Inline Hockey Association of Arizona


Havasu program continues to strengthen I


By Alex Dodt


t’s no secret that roller hockey is still struggling


to build momentum, both on a local and national scale, but lately more and more programs have been able to


get back on track and experience


growth. There’s no better example than Lake Havasu


City. After the town’s old rink shut down a few years


back, so, too, did the Havasu Dust Devils travel program. With no alternative inline facility nearby, the wheels stopped rolling until the opening of its SARA Park rink in 2008. In the years since, Havasu’s Bill Beckman has


led the charge to resurrect the Dust Devils from the ground up - and his efforts are paying off. “Havasu is definitely a model for growth, espe-


cially for smaller communities,” said Inline Hockey Association of Arizona (IHAAZ) president Jim Curley, who’s witnessed the organization’s prog- ress firsthand. “It goes to show what can happen if you really make the effort to rebuild.” For the second straight year, Havasu will form


four teams in 2012 that will compete in the IHAAZ at the 8U, 10U, 12U and High School divisions. What’s more, the number of participants has


grown by eight this season, representing a consid- erable upswing for a smaller market like Havasu.


Bill Beckman, right, pictured speaking to his 12U team during a game last season, has been the catalyst behind the resur- gence of the Havasu Dust Devils program.


“Getting new kids involved has been the result


of different people getting the word out,” said Beck- man. “Handing out flyers and getting the word out in the community about the rink and the program has been successful.” A significant development at the SARA Park


rink has been the addition of new, state-of-the-art flooring, which hard-working members of the city’s community had installed in time for this month’s season-opening IHAAZ tournament, hosted by the Dust Devils. “It’s a great thing that they got the new floor


done and the community stepped up and helped them,” said Curley. “With all the improvements of their rink and now the new floor, Havasu is becom- ing the premier outdoor rink for sure.”


IHAAZ.org Beckman also has his focus on creating a


healthy recreational league to help usher new families into the sport. In his estimation, more kids in Havasu would play the game, but either can’t afford to travel with the Dust Devils’ IHAAZ teams or aren’t quite ready to participate at that level. “We’d really like to get to that point where we


have an in-house rec program,” said Beckman. “We want to run rec leagues from October to May, keep kids playing, and give them a chance to play games locally.” There’s no question Havasu is putting all the


right pieces in place - both short term and long term - to sustain a viable organization, and, ac- cording to Curley, it has a major asset working in its favor. “The success of these programs often comes


down to having that driving force, that person or people who want it to happen,” he said. “You need a catalyst to make it happen and stick with it through the good and the bad.” In Havasu, that person is Beckman. Without


him, Curley believes Havasu’s roller hockey scene might still be just a cloud of dust. “He’s committed to the game, the kids and the


community, and that’s a recipe for success,” said Curley. “We have a lot of great people here who see the


value of inline and what it means to Havasu and our kids,” Beckman added. “It’s a team effort, and hopefully we can keep everything headed in the right direction.”


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