SUSAN TAWIL
Special to the Jewish News
eautiful! Let's go!" "Good
shot!"
"That's it! Hit it OUT!"
"Shoot it! Whoa!"
"Go! Go! — Arggggh!"
Not much beats the fast-paced
action of a hockey game for sheer
excitement, and the in-line hockey
games at the Jewish Community
Center in Oak Park are no exception.
The slick floor of the gym is a decent
stand-in for an ice rink and in-line
roller skates are fine substitutes for
blades. Besides, in-line hockey players
can wear T-shirts.
The JCC in-line hockey teams at
the Jimmy Prentis Morris Building
formed about six years ago, with eight
weeks of games to a season. About
75-80 kids participate in each session.
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Currently, all players are boys,
although one or two girls have joined
in seasons past.
The players are divided into two
groups, age ranked from 6-9 and
from 10-14. There are four teams
for each age group, known simply,
according to the color'of their T-
shirts: Red, Blue, Yellow and
Orange. All teams play on Sundays,
3:30-4:30 p.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m.
for the younger groups, and 5:30-
6:30 p.m. and 6:30-7:30 p.m. for
the older ones.
Yisrael-Meir
Lichtenstein,
4, reacts to a
goal as broth-
er David, 3,
looks on.
Their dad is
a coach.
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Erica Dills, the JCC's new director
of sports and fitness, runs the hockey
program with Tom Able, the assistant
director.
"The kids love it," Dills says. "They
come here and have a ball. It's what
they talk about all week long: Hockey,
hockey, hockey!"
Despite the exuberance of the
game, Dills says there are rarely
injuries. For safety, all players must
wear helmets, gloves and kneepads.
Elbow pads also are required for those
younger than 13.
Players come mostly from the
neighborhood.
"There's a lot of parent involvement
— little brothers and sisters come to
watch, too," Dills says. "Even the
coaches are parent volunteers. After
the game, many of the families have
dinner together at the Soup Bowl Deli
(the new kosher restaurant in the