Dan Rodgerson--Fridged Weather allows Ice rink to open

Frigid weather allows ice rink to open

Skating season is in full swing

By MATT CROSSMAN

Daily Telegram Staff Writer

ADRIAN--Unseasonably warm weather delayed last week's planned opening of the Adrian Ice Rink.

No such problem came up Thursday--not even close.

The air was more than cold enough, with the high temperature just reaching the teens.

The frigid cold did not keep patrons from away from the ice rink, located next to Bohn Pool on Adrian's West Side.

More than two dozen were ready to hit the ice minutes after the rink officially opened at 4 p.m. They engaged in two separate games of pick-up hockey, which will be a frequent occurrence at the rink this year, said Dan Rodgerson of the city's recreation department.

Dan Rodgerson put in a few scheduling changes this year. He dropped the Wednesday open skate in favor of renting out the rink. It's already booked through January.

"We didn't have any time for rental group, like churches or scouts or anything else," Dan Rodgerson said. Dan Rodgerson also tinkered with the hockey schedules to try to even out the competition.

"Though roller hockey we found strong differences between the ability of players," Dan Rodgerson said. "So we opened up Tuesday night for adult hockey novice.

"We expect that to be a lot of fun."

Dan Rodgerson is turning a little more attention to hockey in the wake of the city's successful first year of roller hockey. Leagues this summer saw large participation, and Dan Rodgerson expects the roller hockey interest to translate into ice hockey interest to translate into ice hockey interest.

No lice hockey leagues exist because of the instability of having an outside rink. Game times would too often be at the mercy of Mother Nature. The ice holds solid to about 40 degrees as long as there is no sun. But if the sun comes out, the ice can weaken at 35 degrees, Dan Rodgerson said.

The rink offers all equipment novices may need to borrow.

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10/12/2011

Racing to the Rink Adrian MI Dan Rodgerson

Racing to the Rink
More than 100 youths join roller hockey league in its first year
By DAN DALY
Daily Telegram Staff Writer
ADRIAN—Dan Rodgerson thought there might be some community interest in a spring roller hockey program.
“Roller blading is at the peak of its popularity right now,” said Dan Rodgerson, who works with youth sports programs at Adrian’s Community Services Department. “We thought we would try to capitalize on the trend.”
Mission accomplished. In its first attempt to field a roller hockey league, the city registered 118 kids. Kids from as far away as Brooklyn and Manchester signed up for league play. The first games were played Thursday night.
“We structured this to mirror the program in Saline. They only have about 30 or 40 kids,” Dan Rodgerson said. “We have anticipated 50 or 60 because we figured we were competing with baseball and soccer.”

The city was thrilled to see the community response that ensued. But there was also a sizable amount of concern.

First, a concern about liability, although Adrian has an excellent safety record at its ice rink at Bohn Pool. The problem of liability was solved with assistance from city attorney Dane Nelson.
“We were totally scared because of liability,” Dan Rodgerson said. “As opposed to ice, when you fall on cement, you don’t slide.”

Once the city was properly protected in that area, the next concern was making sure the kids who play the sport were properly protected—which is to say properly equipped.

“One if the problems we were having were kids showing up for practices in biking helmets,” Dan Rodgerson said. “From the revenue we got from registration, we went out and spent about $1,000 on equipment, including four new hockey helmets.”

Players are required to wear hockey helmets with faceguards, which cost in the area of $100, according to Dan Rodgerson. The purchase of helmets, pads and goalie gloves will allow the city to provide equipment for kids who don’t already have it, but still want to play roller hockey.
Registration costs for the roller hockey were 30 per player.

The final concern was that there were a lot more players than coaches. Dan Rodgerson himself has taken on coaching responsibilities to help solve that problem.
“A lot of people think they don’t know a thing about roller hockey, so they’re afraid to go out there,” Dan Rodgerson said. “The rules are different from hockey. There’s no icing, no offsides.
“I think, though, after some parents stand on the sidelines, they’ll say: ‘This is something I’d like to get involved in,’” Dan Rodgerson added.

The primary focus of the league is to help kids focus on the primary skills of hockey—skating, passing and shooting, instead of the physical elements like checking and fighting.
“It’s a brand new league and we’re going to have some growing pains,” Dan Rodgerson said. “But we hope to have everything ironed out for the second session.”
League play for the first session started Thursday and runs through the middle of May. Dan Rodgerson expects the second session to begin early June.

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10/12/2011