There’s not always another volunteer to pick up the slack. So Ray Mitch did it himself.

Mitch, of Oakland Township, saw that his oldest son, Teddy, enjoyed playing for the Butler High inline hockey team several years ago.

His youngest son, Tommy, was all set for the 2007-08 season, but there was just one problem — the team didn’t have enough eligible players and so the squad had to sit out the year.

This past season, the number of players wasn’t the problem, but finding a coach was.

So Mitch stepped in and coached the Golden Tornado in 2008-09.

It was an easy decision to make.

“If I hadn’t stepped in to coach the team, another season would have been lost,” he said. “(Tommy) will be a senior next year, and I plan on coaching the team again.”

Taking over an inline team doesn’t just mean showing up for one practice and one game every week.

“After I became coach, I had to attend classes and meetings in Harmarville where they instructed us on how to make the sport fun and still instruct the players,” Mitch said. “But none of that caught me by surprise because I knew how things worked from when my older son played.”

Inline hockey in the Butler School District consists of two squads, varsity and elementary.

Mitch’s team had 11 players this past season.

But in southwestern Butler County, the popularity of inline hockey has exploded in the Seneca Valley School District.

“We have 12 teams in all from the elementary level to high school,” said Barry Bohn, a coach of Seneca Valley’s Varsity I team and also president of the Seneca Valley Inline Hockey Association. “In all, there’s about 120 players involved and most teams have at least two coaches.”

Bohn, whose son C.J. was a senior member of his team this past season, has been involved with Seneca Valley inline hockey for six years and has seen interest in the sport grow.

“I’ve found that the more volunteers get involved, it sparks interest among the kids,” Bohn said. “We have a summer program and that’s where a lot of the kids get introduced to it. Players bring their friends and, once you get the ball rolling, a lot of kids will want to play.”

Mitch claims the sport is growing in popularity at Butler.

“We made announcements at school to see if kids wanted to join,” he said. “We also ran a brief in the Butler Eagle and had an informational meeting. There is an increased interest for inline hockey at the school.”

The teams at Butler and Seneca Valley, which play their games at the Island Sports Center on Neville Island and at Harmarville BladeRunners, do not receive financial support from the schools.

Each player is responsible for equipment, though Seneca Valley has had fundraisers such as candy sales and raffle tickets to offset that cost.

“The school does allow us to use the ‘Butler’ name and the kids can get varsity letters and jackets,” Mitch said. “The players get pretty excited about that.”

That also is true for Seneca Valley.

The only foreseeable way that inline teams will get financial help from the school is if the sport becomes sanctioned by the WPIAL, something that seems unlikely.

Butler and Seneca Valley are both members of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Roller Hockey League (PIRHL).

“Inline hockey seems to be a growing sport at many schools, but I haven’t heard of any intention to take it to the WPIAL,” Bohn said.

Most people focus on the benefits the players get from inline hockey — exercise, camaraderie, development of skills — but the coaches also get a sense of satisfaction.

“A lot of coaches have sons involved and want to be part of their kid’s team,” said Bohn. “And a lot of them have a background in hockey and they look at it as a way to stay involved with the sport.

“You really get to know the kids and their parents,” Bohn said. “There’s a tight bond there. It’s a lot of fun.”

Mitch is already looking forward to the 2009-10 campaign.

“The greatest satisfaction I get is the fact that the players’ ability improves from the start of the season to the end,” he said. “The kids’ enthusiasm was great and the older players helped the younger ones. They put the team first above themselves.”

Mitch was assisted by Teddy Mitch and Steve Steighner this year.

Butler elementary coaches’ names were not available.

Inline coaches at Seneca Valley include Bohn, Mike Bannon, Jim Gloeckner, Joe Grieco, Todd Van Horn, Greg Pecora, Tony Poleti, Kevin Gaus, Chip Byrd, Jeff Fallon, Bob Soller, Glen Kemmering, Greg Lewis, Fred Fraer, Jim Kane, Steve Henderson, Dan Resetarits, Tim Mercer and John Kowalski.

<b>Butler High inline hockey<b><b>Number of teams: </b>2<b>Number of players:</b> 23<b>Phone number: </b>724-282-2268 for Ray Mitch<b>Web site: </b>www.pirhl.org<b>Seneca Valley Inline Hockey Association</b><b>President: </b>Barry Bohn<b>Number of teams: </b>12<b>Number of players: </b>120<b>Phone number:</b> 724-772-3383 for Barry Bohn<b>Web site: </b>www.svilha.com