SOME Etobicoke ball hockey players at practice at Sir Adam Beck drydeck. Photos by Tom Godfrey.
Luca Torresan and Mike Sikora have been teaching South Etobicoke children to remain active and be healthy by playing organized ball hockey.
Ball hockey has picked up in popularity as parents last season signed up their children for inexpensive outdoor activity. Many of the experienced players have now shifted to ice hockey as ball hockey wound down.
BALL HOCKEY is on the rise in South Etobicoke because it is less costly than some other sports.
Torresan is the president of the Etobicoke Minor Ball Hockey League (EMBHL), which runs camps for 480 children, aged four to 14, to teach them the skills of playing the game and having fun.
Sikora is the vice-president of ball hockey operations.
“The first weeks are the best because the kids want to come out and play,” Torresan said in an interview recently. “The kids and their parents want to be outside and be with other kids.’
The EMBHL has been in operation for about seven years and is made up of about 30 teams from the area of all age groups. There are about 36 leagues across the province.
“Ball hockey is always among the top sports,” he said. “It does not cost as much as other sports and you don’t need a lot of expensive equipment.”
The sport is very popular with children in Etobicoke who may not have much funds for expensive hockey gear or want to keep in shape for ice hockey.
“It is the most cost effective sport now,” Torresan explained. “You do not require a lot of money to play this sport.”
He said there are mixed leagues where boys can play with girls. “We had a great girls’ team this year,” Torresan noted. “The girls are very good.”
A player named Logan, 10, said “it was real fun to play ball hockey and to have a good time with my friends.”
“This sport satisfies my need for ice hockey in the summer,” observed Charlie, 11. “It is a great sport to keep in shape.”
The ball hockey community is pushing for their sport to be played in the Olympics to obtain more exposure and motivate more children to play the sport.
“Our main goal is to have ball hockey become an Olympic sport,” Torresan said. “We have been lobbying for the sport to be played in the Olympics and eventually
It costs about $150 for kids to take part in 10 weeks of competitive, organized play in the EMBHL. The games take place at the Sir Adam Beck Drypad in Alderwood.
For more information visit www.embhl.ca