finding those grants,” he said.

Before ending the meeting, Roman helped give out specially made medals to staff members who had served for at least 25, 30 and 35 years.