Butler gets inline

By JOHN ENRIETTO Eagle Sports Editor

April 30, 2005 Last Updated: April 30, 2005 02:13 PM Amateur

Roller hockey becoming quite popular

Inline roller hockey was considered a recreational game only a few years ago, an indoor or outdoor sporting activity mimicking ice hockey for kids to play.

Not anymore.

Roller hockey has become a sport of its own and has become one of the fastest growing sports in Western Pennsylvania.

"It's hard to keep up with the number of kids who want to play now," said Roger Hitchcock, director and coach of the Butler Golden Tornado Inline Roller Hockey program.

Butler recently completed its second season in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Roller Hockey League with five teams and about 45 players.

It only had two teams - varsity and junior varsity - and 25 players during its first year.

"My son Mark was playing roller hockey at Family Sports Center three years ago and a couple of parents mentioned the school league at Neville Island and that Butler had a chance to get in it," Hitchcock said.

"We passed the word around and got two teams put together right away."

This past season, Butler's program grew into two varsity teams - a Tier 2 and Tier 3 squad - along with a junior varsity squad and two elementary teams.

The Tornado's elementary Tier 1 team put together a 7-1 record and won the PIRHL championship, defeating Bethel Park in the finals.

"We have enough elementary kids moving up to sixth grade next year that we'll likely start a middle school team," Hitchcock said. "I'm anticipating 80 players or more in our program next season.

"Its scary how many good elementary-age roller hockey players there are in Butler."

Roller hockey is available in college as well. Pitt, Duquesne and Robert Morris all have teams. Mark Hitchcock is considering playing at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

An 18-and-under traveling team at Family Sports Center will continue playing this summer. It plans to participate in tournaments in Buffalo, N.Y., Cincinnati and other towns.

Bob Arturo began the PIRHL at the Island Sports Center on Neville Island with 18 teams from nine school districts in 1999.

This season, the league had 79 teams from 29 school districts. PIRHL commissioner Jon Roux said another five school districts and 12 teams are joining next year.

"The league has nine different tiers, based on skill level," Roux said. "You play at the tier that matches your skill level."

"Age doesn't matter in high school," Hitchcock said. "In essence, there may be seniors playing on the junior varsity team in this sport."

Games consist of three 15-minute periods and a team can consist of eight players and a goaltender. Play is 4-on-4 and there is no icing or offside calls.

"It's a fast game, definitely quicker than ice hockey," Roux said. "Shifts generally last two minutes or so and most kids are playing every other shift.

"That's a lot of minutes played per game against kids of similar ability. It's easy to see why kids are so attracted to this game."

The problem is finding places to play. Island Sports Center hosts most PIRHL games, cramming the league schedule into Saturdays and Sundays.

Hot Shots, a new facility in Mount Pleasant, has picked up some of the games for teams in that area.

"We (Island Sports Center) logged over 600 hours of game time from October to February, using two rinks," Roux said. "Games went on here from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday.

"We're about maximized out on how big we can get, unless we can find more facilities," Roux said of the league.

Family Sports Center in Butler, Southpointe and Harmarville host roller hockey games during the summer.

"It's a new breed of athletes," Roux said. "About 15 percent of our league's players may be crossovers from ice hockey, but no more."

Butler will hold tryouts for next year's teams in June at the Family Sports Center.