Building From the Ground Up

As the sport of collegiate roller hockey grows by leaps and bounds every year, teams competing at the national and regional level attract more and more attention to their respective leagues and clubs. However, the sport also thrives on a local level as well with the emergence of local-area leagues as established collegiate roller hockey organizations. These local area leagues (LAL?s) act as a developmental platform for their respective regions. One of the oldest and most established of these organizations is the Philadelphia Collegiate Roller Hockey League (PCRHL), based in and around the college and university laden area of southeast Pennsylvania in the territory of the ECRHA. Currently in its sixth season of existence, the PCRHL is home to twenty teams from eleven schools in the Philadelphia area, supporting a two-tiered system for the first time. These statistics are impressive, considering that even some National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA) Member Organizations do not boast as many teams. However, quantity of teams is far less important than the quality of competition; the PCRHL is fortunate enough to boast the best of both worlds. The mission of the PCRHL is two-fold. First and foremost, the league is out to promote good, competitive intercollegiate roller hockey in the Philadelphia area. However, with quality college teams spread throughout the country, the league is also focused on developing the teams (and clubs) for intercollegiate competition on the national level. A number of teams in the Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey League (ECRHA ? an NCRHA Member Organization) have either ?graduated? from the PCRHL, or field ?B? and ?C? teams in the PCRHL to foster development for future ECRHA play. In a prime example, in 2001-02, Neumann College and Drexel University met in the PCRHL Championships. The very next year, Neumann took home a second place finish at college nationals, while Drexel took home an ECRHA B-division championship. This is a testament to the hard work put forth by both clubs, but also a nod to both the level of competition in the PCRHL, as well as the PCRHL serving as an outstanding grooming ground for future ECRHA and NCRHA teams. Between the PCRHL and the ECRHA, the Mid-Atlantic area is a current hotbed for roller hockey. Between the two leagues, teams total in excess of 80, with additional interest flooding in each year. PCRHL team participation has risen by about twenty-five percent in each of the last 2 seasons, and as encouraging as this is, the most exciting part about it will be when some of these clubs make the jump to the ECRHA and are able to participate in national competition in the very near future. Current PCRHL Chairman Brian Smith, who has both played and coached in the PCRHL and ECRHA remarked, ?The level to which both leagues have evolved in the past few years is staggering. In the PCRHL, we?ve set out to run the league in a similar manner as the ECRHA: efficiently, professionally, and in the best interest of competition. The PCRHL and ECRHA are reason to believe the future of roller hockey will be bright for many years to come.? The PCRHL holds games at the Marple Sports Arena in Marple, PA on Sundays from October through April. For more information, visit www.pcrhl.org. Article courtesy of John Osborne and Rebecca Breitel