Here's
a Story worth reading. Enjoy.
Inline hockey helps
ice hockey players
Thu, 06/12/2008 - 12:55pmBy: The Citizen
Recently an article written by Scott Hill was printed
in the USA Hockey magazine with information taken
from the National Inline Hockey Association Web site
on how playing Inline/Roller Hockey is great for those
that play ice hockey.
Hill wrote, “The Secret is out…inline
hockey is great for your ice game. With so little
practice time spent on individual skills and a lack
of frozen ponds where the kids play for hours on end,
the local hockey player is left without much opportunity
to improve his or her individual creativity on the
ice.
One secret that is slowly emerging in North America
to help you develop your puck skills and creativity
is inline hockey.
Play is 4-on-4 with no offsides, no icing, and no
body checking. These factors give the player more
room to dangle and be more creative.
More and more players are using roller hockey as a
complement to their ice hockey game.
Whether its playing in the spring roller hockey league
during the off-season or playing in the local house
league during their ice season, these players are
getting a jump on their competition.
Why are they gaining an advantage?
The rules and style of play for roller hockey are
conducive to skill development and confidence with
the puck. There are no blue or red lines to restrict
player movement on the surface thereby providing the
player with much more open space. This gives the player
more time to get open, more decision making time when
stick handling and more room to skate with the puck.
Creativity and confidence are allowed to develop
in a fun and entertaining forum.
The roller hockey game is a possession game very
similar to basketball. If you’ve got the puck
– the other team can’t score. In addition,
if your team uses a controlled attack you can catch
the opposition out of position and find yourself with
an excellent scoring chance.
This style of play helps develop a player’s
stick handling and passing skills while developing
a player’s confidence to make a smart play with
the puck. Translated to ice hockey where the average
player has the puck on his stick for a split second
before the opposition is on top of him, added confidence
and improved stick handling skills will make you a
better player.”
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Article Courtesy of State
Wars Hockey's very own Tim McManus ( Play for Pride
& Honor Always................... - by Tim McManus
of State Wars Hockey
As I sit here in between the second and third period
of Game 6 of the National Hockey League's Stanley
Cup Finals, so many thoughts about our sport come
to mind. First off, I am so jealous, because as I
sit here watching the TV and typing away, State Wars
National Director Jason Domitrovic is actually at
the game. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Jason is
a huge Penguins fan and just had to get to this game.
Personally, I am a big New York Rangers fan. I can’t
root for the enemy, so I’m a Red Wings fan tonight.
So, in essence, State Wars Hockey is split on who
we are rooting for in this awesome series.
By the way, after every game in this series I say
to myself, “How the heck can this sport not
be the biggest in the country?”
There is not a more exciting sport to watch or play
than hockey. How anyone can prefer to watch snoozeball
(baseball), people playing poker, or men rolling around
in their underwear beating each other up (UFC) over
hockey is just plain crazy. The one thing that I must
remind myself is that people all over the world are
watching this game. I mean, there isn’t one
person in Sweden tonight saying, “Hey, let’s
watch the Cubs -Diamondbacks game tonight.”
Most important, there are things about this series
and game that totally bring things to light about
our sport and what we should keep in mind when we
watch our kids play, especially at State Wars.
Every call made by a referee can be questioned. No
call or official is perfect, even in the NHL. In the
end, as long as they are consistent, be happy. It
is a tough job!
The building gets warm even in the NHL. Players are
taking 20 second shifts. Yes, 20 ticks. Don’t
complain when your coach calls you off after a minute.
Players need to stay fresh.
Look at the passing. How many players do you see take
the puck and go end to end and score? None. Not Crosby,
not Malkin, not Zetterberg, not Datsyuk. So, if the
best players in the world don’t do it, neither
should you. The best hockey players pass the puck!
Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. Hockey is a team game,
win or lose. To win, every player must contribute.
If you want to do it yourself, play golf or bowling.
We can all question the coach... Don’t. Just
like reffing, it is a hard job, and it is usually
thankless. Listen to your coach, appreciate your coach’s
effort, and respect your coach.
Never quit! Look at the Pens in Game 5, down and out
and outplayed, yet they won. In roller hockey, you
are never out of it; always give your all. Play both
ends of the rink. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are two of
the best offensive players in the world, yet they
are the first guys to hustle back every single shift;
and that is what truly makes them great. Anyone can
hang and score goals; be a complete hockey player!
Back to the action... as much as I’m rooting
for the Wings this time around, I don’t want
to see this series end. Good luck to all fans!
