Stick-wielding kids have long been spotted darting and deking on city streets, and in parking lots, lacrosse boxes and community centres. Now ball hockey is hitting the high schools.
Interest in the sport has shot high and fast among textbook-toting teens, with the inaugural BC high school ball hockey championships set for May 13 to 15 in Port Moody.
Six squads will compete in what facilitator Rob Moxness calls a “grassroots” event, with representation from five communities: Port Coquitlam’s Terry Fox Ravens, the Mission Roadrunners, Stelly’s Stingers, Delta’s Burnsview Griffins and the Fleetwood Park Dragons and Johnston Heights Eagles, both of Surrey.
A Surrey teacher and 15-year competitive ball hockey player, Moxness began lobbying schools around the province last January. He reconnected with Port Moody’s Tony Bellano, whom Moxness knew from the pair’s playing days in the Canadian national men’s ball hockey championships in 2003 and 2006, competing against Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows along the way. Bellano forwarded Moxness the name Dean Whitson, a big ball hockey proponent and a Fox teacher, and the tourney got teed up faster than a Sami Salo slapper.
The positive response –– about 100 students are expected to play in provincials –– has been pretty much what Moxness expected, with one pleasant surprise.
“Stelly’s from (Central Saanich) is taking the ferry and staying in hotels,” Moxness said. “I didn’t expect a team from outside the Lower Mainland to attend the first tournament.”
With more than 6,000 youth playing organized ball hockey provincially, Moxness felt it was time for the sport to hit high school.
“The educational system continues to explore programming opportunities to keep students busy after school,” Moxness said. “Research shows that the peak time for youth criminality falls within the hours of 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., which underscores the need for school communities to develop meaningful, physically active and socially engaging after-school programs.”
Enter ball hockey.
“Ball hockey is a fun, affordable and all-inclusive sport that is gaining popularity with both students and their families,” Moxness said. “Implementing it as an after-school program will provide many opportunities for student engagement and success. The primary goal is to provide fair, safe and equal participation for all prospective high school ball hockey athletes.”