California Dreaming

A couple years ago, a documentary about the California Wave Bantam AAA team helped inspire younger players in southern California as well as non-traditional hockey areas, that dreams can become reality.

We're now seeing players go to junior and college hockey on a regular basis. Now, NHL draft picks are becoming more common.

This holiday season, the United States World junior team will have 2 southern California players on their roster. 1 of which was featured in the documentary, "In the Crease." The Saints Peewee A team will have a chance to watch these players in person as they are traveling to Ottawa for the Bell Capital Cup, which coincides with the World Junior Championship.

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For all you young goalies... Dedication is the key. Just you and the Ice

What it's all about

As adults watching kids play, it's hard not to get caught in the excitement of a game. With so much time and money invested in hockey, it's hard not to feel emotional about the game.

However, as much as adults do for kids, the most important thing to remember that win or lose, each kid should walk away from the rink with a smile on his or her face. Sometimes adults just get too involved and take away the joy of hockey.

Above is a clip of what hockey was intended to be.

Roller Hockey...

One of the biggest complaints coaches have is that there just isn't enough time to work on everything their team needs. Skating, puck skills, positioning, special teams, etc.
2 hours a week isn't very much for developing hockey players. Especially when you hear stories of Russian players spending hours on end training since they were three years old.

For us in southern California, our resources are rather limited when it comes to ice time. Expensive ice times and too few ice rinks to go around. Players need to be practicing their skills more than 2 hours a week.

It's difficult to tell a 10 year old to shoot 100 pucks a day and practice stickhandling a ball in their backyard every day. Kids are kids and doing repetitive drills can get boring. If you go to any school and watch kids during recess, you'll see them playing a game of some sort. Pick-up basketball, football or even handball. They aren't dribbling around cones and doing the shuttle run. Kids play sports because they're fun.

In the 1990s, roller hockey was one of the most popular sports in southern California. Many ice hockey players came from roller hockey and many kids played both sports. While there are some differences between the 2, roller hockey is a game that emphasizes skills and creativity. Because it's a high scoring game, it gives players the confidence and vision to create scoring chances and score.

The great thing about roller hockey is that it isn't taken as seriously as ice hockey. While still competitive, players can experiment more with the puck and develop their skills and confidence. You'll never see anyone play dump and chase in roller hockey.

Many players who have played both roller hockey and ice have benfitted from the extra skill development. In fact, most of the players who have gone on to play NCAA D1 hockey or even drafted into the NHL, have played roller hockey as a youth.

Most high schools and even some middle schools have club roller hockey teams. It's a fun way to be competitive and also very inexpensive. For players who want to take a break from the ice during the summer, roller hockey is a great way to cross train.

A cult following

Being a hockey player or fan in San Diego has always been pretty unique. Typical responses I've gotten from people who find out that I'm involved with hockey are:

"There's hockey in San Diego?"

"Where did you grow up?"

"Where's the ice rink?"

" Is it roller hockey?"

The hockey community in San Diego is pretty small. People involved with youth hockey here are pretty hard core about it. That's why it's so funny to run into people not involved with hockey give a weird look when you mention hockey to them.

The problem San Diego is facing now is that the number of kids playing ice hockey in San Diego is decreasing from what is was in the 90s. This is due to a number of reasons:

- Struggling economy

- The death of roller hockey: It used to be really popular and almost became a CIF sport in high school. Roller hockey used to be a great feeder sport for ice hockey.

- No pro team: Kids have no team to watch or support. The best hockey San Diego ever had was the Gulls of the International Hockey League (IHL). Really good hockey with a lot of NHL talent. The Ducks and Kings don't really appeal to the San Diego market.

- Hardly ever on T.V: ESPN doesn't televise games anymore. The Kings get a couple games a week and San Diego doesn't get Ducks games. Combine that with the fact that there isn't really a Gretzkylike figure to attract people, the kids simply don't watch and learn.

- Popularity: Sports like baseball, football and soccer are just more popular. Kids can identify with the Chargers and Padres.

-Price: Hockey is a really appealing sport if kids are given the chance, but hockey is an expensive sport. It takes family sacrifice for kids to play.

One of the main disadvantages that players in SD have is that there isn't much exposure to the game. There's nothing to pull them in and get them really excited. Back in the early 90s, a huge generation of player came to the game with Gretzky and then the Ducks. I hate to say it, but the goofy Disney movies actually got kids interested in hockey. The expansion of the NHL Ducks didn't hurt either.

But now, hockey is on the decline here. I'm hoping that maybe someday Sidney Crosby or Ovechkin either gets traded or becomes a free agent and comes to the Kings or Ducks.

This year, our club is taking a few teams to the East Coast. The peewees are going to Ottawa for the Bell Capital Cup, the bantam AA team is going to Toronto for the Paul Coffey tournament, while the Lady Saints are going to Connecticut for the Polar Bear tournament. Although I hope all teams are competitive and do well at their respective tournaments, what I'm really hoping is that these kids and parents will get excited about hockey... Playing tournaments out here in the west is NOTHING compared to playing in big-time tournaments out on the east coast and Canada. 

Not just because of the competition, but a great atmosphere is really fun to play in. In 2004, Jason Galea took the first ever Saints team to the Toronto area for the Silver Sticks Finals. In 2006, I took a peewee team to Ottawa for the Bell Capital Cup. Both teams had an amazing time and is still a very fond memory for all of the players, coaches and parents who participated in the trips. 

Hopefully the teams this year will have the same kind of experience. 

-Neil Konitshek