The New Roller Hockey thread

[DannyG]

Guys/gals, this is NOT the biggest problem in the world, but...

A little while ago, on another thread, I announced that I have just closed the doors to my inline rink. My building landlord refuses to continue to work with me any further (behind on rent...seemingly perpetually on and off for almost three years now). My business is now out of business.

I spite of this, or maybe because of it, I have decided to renew my efforts to make the world of roller hockey what it should be. I need to get a job, so I spend the day out looking...

My evenings are going to be spent making a neighborhood roller hockey game come into being. Let's go down to a tennis court, set up two goals of some variety, throw a roll-a-puck out there, and let's play.

Kids' who stop and ask, I'll give 'em a flyer about how they can get some equipment and come play. i'll get on the phone and invite everybody to come out and join the party. Yeah, it's outdoors, yeah it's not ice hockey, but it is true roller hocky.

Kinda like that Eagle River thing is to ice...kinda like Richard's original game set out in Santa Monica beach parking lots, kinda like that fantasy nieghborhood in Mystery, Alaska.

While we're at it, I am tired of reading articles about pro hockey players who have graduated from roller hockey to real ice hockey. Our constantly reporting on that doesn't help roller hockey, it hurts it. It perpetuates the myth that you only play roller when you're learning, or when there's nothing else to play. I DO want to hear from guys who love roller hockey, and prefer it over anything/everything else. I have probably skated over 6,000 hours on ice during my lifetime, but hey, I really do not care any further about it.

Okay, enough rant. I'll let you know how it goes in the next few months or so. Thanks for listening.

[CUDangled]

While we're at it, I am tired of reading articles about pro hockey players who have graduated from roller hockey to real ice hockey. Our constantly reporting on that doesn't help roller hockey, it hurts it. It perpetuates the myth that you only play roller when you're learning, or when there's nothing else to play.

DannyG - I commend your efforts to keep moving in a positive direction with your promotion of the game...even if you are outdoors now.

However, I was kind of surprised by the comment above. If someone says they moved onto play "real hockey"...I agree that degrades inline. However, I also see many pro level players that simply state they played inline while growing up. You don't thinkt that this also, at some level, legitmizes the sport? When a competive inline player ends up playing in the NHL? Doesn't this superceed the myth that the "better" players play ice?

Do soccer layers get offended when a hockey player says he plays soccer in the summer to cross-train for hockey? Just asking...

[missionhockey19]

I think the problem is you have the players like bobby ryan, gabe gauthier, etc that were stellar roller hockey players growing up, but being that ice is where the money is to be made, once players of such caliber get into ice, or the NHL for that matter, roller hockey loses all of that talent because none of those players want to risk the injury of getting hurt and losing everything, its just like any pro sport, if there was a pro roller hockey league that could pay decently, even if the cap was at 100k per player, the bobby ryans I bet would still be playing roller over ice just becuase growing up they had something to strive for.

[DannyG]

DannyG...I was kind of surprised by the comment above...I see many pro level players that simply state they played inline while growing up. When a competive inline player ends up playing in the NHL? Doesn't this superceed the myth that the "better" players play ice?

Just asking...

Sorry, guys, I was ranting...in fact:

In our locale, whenever we have a first or second year player move from inline to ice, he/she always has no trouble developing the ice game immediately and dramatically - at least to the point where everybody comments how quickly they developed their game.

The converse, an ice player who has played for say, three years, comes to the inline program, and is usually markedly and noticeably behind a first-year inline player for quite some time. I have seen over a dozen examples of this first-hand.

When both versions were in their heyday, about what, 7 years ago at this point? -you could go down to the ice rink and make a top ten player skill/ability list in any age group. If you also made a list of hours of inline play, the two lists would be the same, top to bottom.

So, yeah, any recognition of inlne hockey in a top ice player's developemnt is a good thing I guess. I just do get resentful over what our sport has lost: that above-noted chance for our inline players to go pro or college.

[skooled]

I like the idea. grassroots is where EVERYONE should be concentrating at the moment. let AIHL, PIHA, MLRH, NARCH, statewars etc look after themselves (I still say tournaments killed roller hockey) and concentrate on the kids. DannyG. In your honest opinion, if your rink had concentrated on the grassroots for the last few years, do you think things would have been different??? (please don't take that the wrong way)

If I lived in a RH rich area like the US (and not like where I live in Sydney Australia) I would be pushing grassroots (with the schools and youth organisations0 and then from there you can grow a good High school league, then upgrade the college league/s and go from there. follow your kids up, without forgetting about the kids that followed them.

This was mentioned in an earlier post, and I am sure I have mentioned it on here once or twice, but rinks should have there pro shops like up in a co-op, to help with pricing, and parents could also do the same (if strict rules are put in place)

It will be intresting to see how ACCT2's tournament series goes. watching which teams will travel to all events, and what crowd attendance is like. get kids in, get crowds up.

[DannyG]

On that theme...

Saturday, we held an organizational meeting at our local Parks & Rec center where the original rink is located - the one we put together back in '96. This little floor has seen over 5,000 hockey games, but presently is used only for indoor soccer.

We had a dozen parents, some representing a couple of families. I think we've got the basic commitment from the Parks & Rec Department, as long as we produce/develop their designated minimum participation levels.

I truly believe that, if we can get kids in contact with the game, the game will sell itself. That's why we all play isn't it? - The way the game makes us feel about ourselves, win or lose.

Here we go. Next Saturday, we are playing games. The following Saturday, we will begin a "season" in whatever form it takes. We have set an ambitious goal of registering 100 players by March 1. We have charged all our participant community with promoting and recruiting. Everybody seems excited about getting a new program off the gorund and growing it into something great.

We'll let you know how it goes.

[RichardGraham]

Hi Danny,

Good luck! Keep us posted. Thank you.