GMHS Lasso Online News Story

New After School Sport
Street Hockey Grows in Popularity;
May Seek School’s Club Status

By: Dan Watkins (January 20, 2006)

It all goes down at Cavalier Tennis Courts. But instead of tennis rackets and yellow tennis balls scattered along the painted green concrete, there are two red and white plastic nets, and plenty of spare hockey sticks lying around. This is quite a different scene from the game of tennis, and the whole crew of between eight to15 Mason students that show up often get odd looks from the people walking by.

Street hockey games are very laid back, and people of all different skill levels play. On one end of the spectrum, you’ve got the fast skaters, the great stick handlers, the players who can skate backwards, and the overall “Elites.” On the other end, there are still people that trip over the painted white lines of the tennis court. Skill level plays an important part in selecting the teams, as the two goaltenders get to pick which players are on which team and what round they go in.

Once the game starts, however, skill level does not matter quite as much. Team chemistry and players that work hard normally prevail over some players that might choose to “Hot Dog” it one game.

Ready for a rough and tumble afternoon of street hockey on the tennis courts at Cavalier Park, these nine say they are always ready for a game.

While the games are laid back and fun, toward the end they can get competitive. Just like in real hockey games, fights are known to break out. While few real punches are thrown, it’s important to stand up for yourself by pummeling a good friend with a couple of blows to the torso. There are very often no winners in these so called “fights.” They normally continue until the combatants are tired or when the rest of the players not in battle no longer view it as entertaining. Every once in a while though, a brawl breaks out, and everyone has to find a dancing partner, including the heavily padded, often goofy-looking goalies. A good time is had by all, and once the players have stopped and picked up their gloves, play quickly resumes.


Senior forward Scott Lemen, right, body checks fellow senior Gregg Curtin into the chain link fence at Cavalier Park during one of their frequent street hockey games, often attended by 15 players. (Photo by Dan Watkins)	So padded up he can barely move, senior goalie Andrew Puzick gets ready to defend on goal. Andrew is part of the growing number of street hockey enthusiasts at Mason. (Photo by Dan Watkins)

During games, all different skill sets take place. “Dekeing,” otherwise known as stick handling is commonplace. Dekes can be fancy or simple, and everybody that plays can attempt and are often successful at the easiest moves. “One timers,” are a beauty when they go in. One timers occur when one player passes to another player, and the other player hits the street hockey ball without actually catching the pass. Being physical is also important when playing. If a member of the opposing team is skating alongside the giant black-grated fence with his head down, he basically deserves to get destroyed by a defenseman. Playing street hockey well and with skill is important, and the more games you play, the better you get.

Games normally last anywhere from the first team to score five goals to first to 10 goals, or simply when everybody gets tired of playing. There is also a little something called the sun that prevents people from seeing the ball at a certain point, normally around 5:30 p.m. during the winter. Summer does bring longer days though. Unfortunately, it also brings the tennis players back to the tennis courts. Officially reserving the courts for two or three hours will soon be the key as the weather turns warmer. This reservation will also keep away the police, who have actually shown up before. I guess teenagers having fun and getting exercise warrant three cop cars breaking up the game.

But regardless, street hockey popularity is growing, and could possibly even be promoted as a club sport for the school. Currently, normally two games are played each week, and if it’s a holiday week, it could be more. It has grown in popularity simply because it’s fun, and while there will never be a George Mason ice hockey team, students may still have the opportunity to play on concrete instead of ice.