THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 21, 1994 TAG: 9410200154
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 17 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
What do you get when you combine roller skates and hockey sticks? The fastest growing sport in America, according to Dana Chaput.
Roller hockey - all the fast-paced excitement of hockey without the danger. No skate blades. No violence.
Chaput knows what he's talking about. The Princess Anne High School and Old Dominion University graduate runs Haygood Skating Center with his father, Ray.
In 1989, Dana Chaput started a roller hockey league at the center.
``We began with recreation level,'' he said.
Chaput had a facility, a few young players and hopes.
Since then, many of the hopes have become reality.
``We progressed from the rec level to a junior hockey league. Now, we have the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League, with teams around the area and state. Kempsville, Hampton, Isle of Wight and Richmond,'' said Chaput.
Thirty-five teams played in the MAHL last season. Chaput expects that number to grow to 60 for the coming season.
And, although there is no ice in the rink, Haygood roller hockey added icing to the cake by taking three medals and coming up one game short of a fourth medal at the national finals in Buffalo, N.Y. More than 120 teams competed in the championship event. Four teams in five divisions represented Haygood Skating Center, playing under the team name, Virginia Beach Sharks. No other club at the national championships received more than two medals.
Roller hockey players compete in one or more of several styles and divisions of play: Junior Olympic, for those with less than three years of experience; standard softball, played with field hockey sticks and a hollow plastic ball; and North American style, the most popular - what we expect to see when we hear the word hockey, Dana Chaput said.
Softball roller hockey teams have 10 players on a team and play two 8-minute halves; North American teams, 12 players and two 15-minute halves.
Vic Valencia has played goalie for four years for the senior division teams, both North American and softball-style. His softball squad won a bronze medal in Buffalo.
``We found out about roller hockey through the skating center and signed the kids up first. Then they started the adult team, so I signed up, too,'' said Valencia.
His children, Reyna O'Neill, 9, and Brian O'Neill, 10, have played for two and three years, respectively. Their team won a silver medal in softball play in the national finals. They were 25-1 for the year.
``There's more strategy in softball, setting up plays and working the ball around,'' Valencia said. ``North American looks like regular ice hockey without the ice. There's more shots on goal and it's faster.''
Ray Chaput has owned the roller rink since 1977. Dana has worked for his father from the start. He holds a master's degree in sports management from ODU and speaks enthusiastically about the future of roller hockey.
``There are 28 teams in a pro league now,'' said Chaput. ``It takes a million dollars to buy a franchise.
``The sport has been around for 50 years and North American roller hockey is an exhibition sport at the Olympics now. People don't realize how quickly it's growing.''
One hundred-eighty kids are involved in skating programs at Haygood and 75-150 play in the recreational roller hockey league.
Doing well in roller hockey has enabled Chaput to do good. The Haygood Skating Center tournament has endowed more than $5,000 in college scholarship money the last two years.
``Companies purchase space on the boards around the rink for the tournament and we contribute that to the fund,'' Chaput said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
James O'Neil, 33, a member of the adult Virginia Beach Sharks, and
Jamie Johnson, 12, practice roller hockey at Haygood Skating Center.
Four teams in five divisions brought home three medals at the
national finals.
by CNB