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| April 25, 2008
NARChIFORNIA
The Worlds Greatest Storms the West Coast…Again!
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BY: Nick ‘Gismo’ Gismondi
IRVINE, California – Clear blue skies, 80-degree temperature, palm trees, the Pacific Ocean, and some of the best hockey of the season!
That just about sums up the first day of what is shaping up to be one of the best regional qualifiers of the season. The talent present here at the 949 Center in Irvine is now not only a who’s who of roller hockey, but thanks to the cross over with ice, a who’s who of this games frozen counterpart.
The So Cal regional is always a good one talent wise because it is placed at an ideal time. The respective ice seasons have concluded and players from a wide variety of upper level teams have returned to play some summer puck on wheels at NARCh. It’s like the sparrows return to Capistrano, you can set your calendar by it.
Players like CJ Stretch, Mike Juola, Georgie Barber, Ryan Frost, Jr. Cadiz, Loren Baron, Josh Lopez, and countless others I am over looking are all back here for the summer and excited about the NARCh Finals being in California.
In talking with players today it was an all out scramble to make sure they were on teams and set to be qualified for this years event which is set to take place a few hundred miles north of here in San Jose this July. The anticipation for the Finals is certainly growing and it’s always interesting to listen in on the conversations that ignite around the rink about this time of year.
Coaches size one another and their teams up. Players are jubilant to see one another and compare seasons, and a masterful execution of mind games begin to be played in addition to the physical battles that exist on the rink. I imagine that ancient Rome had this same feel outside the coliseum and within its innards before a large Gladiator match was to be played out.
This is what hockey is all about. It’s about the camaraderie between young athletes who are all at once players, opponents, friends, and former teammates. It’s about the pride. It’s about the heart, and it’s about the drive. For the true hockey player, and I mean the true player. You know who you are, the ones who live and die by this sport, rise and fall with their teammates. The ones whose hearts beat faster when their boys score, and whose hearts break a bit when they get scored on. The ones who care more about the assist then the goal, who care more about the name on the front of the jersey then the one on the back. And the ones who for the 60 minutes that they’re on that rink, think only about what’s happening on-that-rink. The world shrinks to 200 x 85. It’s within that glass and boards that life thrives. It’s for those true players that the next three days marks the start of what will play out on the national stage in 3 months.
I get asked all the time what it takes to win NARCh. It’s a lot of talent, a lot of skill, a whole hell of a lot of heart, and a certain amount of luck. This years Irvine regional features amazing talent and teams. I have said it before and I’ll say it again. Look out for the West Coast.
More to come tomorrow from day two here in Irvine. Good to be home, GREAT to see so many familiar faces! AMAZING to watch this hockey.
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