Roller hockey in action (Nasher/YouTube).
If you were also a roller hockey runt that was basically born on skates, raise your hand! We are a unique group.
Not being much for the actual game of roller hockey, I typically just skated and learned the art of figure skating on the roller rink (it’s totally a thing!).
I had my bell rung a few times and got the occasional hockey stick to the shin that reverberated pain through my body with or without the shin pad when I did decide to try the game. It isn’t my thing.
Now in my advanced years, I don’t even skate any more. The pain from falling over the speedbumps (small people falling on the rink) and hitting the ground hurts more than it used to.
My sibling did excel at roller hockey (like really, really good), so I got a chance to see the culture at multiple rinks throughout Washington State and had a lot of “older brother” teammates when I was small.
All in all, it was a great experience. But even when I was small, the injuries seemed bigger than life.
I will never forget one guy who was warned not to get another concussion after having way too many, but he played anyway. And got another concussion. The damage to his brain was immediate, severe, and apparent. He still played after that, but he was a shadow of his former self neurologically. I hope he’s doing okay out there.
Brain trauma was not something you talked about in the 1990s roller hockey world. Much like football of yesteryear, there were terms like “stingers” and “knocked out” used to describe concussions. What was a concussion was a little fuzzy (and not just for the person who got one).
If you could play, you did. You might have gotten medical attention, but you probably didn’t.
Kids (like me) start young, too!
We often talk about the importance of concussion protocols in football. Flag football is for younger kids. Protective equipment, like helmets, is the norm.
The thing is, as scary as it seems, the sport of football is one of the most aware and proactive contact sports out there. Ice hockey is behind in its ways, and further back is roller hockey.
The dangers associated with the sport are not discussed. There is such a small population of roller hockey players, especially in the USA, that the sport can sort of skate under the radar.
Lucky for roller hockey, they can’t skate away from me. As a sports injury epidemiologist, I am keeping an eye on them.
I also want to talk about just how much fun you can have on a roller rink; it’s not all just doom and gloom around here.
Keep an eye on my roller hockey articles, which will be here as I post them. What is next up? Helmets!
Skate on, roller skaters! You might just go pro (see what I did there?)!
