Last Updated on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 01:52 pm Written by Bill LeConey Wednesday, April 24, 2013 01:38 pm
SOMERS POINT ? Hockey is no longer exclusive to rough, tough gap-toothed men from Canada who skate on ice chasing after a hard rubber disk.
In Somers Point, they?re having a ball playing hockey with a feminine touch ? not on ice but on concrete - but still highly competitive, fast-paced and physically demanding.
The Somers Point Women?s Street Hockey League is nearing the end of its first season. Four teams consisting of 51 players ranging in age from 19 to 44 will compete for the championship over the next two weeks on Wednesday nights at the street hockey rink next to Bud Kern Memorial Field.
?I think it?s really awesome that they started this league for us,? said Erica Stewart, 25, of Somers Point, who is captain of the ?Sweet Caroline?s? team. ?After the games on Wednesday we?re disappointed that we have to wait a week to play another game. It?s definitely an alternative to going to the gym for another day.?
On a recent Wednesday night, Caroline?s defeated the ?Primo-Donnas? 3-0. Goalie Tina Garcia registered the shutout. Goals were scored by Chris Scarborough, Tammy Zimmerman and Marley Halkes, who celebrated her goal with an impromptu victory dance.
The games are well organized and refereed. A scoreboard tracks the score as well as the time remaining in each period. League organizer Sara Henry thanked the Somers Point Board of Recreation and volunteers from the town?s youth hockey league for help in putting the games together.
Henry said the league came about after a group of women played in a street hockey tournament last summer for the Field of Dreams in Absecon, an organization that provides baseball for handicapped children. She said the interest grew from that, and they were able to get enough women involved to put together a two-month season consisting of four teams, with hopes to expand in the future.
Henry said only a handful of the women had ever played any type of hockey before. ?We have a lot of fun out there. It?s starting to get more competitive now that the girls are into the flow of the game and stuff like that. We have a lot of natural athletes.?
Chris Scarborough is definitely one of those. The former Chris Ang played both street hockey and field hockey growing up in Somers Point, then went on to an outstanding field hockey career at Mainland Regional High School and Rider University.
She said she having ?a blast? playing in the recreational street hockey league. ?It?s not as new to me as it is to some of the others playing for the first time,? said Scarborough, who will be inducted into the Rider Athletic Hall of Fame this summer. ?There?s not a lot of opportunities to play in a rec league once you get out of high school and college. It?s nice to be able to play again, and to have the social aspect of it as well, make some new friends.?
It was a natural progression for Brenda Klopp to get involved in the program. Both of her sons play street hockey, and she has coached the game along with her husband, Chris.
?It?s a family affair for us,? said Klopp, who has been working hard to promote the new league. ?I?ve talked to a lot of girls that didn?t even know about this. Now that the word?s getting out I?m sure it will just expand. I?d like to see eight teams down here, getting both courts going with two games at a time.?
Team sponsors for the first year of the program are Caroline?s By the Bay, Primo Pizza, Maynard?s Bar in Margate, and Action Uniforms. The four teams are set to face off in playoff competition on Wednesday, April 24, starting at 6:15 p.m., with the championship and consolation games set for May 1 at the same time.
Henry said the league is collecting donations for a summer camp for oncology children and their siblings. She asked that people coming out to the games the next two weeks should bring donations such as arts and crafts supplies, sunscreen, Band-Aids and other items that the children could use at the summer camp.
For more information on the Somers Point Women?s Street Hockey League, contact Sara Henry at 609-614-0906, or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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