I don't remember a summer in my life that wasn't punctuated by street hockey. It has always been my favorite athletic thing to do. When I was young, I used to play with a gang of kids in front of a friend's house half a block away, close enough to hear my dad holler for me at dinner time. Before any of us could afford a plastic net, we used large rocks from neighbors' rock gardens as posts and the curb as the net. Our "skaters" (a mishmash of kids in sneakers or roller blades) had no equipment beyond the necessary stick. Before we bought real equipment from the short-lived Play-It-Again Sports store, our goalies used anything for equipment: foam pads or bed pillows for leg pads; baseball gloves for hockey gloves; toy shields for blockers; catchers' chest guards or more pillows from chest protectors; a halloween costume's "Jason" mask (fake blood included) for a goalie helmet. We were often forced to relocate the rink by parked cars; moving cars provided mandatory timeouts book-ended by shouts of "GAME OFF!" and "GAME ON!" Yes, we all knew we were quoting "Wayne's World." That was the 1990's.

Today, in 2008, a few things have changed. The venue has gotten better; the old boards and nets from the county ice arena were installed outdoors and a permanent street hockey rink was opened to the public. That has become the center of street hockey in Beaver County. Because of this, the number of players for a game has gone up significantly. Some days I find myself in a game with 20 or more players, playing full line changes and two goalies wearing real pads. I find myself getting into scrums along the boards. Last time I was in one, I got punched in the ear by a guy twice my size, but I managed to make a good play. I still don't use any equipment beyond a stick, but other players sometimes go all-out. The trash talk is considerably more... adult. Still, I love every minute of it, and this summer's season has been no different.

At SVC, two hockey nets have been chained to the walls of a court near the science building. A growing number of students are starting to play at SVC, which is just great for me. I managed to play a few times last year, and cannot wait to start again this fall.