Veteran Para winter athlete Billy Bridges relishes new challenges of summer sports

After nearly three decades of competing at the highest level of sport, Billy Bridges is feeling like a rookie all over again.

And he says it's never felt so good.

Bridges, 39, is one of the country's most decorated Paralympians, having competed at six Games in Para ice hockey for Canada beginning in 2000 when he was just 16.

He's won countless world championships, four Paralympic medals including gold in 2006, and is widely regarded as one of the most successful Para hockey players to have ever played the sport.

Twenty-five years after making his first national team on the ice as a Para hockey player, Bridges is poised to make his Parapan Am Games debut as a member of Team Canada in summer sports, this time competing in shot put and javelin.

"To be able to represent Canada in Para sport has been a lifelong dream for me since I was 14 years old," Bridges told CBC Sports in Santiago. "Getting that call made me feel like I was 14 years old again, in my kitchen getting a phone call from the coach that I made the hockey team. I'm a rookie all over again and I'm loving it."

WATCH | Billy Bridges' journey to the 2023 Parapan Am games:

The Paralympian from Summerside, P.E.I., competes in shot put on Wednesday before heading into his favourite event, javelin, on Thursday.

He says it was eight years ago when his wife, former national hockey team goalie Sami Jo Small, first planted the idea that maybe he could make the switch from the rink to track and field sports.

"I've always been inspired by my wife and she threw javelin and discus at Stanford [University]" Bridges said. "One of the first trips we ever made together was to Stanford to see the facilities. I've always loved watching the field events and it was something I wanted to try."

Small competed at Stanford in the discus, hammer throw, and javelin, but she's best known for being an Olympic champion and a four-time world champion goalie for the Canadian women's national hockey team.

To say the competitive juices are flowing in their household is an understatement, and there have been many coaching sessions between Bridges and Small in the lead-up to the Parapan Am Games.

"He was never used to individual coaching. It's been a process for us and despite having the knowledge in throwing, I try to leave it to the experts and just try to stay encouraging and positive," Small said. "I say I try, but I often find myself interjecting with, 'maybe try this' or 'have you thought about that?' I've had to learn to pick my times."

Bridges is open to any and all feedback from his wife.