RECREATION : Roll Playing : Galvanized by the Popularity of In-Line Skating and Seeing the Pros on Ice, Street Hockey Is Growing as a Hobby and Organized Recreational Sport

In 1988, Bryan Garland took over a recreational foot-hockey league in Buena Park. The sputtering organization was not in good shape. After attracting a high of about 30 adult teams in the mid-’80s, the 10-year-old league had dwindled to just 15 entries.

Today, however, Garland and his partner, Gil Morrison, can scarcely believe that this same league--since moved to Garden Grove--consists of more than 85 foot- and 190 roller-hockey teams. (Ann Victor, director of public relations for the Anaheim Bullfrogs of the professional Roller Hockey International League, said the duo’s California Street Hockey Assn. may be the largest organization of its kind in the country.)

“We always thought we could run a successful league (back in ‘80s),” said Garland, who operates the league full time in conjunction with the city of Garden Grove. “There were a lot of East Coast transplants from (hockey hot beds) Boston, New York and Chicago living in the area. But I don’t think any of us predicted it would become this popular.”

Galvanized by the recent popularity of in-line roller skating and professional ice hockey, street hockey is among the fastest rising recreational sports in Southern California. There are more than a dozen adult and/or youth street hockey leagues in and around the Orange County area. While a few of these leagues have foot-hockey divisions, the majority of them are upstart organizations catering solely to the burgeoning number of roller-hockey enthusiasts.

Some of whom are obsessed.

Shari Hitt plays hockey about five days a week and is in three roller divisions in the Garden Grove league. Her Black Widows team takes part in both the all-women and adult rookie divisions. In the latter category, her unit goes up against male dominated teams. She also plays on a co-ed team.

The Long Beach resident said she has participated in a multitude of sports from volleyball and softball to skiing and mountain biking. Yet she’s given them all up since she took up roller hockey about two years back.

“There’s no other sport that compares,” she said. “It uses everything you’ve got. You have to use your physical and mental (abilities). I love it. It’s an addiction.”

Sally Jamison of Cypress may be the ultimate roller-hockey mom, with five boys age 8 to 15 participating in the Garden Grove league. And her in-line-skating, 6-year-old daughter is eager to join a team.

Jamison doesn’t find her children’s passion for roller hockey difficult to fathom.

“They like the movement. They can use their talents as good skaters as well as their other physical skills. They want something that’s fast-paced. It’s not like golf.”

Jamison also finds comfort in the fact that roller hockey is set up to be much safer than ice hockey. The vast majority of recreational street-hockey leagues have non-checking rules that penalize players who deliberately use the rough body contact allowed in ice hockey. The plastic pucks used in adult and teen roller hockey are also lighter than the hard-rubber pucks used in ice hockey. (Many foot and preteen roller leagues use soft plastic balls instead of pucks.)

The rabid response to the game so impressed Garden Grove officials that the city recently built a $90,000 outdoor playing facility for the local league and community. The rink is scheduled to open Saturday. The Garden Grove Roller Hockey Park--which contains the rink, a playground and several baseball diamonds--sits on Chapman Avenue, just east of Harbor Boulevard. The 180-by-85-foot street-hockey rink is longer by about 40 feet than the Garden Grove league’s two mid-size rinks at the Chapman Sports Complex, at Chapman Avenue and Knott Street. (The Garden Grove league plans to run games at both sites.)

Unlike the rinks at the Chapman Sports Complex, the playing facility at the Garden Grove Roller Hockey Park is a Cadillac operation, including plexiglass walls, players’ benches, penalty boxes and a grandstand. It’s sure to rank as one of the most attractive outdoor roller-hockey rinks in Southern California.

For league moguls Garland and Morrison, the Garden Grove Roller Hockey Park arrives at an ideal time. Their league added more than 60 teams this year in new roller divisions for children under 6, women, high-schoolers and college players. The organization already had firmly established categories for adult foot hockey and youth and adult roller hockey.

Other Orange County communities and budding street-hockey entrepreneurs have also found themselves scrambling to satisfy a public demand for organized leagues and rinks.

In Dana Point, starting a youth street-hockey program was a matter of “self-preservation.”

According to Kevin Evans, the recreation superintendent there, “We found that a lot of our tennis and basketball courts were being utilized for makeshift hockey rinks. We were also getting complaints from the community about kids playing roller hockey in the middle of the streets. So we had a (small, 120-by-60-foot) roller-hockey rink built in our tennis court earlier this year and away we went.”

In Irvine last year, volleyball coach Gary Coffey decided to start a summer roller-hockey league “just for the fun of it.” His sons had started to play, and there was space for two small rinks in an indoor facility where he coached.

The response to his Orange County Roller Hockey organization was so great that he now runs three eight-week seasons during the year. About 50 teams participate in youth and adult divisions. Coffey is negotiating to move his league into a more spacious building to accommodate larger rinks.

This upward spiral of street hockey in Southern California began when Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings by the Edmonton Oilers in August, 1988. Widely considered ice hockey’s best player, The Great One helped give the sport a strong identity in an area where it had long been treated with cool detachment.

And during the past several years, the birth of the wildly popular Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the National Hockey League and the Anaheim Bullfrogs and Los Angeles Blades of the fledgling Roller Hockey International League helped make street hockey even more alluring. Last season the Mighty Ducks averaged 16,989 fans and the Bullfrogs 10,100 per game at the 17,174-seat Pond of Anaheim.

But it has perhaps been the widespread popularity of in-line skating--particularly among kids--that has given street hockey its biggest boost. Young skaters often acquire an interest in roller hockey.

“I started in-line skating first with friends when I was 13,” said Mario Cueva, 16, who participates in an indoor league operated by Stuart’s Roller World in Fullerton. “I also did some ice skating. Then I saw some hockey leagues. Since I could skate and I liked hockey, I decided to join.”

For many adults and youths, in-line roller hockey is attractive because it encompasses many of the characteristics of ice hockey without that sport’s relatively high costs and inconveniences. Because there are so few ice rinks in Southern California, ice hockey players can find themselves paying higher fees to play late at night or early in the morning.

“I always wanted to play ice hockey, but I lived in Corona, where there is no ice rink,” said Garland, a longtime foot-hockey player. “I would have had to practice in Brea at 5 a.m. a lot of times, and then I would have had to drive all over the place to other rinks to play other teams. You’ll see a growth in ice hockey because of the popularity of the Kings and Ducks. More ice rinks will get built. But it will always be an expensive sport.”

It can cost two to four times more per game to play ice hockey than roller hockey in Southern California. A roller player can join a league for as little as $60 for a 10-game season. One youth roller-hockey organization run by the city of San Juan Capistrano even offers scholarships and lends equipment to financially challenged families. Garland’s Garden Grove league also offers registration discounts to some low-income families. Roller leagues usually require players to purchase their own playing gear, but some organizations provide jerseys and the more expensive goalie equipment.

Once the players are outfitted and ready for the faceoff, they’ll find the game’s emphasis is more on skating ability than physical play. The non-checking rules and use of four skaters and a goalie per team (as opposed to ice hockey’s five skaters and a goalie) in many teen and adult leagues can make for a fast and high-scoring game.

When roller hockey is played indoors on a hard, plastic-tile surface called Sports Court, the action can be even more fevered. Stuart’s Roller World in Fullerton and Orange County Roller Hockey in Irvine are two leagues that offer this faster playing surface. Most roller facilities have concrete or wooden floors.

But just because you’re playing on squatty little wheels instead of precarious steel blades doesn’t mean the sport is as easy to master as an empty-net goal.

Most roller-hockey players warn it requires much time and practice to become a proficient in-line skater. Because the wheels are in line, some participants say skating can be as difficult to master as ice skating. The major difference is that in-line skates don’t allow for the quick stops that can be made with ice skates.

“Rather than taking the edge of your blades and biting into the ice like you do with ice skates, you do quick turns. You do circular motions (to stop),” Garland explained, adding that in-line skates have made roller hockey a more enticing game because they offer players more speed and maneuverability than the old four-wheel jobbies.

As for foot-hockey players, most are adults who took up the sport before in-line skating helped make the roller game all the rage. Many of these players remain staunch supporters of foot hockey, which generally requires better conditioning than the roller version.

But just about everyone agrees that the tide of street hockey is quickly and most definitely turning toward the roller game. Even some long-time foot hockey players are turning in their tennis shoes for in-line skates.

Dave Tuckman’s team, the Barbarians of the Garden Grove league, recently moved over from the foot soldiers. The Lake Forest computer-chip salesman underscores how tough the transition can be. He spends several nights a week just practicing skating.

“You have to make the commitment to learn how to skate well if you’re going to play roller hockey,” said Tuckman, a transplanted New Yorker. “It’s worth it. It’s so much more fun on skates. It’s more like real hockey.”

Just how popular roller hockey will become is uncertain. But it’s clearly off to a blazing start in Southern California. Even the National Hockey League’s current work stoppage hasn’t slowed roller hockey’s momentum. And there’s serious talk of elevating it from a club status in high schools to a California Interscholastic Federation sport.

“We’ve had a lot of parents come up to us and say, ‘My kids are only playing roller hockey now. We can’t get them back into baseball,’ ” Garland said. “It’s such an addictive sport. Its (growth) is going to be amazing. You can see it now. Two years ago you didn’t see anyone playing it. Now you see kids on every block playing it.”

Primer to Roller Hockey

Roller hockey, the sport in which players lace up in-line skates and joust on indoor and outdoor rinks, is booming in Orange County. A look at the game, the garb and the ground rules:

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(Not-So) Rink-a-Dink

The typical rink is at least 180 feet long and 70 feet wide. Roller Hockey International, the sport’s governing board, recommends 200 feet by 85 feet. The surface must be surrounded by at least a four-foot wall to keep the puck in play.

Center line

Faceoff spot

Goal

Penalty bench

Player Roles

Teams have four skaters--a center, winger and two defensemen--plus a goalie.

Center

Winger

Defense

Goalie

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Rules to Roll By

* Playing time: Four 12-minute quarters, 15-minute halftime; two-minute breaks between quarters. Home team chooses goal; teams change at halftime.

* Game start: Faceoff at rink center. After a timeout: Game resumes at the faceoff spot nearest where play ceased.

* Shootout: Game cannot end in a tie. Five players on each team take one shot each at guarded goal, alternating sides until all have shot. Team with best score wins. Shootout repeated until tie is broken.

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Game Gear

Even though players skate softly and carry a big flat stick, protective gear is a must. Here’s what they need to get rolling:

Skate Close-Up

The in-line skate is the most important tool of roller hockey. Main rule: Never buy for the wheels--they’ll quickly wear out and need replacing. Look for a snug, comfortable fit and durability. Other factors:

* Wheels: Larger strides mean larger wheels. Sizes range from 72 to 76 millimeters. Relative hardness of a wheel is measured in durometers. Choose a soft wheel (78A) to grip surfaces better. A hard wheel (85A) is great for speed.

* Frames: Make certain frame can fit 76-millimeter wheel. Nylon frames are less expensive, good for beginners. Faster, power players will want to try light, aluminum frames.

* Boot: Look for a flexible yet stiff boot to prevent ankle injuries. Nylon provides immediate comfort and removable liner (for laundering). * Note: Goalie can wear five-wheel skates; all others must wear four wheels. Helmet: Vented, light plastic

Elbow pads: Molded to fit contour and movement

Gloves: Thick rubber covers fingers and forearms

Hip pads: Thick padding worn under uniform

Kneepads: Lightweight foam and nylon for snug fit

Stick: Wood, carbon composite or aluminum; no longer than 60 inches

The Floor: Basic roller hockey surfaces: concrete, plastic-interwoven tile and wood.

The Puck: A roller hockey puck, made of plastic, is lighter than an ice hockey puck. Beveled runners work best on smooth surfaces, flat runners on a textured surface.

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Hockey Faceoff

Although they are similar, roller hockey and ice hockey do have basic differences:

Roller Hockey

Players: Four skaters plus goalie

Periods: Four 12-minute quarters with a halftime

Final Score: Shootout breaks ties

Contact: Body check constitutes a foul

Ice Hockey

Players: Five skaters plus goalie

Periods: Three 20-minute periods

Final Score: Game can end in tie

Contact: Body and hip checks allowed

Sources: Roller Hockey International; Anaheim Bullfrogs; Roller Hockey Magazine, World Book Encyclopedia; Researched by APRIL JACKSON / Los Angeles Times

Hockey Basics

These basic drills can hone hockey skills. To improve passing and shooting skills, players should practice snapping their wrists and sweeping, not slapping, the puck.

Stick-Handling Drill

Place 10 small obstacles in a row. Straddling the row, push puck between obstacles. Repeat, skating backward. Tip: Key is to avoid obstacles while moving puck around them; do it with head and eyes up rather than watching the puck.

Skating Drill

Standing with knees slightly bent, push out to the side until leg is fully extended. Repeat on same side until reaching end of rink; repeat on other leg. Tip: Skating in a straight line on same leg for a few hundred feet will develop muscle strength and good form.

Deke Drill

Tip: This basic drill helps perfect faking. Use it on goalies to make them move laterally, creating a shooting zone.

Guide puck to cone at comfortable pace, lean shoulders and head one direction, then hit puck opposite way. Source: Anaheim Bullfrogs; Researched by APRIL JACKSON/Los Angeles Times

In-line Lingo

Hip terms for happening hockey players:

Biscuit: Puck

Bread and butter: A player’s favorite move

Go coast to coast: Puck handler skates rink from end to end and gets shot off or scores goal

Pull a Savard: Turn a complete circle as a move on an opponent, named after ice hockey star Denis Savard

Put it in the cookie jar: Scoring at top section of goal

Saucer pass: Passing puck in air over an opponent’s hockey stick

Score in the five-hole: Put puck between the goalie’s legs for a goal

Twig: Hockey stick

Source: Anaheim Bullfrogs