Young Players Skate Toward Worthy Goal

Youngsters from across the Conejo Valley faced off for a cause Sunday, raising money for juvenile arthritis with a roller hockey tournament that mixed competition with fun.

With jersey bottoms, in some cases, hanging around their knees, players in the 10-and-under Squirt B division glided across the wood-paneled floor of the Roller Dome in Thousand Oaks. They took turns early Sunday morning trading shots, passes and blocks.

“It has been great,” said Mike Nicastro, 10, goaltender for the Black team in the Squirt B division. “You’re helping people have a better life and doing what you love best.”

Organizers of the weekend Heroes Roller Hockey Tournament estimated that the players raised about $5,000 for the Ventura affiliate of the Arthritis Foundation, a national organization that funds research and services for people with arthritis.

About 170 boys and girls participated in the two-day event, which split 16 teams into four divisions according to age and skill level. Each player won a trophy.

“The atmosphere was wonderful,” said coach and Roller Dome sports director Chris DeLuca. “Everyone here won.”

The weekend event, however, was not all about fun and games. Patti Hartmann, executive director of the county’s Arthritis Foundation office, said education was a high point of the tournament.

“A lot of people don’t know that arthritis affects children as well,” Hartmann said.

An estimated 300,000 teens and children nationwide suffer from the chronic illness, she said. The tournament helped educate the participants of that fact and others pertaining to juvenile arthritis.

“The kids have been asking lots of questions and getting good answers,” said event organizer Don Adler, a member of the foundation’s local board of advisors and a roller hockey coach.

Tony Marlow, a Moorpark resident who came out to support his nephew, Guy Flores, said parents and supporters also got the message.

“We’ve been buying the pizza, buying the raffle tickets,” he said. “We’re doing anything we can to support it.”

While the day was not without a few collisions as players rushed full speed toward the puck, competition seemed even more pronounced on the sidelines, where dozens of parents and supporters cheered, calling out advice on open shots and passing lanes.

“I think the parents are more competitive than the kids,” Marlow said.

The tournament turned out to be a combination of fun and frustration for Mike Nicastro, the Black team goaltender.

After a penalty forced him to face a red-hot Blue team short-handed, Mike smacked his hockey stick across the goal. Later, despite strong defense and some extraordinary saves, his team lost, 5-3, in the division championship game.

Although the tournament was something of an unknown in its first run, event organizer Adler said, its success should attract more players and sponsors next year. The foundation relied on a mixture of raffle ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and entry fees to raise money for the event.

Many of the participants came from roller hockey teams whose seasons recently ended.

“The kids have had the greatest time,” Adler said.

Winning teams were: the Blue team, coached by DeLuca, in the Squirt B division; the Burgundy team, coached by Dave Lindblad, in the Mite division; the Teal team, coached by John Cooley, in the Bantam B/Squirt A division; and the Burgundy team, coached by Denise Thompson, in the Bantam A division.