Johnson Both Armed and Dangerous on Wheels The San Diego native hasn’t allowed a birth defect deter him from reaching his potential as a roller hockey player


By Phillip Brents D


uring his playing days at Eastlake High School (2001-05), Patrick Johnson tasted a great deal of success.


The Titans’ inline hockey team established it-


self as one of the CIF-Metro Conference’s top-shelf programs by rolling to 50 regular-season victories during Johnson’s four years on the team, with an appearance in the 2004 Kiwanis Cup champion- ship game.


He was named the team’s Rookie of the Year


as a freshman and the team’s Defenseman of the Year as a junior and senior.


He may have received the highest honor after


being named to the conference’s all-star team as a senior.


He was the proverbial “regular guy” on the team, but with one noticeable exception: His right arm ends just below the elbow due to a congenital birth defect.


What might seem like a disadvantage to some has turned into an advantage for Johnson, now 24 and a 2009 graduate of the University of San Francisco.


“I hold the stick slightly different, but skating is the same,” he said. “I’ve been the fastest skater on just about every team I’ve played.” Johnson was thrust into the national spotlight by competing at January’s NARCh West Coast Winternationals in San Jose. It was his first Winternationals tournament, and like- ly won’t be his last.


A standout at Eastlake High School from 2001-05, Patrick Johnson competed with a team of Brazilians at January’s West Coast Winternationals in San Jose. Photos/Phillip Brents


He attracted the attention of NARCh president Daryn Goodwin, a fellow San


Diegan, during the 134-team tournament. After watching several men’s games, it finally dawned on Goodwin that one of the players on the court for a Brazilian team had only one arm.


The NARCh head honcho was so inspired by what he saw - Johnson had the only


goal of the game up to that point - that Goodwin made a special entry in the tourna- ment’s online blog to call attention to the feat. “The reason that I didn’t notice (at first) is because he’s damned good… Way to go Pat Johnson, you’re awesome!” Goodwin wrote. They were words read around the world.


Johnson played for No Green Cards Brasil, among the mega-tournament’s in- creasing number of entries from South America.


“I’d never met them before, but it was interesting,” Johnson said of the experi- ence. “They were seven guys from Brazil, including the goalie.” How did a kid from Eastlake wind up playing with a bunch of Brazilians at a world-class event?


the team.


Johnson maintains that mentality today - both for himself on the rink playing in adult games and the high school players he currently coaches. Being a first-year head coach at Castle Park High School has been an eye-open- ing experience for Johnson, who has now added world-class to his roller-hockey- playing resume.


“It’s been rough sometimes,” he admitted. “This isn’t like Eastlake where the kids already have some kind of hockey experience. Here at Castle Park, some kids are first-year players and have never played the sport before. But overall it’s been a lot of fun. The team has improved tremendously.”


Johnson personally organized a coaches game as part of the conference’s all-star


game festivities on March 9 at Skate San Diego. He was called for a roughing pen- alty in the game that featured 15 goals between the two teams. “We put in a lot of hard work during the season, so it was a good time for us to go out and have fun,” Johnson said.


Labeda XDH enjoys explosive start in NARCh T


eams are already circling July 13-29 on their calendars for NARCh Finals


in San Jose. Among them are the Labeda XDH


(eXplosive Development Hockey) Bantam and Midget squads that have quickly es- tablished themselves as teams to watch this season. Labeda XDH captured the Bantam (16U) Gold division title at January’s NARCh West Coast Winternationals while also securing the Midget (18U) Sil- ver division title. The Bantam team began the season


with an explosive 22-0 start, which also included the championship title at De- cember’s AAU Winternationals in Coro- na.


If there’s a balance between the two


teams, it’s because they share a lot of the same talent. Six members of the Ban- tam team skated for the Midget squad at NARCh Winternationals.


Continuity also goes a long way in accounting for the teams’ success. Four


28


players - Blake


and


Trevor Dy- mond, Jack Mathews and


Cole


Euell - have been playing together since Mites (10U) in 2004.


Bailey


Simpson and Tanner Fox joined


the


core group as crossover tal- ent on the two Irvine-based squads. XDH coach Glenn Evans said having both teams practice together helps push the limits of the players on the two squads, as well as build great camaraderie.


The Labeda XDH Bantam team, off to a 22-0 start, captured the Gold division title at January's NARCh West Coast Winternationals. Photo/ NARCh


“We work mainly on the three


explo-


sive training techniques: skating, shooting and stickhan - dling,” he said. “We step the work rate up of the practic- es each week to a level the players never thought they could reach.” Milo Tor- res, Trevor Rand and goalten -


der Blake Walker round out the XDH Bantam roster, while Jacob Steinfeld, Tyler Geosano, Josh Urlaub, Ryan Lynch and goaltender Patrick Hecht


Pick up our May issue for complete coverage of the NCRHA national championships!


“They had an ad on Facebook asking for players and I answered it,” Johnson said, smiling.


Johnson and a local hockey-playing friend, Omid Arjomand, joined the Brazilians in San Jose. The team played four games in the Men’s Silver/ Bronze division, tying one and dropping three contests. Johnson scored three goals for the team.


“Their style was completely different from what I was used to,” John-


son said. “They play a very defensive, slow-down game and we were used to playing a much more open, attacking game.” Johnson, who never played club travel hockey during his high school


days, would like to return to NARCh by forming a team from San Diego to compete in July’s NARCh Finals, also scheduled for San Jose.


Then and Now


Johnson’s playing ability has been honed by years of adaptation. He carries his stick over the incom- plete limb, tucked under his right shoulder, using his left hand to swing it.


During his high school years, then-EHS coach Jeff Mechling had no qualms about playing John- son in critical game situations, even sending the freshman out to kill penalties. “When he first came out for the team, I was concerned about some limitations in his ability to hold the stick properly,” Mechling said.


“He’s learned to adapt to the point where you don’t even notice it.” In short, Mechling had the same expectations for Johnson as any other player on


complete the Midget roster.


The new additions have made the teams better than ever. Lynch scored a hat trick in the opening game at NARCh Winternationals; Fox scored the overtime winner in the Midget final.


NARCh Nuggets Regional qualifying faced off with the Northern California event on March 31-April 1 at San Jose’s Silver Creek Sportsplex. Sixty-two teams participat- ed - the majority from the Nor Cal Cup series that wraps up its second season with championship finals on May 5-6 at the Sportsplex.


NARCh will host two regional quali- fying tournaments in Southern Califor- nia: April 27-29 at The Rinks-Irvine In- line and from June 1-3 at the Escondido Sports Center.


- Phillip Brents


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