Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” plays in the background.

Two young men – one in a wheelchair and the other with forearm crutches – are working hard.

It’s a sweltering 90-degree day at Piff’s Power and Fitness in Youngwood.

Personal trainer Lou Rocco bellows out instructions to one his clients.

“Hey Nevin, give me all you got man. Lift that hammer,” Rocco said.

“Hey Bobby, keep pushing that sled. Move it as fast as you can.”

Nevin Gray, 24, from Greensburg, was born with spina bifida. He uses a wheelchair. His 35-year-old friend Bobby Mihalko, a Youngwood native who lives in Greensburg, was diagnosed at birth with cerebral palsy. He is reliant on crutches.

Gray’s goal is to try out for the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team next summer in Buffalo. He has played on the U.S. National Development Team and is a member of the Pittsburgh Mighty Penguins. He met some of the Pittsburgh Penguins who came to skate with the sled hockey players, including former Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, now with the Vegas Golden Knights.

“That was one of the greatest opportunities of my life,” said Gray, a front end coordinator at Giant Eagle in Eastgate Plaza in Greensburg.

The Pittsburgh Mighty Penguins haven’t been able to practice because of covid-19.

Both lean on Rocco to move forward. They share similar challenges of working out, but refuse to let their limitations stop them.

Rocco won’t let them.

He said Gray and Mihalko motivate each other as well as Rocco. He doesn’t treat them any differently than any of other client.

“Attitude is everything,” Rocco said. “A lot of what they are doing comes from the heart. I see the desire in their faces. I see the will to want to work hard. I get more out of working with these guys than anyone else I work with.”

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop | Tribune-Review Nevin Gray (front) of Greensburg hits a punching bag while trainer Lou Rocco (left), of Greensburg, holds it steady. In the background, Bobby Mihalko, of Greensburg, works on an aerobic stepper on July 24 at Piff’s Power Fitness in Youngwood.  

There are challenges, said Rocco, who trains Gray and Mihalko twice a week.

“They work as hard, if not harder, than anyone I have ever trained,” Rocco said. “I don’t have to tell them more than once to do something. I often have to tell them to take a break.”

The pandemic forced them out of the gym. Once the doors re-opened they both returned as determined as ever, Rocco said.

Rocco devises exercises that simulate sled hockey such as sitting on an aerobic stepper working out with battle ropes. Gray was sweating and his face was getting red but he didn’t give in.

“I know it takes a lot to make the team and that I better lose some weight,” said Gray. “I can’t feel bad for myself and my situation because if I do that will hold me back from what I am training for. I was in that position before, not working out and not training, and I watched my friend win a gold medal and I want to work for that too. Everybody has challenges.”

They do, agreed Mihalko.

“You have to put everything you have into working out or there is no sense being here,” said Mihalko, as he pushed a sled wearing a weighted vest. “We just want to do normal things that other people take for granted.”

Nate Smallwood | Tribune-Review Bobby Mihalko, of Greensburg, works out July 24 inside of Piff’s Power and Fitness in Youngwood.  

Mihalko said from watching Gray that Mihalko is motivated to play sled hockey one day.

“I don’t see Bobby and me as having a disability,” said Gray, as he pounded a large tire with a sledge hammer. “If I put the work in I can do whatever I set my mind to do. Bobby is great. It helps to have him there on days when I am not feeling like working out. We understand what each of us is going through. I see him working hard so that inspires me to give all I got.

Bobby and I, we push each other, and Lou pushes both of us.”

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop | Tribune-Review Nevin Gray, of Greensburg, hopes to try out for the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team next summer in Buffalo, N.Y.  

Gray got involved in sled hockey at the age of 3 when his mother and grandmother introduced him to the sport as a form of physical therapy.

“I could move around on that sled,” Gray said. “It was terrific. I was rambunctious as a child, so hockey was the right sport for me. It still is.”

He said he wants people with disabilities to feel good about themselves and know that they can do things.

“People with disabilities can play sports and drive a car and do all of the things other people can do,” Gray said. “They might have to play it a little differently or have a vehicle adapted to their fit what they need. But it can be done. Bobby and I have proven that.”

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