FUN BACK IN FUNDAMENTALS; ROLLER HOCKEY TEAMS STRESS RECREATION.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer Most directors of youth sports' programs can share at least one horror story horror story Story intended to elicit a strong feeling of fear. Such tales are of ancient origin and form a substantial part of folk literature. They may feature supernatural elements such as ghosts, witches, or vampires or address more realistic psychological fears. of an overzealous soccer dad or baseball mom who wants to put wins and losses ahead of smiles and laughs. Ned and Walt Collins are trying to restore some fun to youth sports, through the non-traditional sport of roller hockey roller hockey n. Hockey played on a hard surface in which two opposing teams of roller skaters, using curved sticks, try to drive a ball into the opponents' goal. . The brothers are the hockey directors for the Tri-Valley Roller Hockey League, which runs leagues in Calabasas and Moorpark, and their emphasis is on teaching, not winning. ``The kids just love the sport, so we focus on the beginner and try to keep it as more recreation than competition,'' said Ned Collins, who runs the Calabasas program based in DeAnza Park. ``We're competitive, but we try to keep certain rules about kids and playing time, so the most talented kids aren't the only ones who get to play.'' The Collins' goal is to promote roller hockey as a game in which players of all ages and ability can participate. That philosophy also extends to the rules of the Calabasas league. Most roller hockey leagues play with four skaters per side, but the Collins' league follows NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there rules, with a full-size rink, blue lines and 5-on-5 action, which allows more kids to be on the floor. ``We use ice hockey rules The majority of ice hockey around the world is played under the umbrella of three organizations, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, and the International Ice Hockey Federation, each with their own set of rules. for all but the adult leagues, because for the kids, it's much more of a team game,'' Ned Collins said. ``It gets more people involved, so kudos to the city of Calabasas for designing the rink like that.'' The Calabasas program has three seasons (spring, summer, fall) and four youth leagues: mite (8-and-under), squirt (10-and-under), pee wee Pee Wee, Pee-wee or peewee may refer to:
Former city and sultanate, Java. It was located at the western end of Java between the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean. In the early 16th century it became a powerful Muslim sultanate, which extended its control over parts of Sumatra and Borneo. (17-and-under). Adult, coed and open leagues are also available to players over 18, and Ned Collins estimates that each year 1,200 players take part in the program, which began in the fall of 1996. ``We really try to promote roller hockey as a team sport,'' Walt Collins said. ``A lot of programs promote individual players, not necessarily by choice but because coaches want to be competitive. But we try to emphasize to our coaches that teaching the basics of hockey is more important. ``We've designed the program for beginners and intermediate players. They learn the fundamentals, and they can make it as competitive as they want, but recreation is really the focus.'' The Tri-Valley Roller Hockey League was born out of the in-line-skating boom of the late 1980s. Walt Collins ran a hockey equipment shop in Agoura with Ned and a third brother, Ric. ``That was the beginning, back in 1987,'' Ned Collins said. ``Roller blades had just come out, even before the craze started. Walt just said we would put them in the corner of the store, but before long they started selling like hot cakes.'' The league was created shortly thereafter, beginning on the blacktop basketball courts at Agoura High. The brothers would construct the rink on Saturday morning, and conduct games all weekend before dismantling the rink on Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. . That led to a league in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , and when the brothers heard about the plan to build a rink in Calabasas, they wanted to be part of it. ``We went to them and said that we had run a successful league in Agoura and that we knew we could run their program successfully,'' Walt Collins said. ``The interest is high, but there are just not enough rinks to meet the demand.'' The RollerDome in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. is the only indoor rink in Ventura County to host leagues, but the brothers plan to stay out of the rink-building business, choosing instead to spread their resources among several communities. ``Building an indoor rink costs a lot of money,'' Walt Collins said. ``We definitely want to expand into areas like Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura. I would like to do what AYSO AYSO American Youth Soccer Organization AYSO All Your Saturdays Occupied AYSO Alabama Youth Soccer Organization AYSO Albuquerque Youth Soccer Organization (Albuquerque, New Mexico) soccer did and use them as a model of how to work within a community.'' |
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