From my conversations with parents and players alike, there are certain “ice hockey purists” in the Midwest and East who have no idea how “big” roller hockey is. When you tell them your son has been playing roller hockey the last few years, they picture a ball in a school parking lot—not players in full gear in a state-of-the-art rink with 400 other players in the league.

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I’ve played goalie in ice hockey on and off for 20 years, and I’ve been playing “out” in roller hockey for about five. But for some reason I’m chicken to play goalie in roller hockey. There’s just something about it that turns me off. Like its too hot or the floor is too hard. It’s totally psychological, but nonetheless, I still refuse to play goalie in roller hockey.

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It’s easier to teach breakouts, passing and positioning to novices and kids in roller hockey because the puck does not move as fast. I’ve co-coached a house roller team in California and helped out on a house ice team hear in Michigan, and I’m still amazed at the level of sophistication of the plays we were able to create on the roller hockey team.

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If you’re one of those crossover players still wearing the old, ski-boot style inline skate to play parking lot hockey, it’s time to upgrade to a hockey style boot. The difference is amazing. While you can blow up to $500 for a pro skate, (which you wouldn’t want to use in a parking lot), the quality of the lower-priced skates for the casual player is improving year after year.

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Roller hockey gear odor is much worse than ice hockey gear odor.

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I don’t care what anyone says, for the average player, playing inline screws up your ice game. When I cross over back to ice, it take me weeks to get rid of the tell-tale dragging of the toe and the sprinting across the blueline as if there were none. Very embarrassing.

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