The CV teams (varsity, junior varsity and middle school) play in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Roller Hockey League (PIRHL), which was founded in 1999. The league is host to more than 140 teams at Harmarville Bladerunners, RMU Island Sports Center and Hot Shots Sports Arena in Mt. Pleasant.
The PIRHL was initially established to provide students with the opportunity to represent their high school while playing in-line hockey. The league has since expanded to include younger in-line enthusiasts, offering eight divisions for participants – ranging in age from 5-17. The Pittsburgh Penguins support the PIRHL by providing league information and covering seasonal activities through the Pittsburgh Hockey Network. The PIRHL is a 4 on 4, non-checking league.
"I started playing in an in-house league in 5th grade, but I wanted to play in a school league because all my friends from other schools played for their schools," said Spencer, who led the PIRHL Varsity 2 Division in scoring this year. "I talked to my mother and she and Dan Kopach got together to help organize it.”
It took two years for the program to get approval as an official club sport. Club sports don't receive any financial support from the district, but they are permitted to compete under the Chartiers Valley name.
"Our parents had a bunch of meetings and had to show that an organization was in place to get approval," Spencer said.
The boys also had to recruit enough players to make a team. It wasn’t easy, but Spencer, Nick and Anthony never gave up.
"We had to recruit to get enough players for a team the first year," Anthony said. "We just asked around to see if we could find kids who wanted to play. We put a bunch of flyers up. It's a lot cheaper than ice hockey, so that made it a little easier to get players."
“We only had 7 or 8 kids that first year, just enough for a team," added Spencer
Nick said that even though the program has grown to field teams at three levels, it still struggles with numbers.
"This year we only had nine kids," he said. "Only eight of those are skaters (the ninth is a goalie) and a lot of times kids didn't show up for games. Sometimes we only had two or three subs."
Despite a short bench, the varsity team was able to finish 16-8-5 and earn its first PIRHL playoff berth.
Not only has the program grown at Chartiers Valley, it has grown across the region over the years. There are now 11 teams in Varsity Division 2 and more than 100 teams playing across 14 age/skill classifications.
The team has to pay for its own uniforms, home and away, and take care of its own transportation to and from games and practice time at the Bridgeville Roller Rink, but according to Spencer, Nick and Anthony, it’s worth it.
"We just like playing the game," Anthony said. "It's a fun sport that doesn't get a lot of recognition, but we really enjoy it."
Members of the 2014-15 team include: Hayden Bell, Tanner Bock, Spencer Carlson, Trevor Dobbins, Anthony Ferrella, Jeff Lakes, Nick McCullough, Nick Pruski, and Walter Wilson.
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