Football is a well-known sport in the Valley, but a lesser known sport is trying to expand.

A Valley man is heading to Canada next year to accept an award for roller hockey. 

Nathaniel Mata says receiving the Herbert Carnegie Trailblazer Award for brining inline roller hockey to the Valley is something he always dreamed of.

"It's going to be really cool, I've always wanted to visit Canada, Toronto," Mata said. "Now, I'm going to have a chance to do it based off on the work we do in the Valley."

Mata started playing ice hockey at five years old in San Jose, California.

When his parents decided to move back to their hometown of McAllen, Mata knew there wouldn't be ice rinks, but that didn't stop him. 

"I think it's important for the Valley to continue a tradition of hockey, because there was an ice rink, there was a youth hockey program, there were some good people involved, but the price was still a barrier," Mata said.

Mata created the nonprofit organization RGV Rollers in 2019. They use incline roller skates to play hockey at McAllen's Sports Park. 

"Now that there isn't an ice rink, I feel like our group is working as hard to make sure that people can try something fun," Mata said.

Watch the video above for the full story.