SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Roller Hockey

Hockey dream: From Chula Vista to the World Cup

By Phillip Brents Posted June 17, 2004

Eastlake High's Adrian Rodriguez had his eyes opened -- and body rattled a few times -- at last summer's AAU Junior Olympic roller hockey championships in Detroit. He competed in two age divisions at the tournament that also served as a scouting venue for the USA national team age group selection committee.

However, he performed well enough to earn an invitation to a junior prospects camp.

Rodriguez's dream had always been to play for Team USA in international competition. But what the Detroit tournament showed him was just how different the game was played on the East and West coasts -- the Michigan tournament had been filled with seasoned ice hockey players. He had minimal ice hockey exposure.

In order to succeed, Rodriguez realized he had to play their game. But that meant working harder than he ever had previously on the court. It meant months of dedication to playing in youth and adult house leagues and leaving his high school roller hockey team to travel 100 miles each week to play for a competitive club travel team in order to �beef up� his game. It also meant hiring personal trainers.

All that hard work, preparation -- and monetary investment -- paid off the first week of June when Rodriguez received a call from Keith Knoll, a member of the national hockey committee, informing him that he had made the full USA under-16 national team that would be competing in the World Cup July 6-11 in Ontario, Canada.

"I've always wanted to play for Team USA. But I knew it would be hard to make that team. I was just excited to be involved in this experience," said Rodriguez, who just completed his sophomore year.

Rodriguez is no stranger to competition at the higher levels of the sport, having competed three times at the North American Roller Hockey Championship Finals (twice for the Chula Vista Golden Eagles and once for the San Diego Junior Gulls) besides suiting up in the 17-and-under and 20-and-under divisions at last summer's AAU Junior Olympics. He is currently playing for the Anaheim Mission Bulldogs in the Bantam Platinum Division. The Bulldogs finished second at this year�s NARCh Winternationals and will be taking the court June 18-20 at the Anaheim Hockey Club in this year's Tour Pacific Cup Finals -- the official Pacific region championships.

It was at last summer�s AAU Junior Olympics that Rodriguez caught the eye of Team USA coaches and scouts and received an invitation to the national team program�s junior prospects camp. The camp convened April 30 to May 2 in Sterling Heights, Mich.

Rodriguez was initially chosen as an alternate for Team USA but got the callup to the full team when another player had to be removed.

Team USA will hold practices and scrimmages July 1-5 in Detroit during the USA Roller Sports USA championships (July 2-8) for under-10 through under-16 age groups. Teams will leave for Canada on July 6.

Rodriguez said the coaching staff at the prospects camp drilled the players on all the basics. �They run pretty good clinics over there,� he aid. "They had us skate backward, frontward. They did just about everything you can think of in game situations. They want you to be real accomplished in everything and have a lot of stamina. It's like ice hockey. They want you to go out there for short shifts."

About 40 players attended the prospects camp, including four players from California. Two of the players from the Golden State made the team: Rodriguez and Erik Rios.

"When I got there, at first I felt left out. I didn't know anyone there. But I got to know a couple players from New York and it was all right," Rodriguez said.

A hard worker who may play at his best when pushed, Rodriguez mapped out his game plan immediately upon returning from last summer�s Junior Olympics.

The muscular 15-year-old started playing in adult leagues at Skate San Diego in National City, and took private lessons from former U.S. national team and Roller Hockey International pro Mike Duffey (San Diego Barracudas) and Golden Eagles coach Paul Newell (himself an accomplished player in the NARCh Division I level). Drills were grueling and repetitive -- sometimes Duffey would have Rodriguez take 200 consecutive wrist or slap shots in order for the teen-ager to develop a second nature when presented with a scoring opportunity when making a rush up court.

Rodriguez would often come home from the practice rink too tired to fulfill other obligations. Some things obviously had to take a back seat.

�It took me a couple months to get to the level of the USA team. We worked mostly on speed, shooting, accuracy, playing with heart,� Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez's playing attributes include his strength and his rink vision. Perhaps his best attribute is his unselfishness. He has the ability to scrutinize his teammates and game situations to determine just what tempo to set in a game. If he feels confident his teammates can score, he will concentrate on defense. However, if he feels he needs to involve himself more in the attack, he will move forward as circumstances dictate.

A naturally shy individual, Rodriguez has tried to steer away from notoriety for his accomplishments. He reportedly doesn't even particularly like birthday parties. He prefers to be a quiet leader instead.

While Rodriguez has proven himself one of the top players in the country, it obviously did not happen overnight.

Always considered very athletic for his age, he started competing in youth sports at age 8 as a swimmer. There was also a season of soccer, then basketball, Little League baseball, taekwondo ... and roller hockey (which he has been playing the past seven years).

His high school sports of choice include roller hockey and football. During his freshman season, he played three sports, in fact: football, roller hockey and track and field. Besides earning the caches award on the freshman football team, he also earned second team all-league honors as a defenseman on the school�s roller hockey team.

His sophomore season, he started at the inside linebacker position on the JV football team and ranked third on the team�s defensive points chart.

"I was playing basketball when I was a kid. My dad coached me. I was playing baseball, too. When I started playing roller hockey, I loved it. I'm also playing football now (in high school). I think football and hockey are even. I can't quit both," he said.

Equally exciting things could be on the horizon for Rodriguez, who plans on attending newly opened Otay Ranch High School this fall. He could potentially serve as the centerpiece for the school�s first-ever roller hockey team that would compete in the Metro Conference � the state�s only CIF-sanctioned high school roller hockey league.

Stay tuned ... modesty can only go so far.