halifax roller
hockey club
Halifax
Roller hockey club
W
ith the new season just around the corner, Halifax Roller Hockey Club has been working hard during the
summer in order to ensure that they are well prepared for a successful campaign. We caught up with Club
Coach Peter Atherton to find out more about the club.
Roller Hockey
Roller hockey is played on a 40m x 20m rink on four wheeled quad skates with a flat curved stick and a hard ball which can travel up
to 100 miles per hour. A match-day squad consists of two goalkeepers and eight outfield players and the team is allowed one goalkeeper
and four outfield players on the rink with rolling subs – similar to ice hockey. Unlike ice hockey however, the sport is non-contact, though
it can still be quite physical at times and as such players are required to wear kneepads, shin pads and gloves.
A game is 2 x 25 minute halves with stop clock and when in possession each team has 45 seconds to shoot or score. This rule stops anti-play
and makes the game very fast and exciting.
It is an amateur sport in England but it is played professionally on the continent and several other countries around the world with Spain,
Portugal and Argentina being the most dominant nations internationally.
Involvement
Get Involved
He told us, “I’ve been involved in roller hockey for nearly 30
years - starting at my first club, Manchester RHC. Halifax
Roller Hockey Club approached me nearly 3 years ago after
they expressed their desire to get promoted to the Premier
League, the country’s top flight.
At the time Halifax were competing in National
Division 1 so the first job was to gain promotion.
I saw this as a good challenge so we made the
training much more focused and introduced
a high-tempo style of play that is played in
the Spanish leagues. We gained promotion
to the Premier League by winning Division
1 in the 13/14 season, winning the Northern
Counties Cup competition along the way.
For our first season in the Premier League
I recruited two Catalan players to help
develop the team and simply avoid relegation.
We surpassed our expectations and finished 7th
– beating some top teams during the course of the
season.”
“It’s a fast and fun sport whatever age or level you are competing
at. You don’t necessarily need to know how to skate before you
come (but it helps) because we can teach you that too. Most clubs
across the country will have their own equipment and
skates for you to use while you learn so there’s no
real cost outlay to get started.
It’s a great opportunity to play a sport at a
regional and national level and for those
players willing to work hard there are
plenty of opportunities to go all over the
world competing for your country. The
international setup we have in England
is very good and players are given the
opportunities they deserve.
The Premier League team train on a
Tuesday evening 8-10pm at North Bridge
Leisure Centre in Halifax town centre and
anyone who is interested is more than welcome
to come down, meet the team and see what it’s all
about. We are currently re-structuring the training and
The Role
“There are a lot of personalities in the club and what motivates
and inspires one person isn’t necessarily going to be the same
for another person so that individual man-management can be
a challenge at times, but rewarding when you get it right. The
most rewarding aspect is simply seeing the players grow in
confidence and improve both individually and as a team.
After all, it is a team sport and we play our best when we perform
as a team. We have 2