PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- There was a time when games were rougher, many players did not wear helmets or face guards, and fights were not uncommon.
Since those days, however, Picatinny Arsenal's street hockey league has come a long way, and has shown that building camaraderie can be fast and fun.
All you need is a face mask, gloves, and a hockey stick.
Picatinny Arsenal's Street Hockey League is overseen by Forge Fitness, a fitness facility that also offers an assortment of recreational leagues managed through FMWR or Family, Morale, Welfare, and Recreation.
Open to all employees, street hockey is played on the old basketball court near the arsenal's salt domes.
TEAMS COMPETE FOR SEASON TITLE
The season starts in the spring and includes about 10 games per season. After the last game, the league holds a championship tournament for the season title.
Usually, there are five to eight teams per season. In 2015, there were seven teams in the league: The Stealers, The Phantoms, The Ice Holes, Dorothy's Pigs, HABS, District S.O.S, and Slapjacks USA.
Tom Emanski, an electrical engineer in Picatinny's Fuze Division, remembers how his involvement with Picatinny street hockey began.
"I saw a flyer at the gym [Forge Fitness] and I got some friends that I graduated with and met when I started here and asked 'Hey, do you want to start a team?'"
Emanski started playing in Picatinny's street hockey league in 2006, when he formed The Ice Holes. Since 2011, The Ice Holes have won the season title, except for 2014 when the court was being repaved.
Currently, the team is on a 49-game winning streak and team averages about six goals per game.
According to Emanski, his team's success is not only due to the fact that some of his players have hockey experience.
He also credits the team member's friendship beyond the court and their strong communication skills.
"Our goal every season is to keep the winning streak going," laughed Emanski, who named historical rivals such as The Slapjacks, The Phantoms and The Stealers.
"The first year we had about six or seven guys, which was barely enough to run up and down the court, so we were dying," said Emanski, who started working at Picatinny in 2005, when an influx of young workers joined the workforce.
"Throughout the years, though, our team has grown. It probably peaked in 2009- 2010. We'd come out with 10 to 15 people on our team. Since then, now that we're in our 30s and have other responsibilities, people have slowly been breaking off and now we're on the downswing."
HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING
The object of street hockey is simple: score more goals than the opposing team by shooting the ball, or puck, into the opposing team's net.
Each team has five players on the court (two offense, two defensive, and a goalie) who rotate with other team members throughout the game.
Each game has three, roughly 15-minute periods, with a three to five minute break between periods. However, unlike ice hockey, street hockey is played on foot and requires less protective equipment. Players wear helmets while goalies wear gloves, a chest protector and a mask.
Given the difference in equipment, players are also more limited in their physical contact.
Some rules include no tripping, checking, fighting, or "high-sticking," which means striking an opponent on or above the shoulders with a hockey stick.
"I love competition and fitness," said Danielle Carfaro, an administrative officer who plays with The Phantoms.
"I played field hockey in high school and street hockey was the closest thing to field hockey, the only difference was I could now use both sides of the stick. The game is also filled with so much intensity and you are constantly on the move. Talk about extreme HIIT [High Intensity Interval Training]!"
Despite her ongoing interest, Carfaro said that street hockey wasn't her first choice.
A former recreation specialist at Forge, she originally wanted to form a women's field hockey team. But when she could not generate enough interest, she asked to join street hockey.
"I was greeted with open arms and offered spots on a couple of teams, but I ended up choosing to be on The Phantoms," said Carfaro.
"My teammates are amazing, supportive and phenomenal athletes--all the guys in the league are that way. I love that the guys treat me as an equal and they don't go easy on me just because I'm a girl and less than 5 feet tall. They value my contributions to the team."
BUILT THROUGH CAMARADERIE
This sense of connecting with other people is what kick-started the arsenal's street hockey league in 1990, when two employees--Constantine "Gus" Floris and David Thomas--met at Forge Fitness.
United by their common interest in the Montreal Canadiens, an ice hockey team, Floris and Thomas worked with Forge Fitness to start the street hockey league and launched its first season shortly afterward.
While games were played frequently, Thomas remembers that they were also rougher. Many players did not wear helmets or face guards as they do now.
Floris and Thomas were teammates on The HABS, which won the league's first season title. Meanwhile, a friend and another street hockey player, Martin Kane, played for The Stealers.
"When hockey gets in your blood it is hard to let go," said Kane, a business manager at Picatinny. "I have been playing street hockey since growing up in New York City in the 1960s. We never had any ice, loved the Rangers, and it was our way to play: with some wooden sticks and a Spaulding ball.
"Back then, games [at Picatinny] were pretty choppy with fights not uncommon. But the league survived and prospered even as other leagues were having problems during personnel freezes," added Kane.
"Over the years, the league has seen camaraderie grow as people have played with and against each other for years," he continued.
"In fact, street hockey has probably the highest 'loyalty' of any sports league at Picatinny, with many folks in the league for 10 to 20 years or more."
SEASON STARTS IN APRIL
This year's street hockey season will start in early April, with games every Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
If you're interested in joining the league and forming your own team, Forge Fitness requests that you send your rosters to Steve Padula (x6215 or steven.j.padula.naf@mail.mil ) no later than March 28.
However, if your are interested in joining a current team, Forge Fitness recommends that you contact the team captain and ask to be placed on the team's roster.
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