Passion For Hockey Expands League

As the intramural floor hockey season comes to an end, the league looks to address conflicts for next season.

"It was very nice to see more and more students across campus find out about the league and join," says meteorologist major Jeremy Goldberg.

Increasing popularity seems to be adding conflicts. As the league expands, the level of competition has risen, as has the expectations for the new league managers.

"Dave Marks controlled all aspects of the league previously. When he graduated in December, Andy Saltarella took over as commissioner," says Goldberg.

The league is mostly run by volunteers many of whom play in the league. Officiating, scheduling and statistics are all responsibilities of the league mangers Andy Saltarella, Michael Desmond, Matt Drew, Uriah Burhans and Sue Henry. But with an expanding league, handling these responsibilities isn't always easy.

 "It was nice to see the league growing bigger, but at the same time it leads to more issues juggling a season with 9 teams," says player Kyle Kurtich.

Goldberg says, "Because of the 9 teams, it was a very long, crammed schedule, and conflicts arose when certain teams asked to change times."

The league plans to try to resolve any kinks that need to be adjusted for next season. Reflecting back on how this past season went will help give the league managers an idea of what they can do to workout issues for next year.

"As with any transition, there are bumps," says commissioner Burhans. "Without 'one' figure head on top, there wasn't necessarily one person to make a final decision on something. Sometimes people didn't stick to their assigned duties."

Veteran player Joe Adams suggests "more commissioner meetings with team captains to discuss issues and how to solve them. I think that would help solve any problems the league is having".

Not only do managers hold plenty of responsibilities, but referees also have their fair share.

"Boundaries of good sportsmanship were occasionally breached in terms of language and treatment of officials," says Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Jonathan Davis.

Players in the league need to remember that referees are human too. Humans make mistakes and unfortunately so do the referees. It's the player's responsibility to understand and respect that the referees are volunteers that use their free time to officiate the games.

"Without the referees there wouldn't be a league," says commissioner Saltarella.

Despite the issues everyones passion for the game keeps the league alive.

"Everybody in this league has one thing in common and that is we all love hockey. I feel that all the players come together every Sunday and Tuesday night for that reason. To be part of it and share together the game we love," says Goldberg.