| SPORTS
| SEPTEMBER 14, 2005
Club Sports
Roller hockey team rebuilding
The four-time champions hold tryouts
tonight to recruit A and B members.
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| The Shorthorn: Dominic Bracco |
| Mike Mania, UTA roller hockey
team president, left, and senior defenseman Cameron Crockett,
are teammates in a sport that is as physical
as its colder cousin ice hockey. |
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By Princess
McDowell
The Shorthorn staff
Tryouts for the UTA roller hockey A and B teams begin at 10 tonight
at the Breakaway Roller Hockey Center. The cost to try out is $10.
The four-time Southwest Collegiate Hockey League champions are rebuilding
after losing forwards Eric Adan, Wes Eidson and Matt Miller, defensemen
Ryan Cantrell and Chris Watson and goalie Dustin Manko. Randy Cantrell,
A team coach and Ryan’s father, also left since the A team
was expected to be experienced enough to run itself. The B team
coach of four years, Dane Pharp, is remaining with the team.
Mike Mania, history senior and club president, said people who have
experience playing roller hockey should attend tryouts to become
part of a winning tradition.
 |
| The Shorthorn: File art |
| Goalie Mel Fasang prepares
to stop a flying shot by forward David Kestembaum during
UTA roller hockey practice last season at Breakaway Roller
Hockey Center. |
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“Expect to be a part of a team that went 92-8-6 over the last
few years,” he said. “They should come if they’re
looking for good hockey.”
Last year, the squad participated in the National Collegiate Roller
Hockey Association’s national championship and placed sixth
after falling to Michigan State, 8-4.
Mania said he does not have high expectations from tryouts because
new and experienced players are expected to join in the spring semester.
“We will be able to get it up to that level,” he said.
“By the second semester I [will] feel very confident.”
Mania said the B team would house most of the first-time players,
but moving up to the A team is very possible.
“We have a good coach that works well with all levels of players,”
he said. “On the team, you are going to learn a lot, and you
are going to progress. That’s exactly what we need, people
that want to move up.”
Cameron Crockett exemplifies the progression a player can make as
part of the team. He originally played for Stephen F. Austin’s
roller hockey team, which he described as “unorganized,”
so he decided to transfer to UTA two years ago to play for the B
team.
Crockett, a computer science and engineering senior, worked hard
during his first season and now plays defenseman for the A team.
Mania said Crockett is a prime example of the chance players have
to progress.
“He worked his ass off. Leading up to the summer, I remember
being excited about him coming in,” he said. “If you
work hard, you are going to get to the A team.”
Roller hockey is similar to its colder counterpart, ice hockey,
but quicker because fewer players on the rink allow for more skating
room and puck movement, Mania said. Only four players and the goalie
play in roller hockey, as opposed to six in ice hockey.
“As a defenseman, I could go up and join a rush,” he
said.
Mania said that although game attendance has risen because of parents
and young fans, a lot of students do not attend.
“People don’t give it a chance,” he said. “And
it’s free. You can’t beat that.”
The team’s schedule is not finalized, but games are expected
to begin in October.
Crockett said the team is working now to make sure that after the
veterans leave, another squad is in place.
“We want to know that there’s a team in the future,”
he said.
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WHEN AND WHERE:
Tryouts for the UTA roller hockey team are at 10 tonight
at the Breakaway Roller Hockey Center, on Cooper Street
and California Lane.
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