Halifax Floor Hockey LeagueThe HFHL started from humble beginnings and if my history is correct, came out of Keane, which is an IT company. Some guys got together and wanted to have some fun and play some ball hockey so they started this league.
Over the years, the league has morphed into what we now call today the HFHL.
We have had some great guys running the league in the past. Since the time I have started playing here, Richard Wanamaker and Johann Tienhaara had done fabulous jobs keeping things running as smoothly as can be with 72 guys and the whole administrative aspect of things.
About four season ago, I took over as league commish and have been fortunate to have the help of some great guys who each possess different skill sets and qualities that have definitely enhanced the whole administrative part of the league. In laymen terms, they make things better.
These guys are what we call our executive. They consist of Matt Monk, who does our It stuff, Gord Martell who looks after our league communications and draft setup and so on, and Johann Tienhaara who is our referee in chief and schedules the refs for the games and so on. Outside of this they all add their thoughts to the "issues" that arise from week to week as needed and this gives me a tremendous pool of wisdom to draw from.
We have always taken pride in the fact that we have a great league that has a good mix of fun and competitiveness as well as diverse skill levels. When guys play in our league we want them to have fun and get some exercise. To this point, I feel we have done a good job of maintaining this balance.
Over the years we have seen our skill level rise considerably which is the natural evolution I guess for a league that guys want to play in and be able to "get up and go to work the next day". There are leagues out there that put a stronger emphasis on the competitive nature of ball hockey and that is a place where the guy who looks for that maximum rush can play.
As the skill level has increased, unfortunately so have the instances where things are escalating to places we have not seen with regards to aggression. I, as well as others, have noticed a lack of control of sticks, bodies and mouths, which have reduced the whole fun aspect of the league to a place that we are not happy with nor do we want to be. I can certainly not be proud of my actions at times with regards to my mouth and this is obviously an area that I need to continue to work on.
The long and short of it is that we don't want and will not tolerate guys going overboard.
YOU are responsible for being in control of your stick, your body AND your temper. If you are running recklessly and this results in someone getting hit aggressively, IT DOES NOT MATTER THAT YOU ARE GOING FOR THE BALL!
If you swing your stick and chop a guy across the legs IT DOES NOT MATTER THAT YOU ARE GOING FOR THE BALL! These are not acceptable and at the very least should be penalties. The intent of the action does not determine the infraction, The result of the action does. We have been fortunate to this point that we have not had any injuries that are severe. But we don't want this to happen at any point.
So, I am asking everyone to do a self evaluation of your playing style. If you are playing so aggressively that guys are getting hit by body parts, or sticks then you need to calm down. If your mouth is running steady at players or refs, then you need to calm down.
If you feel the need to challenge another player to fight, then don't play in this league. We don't want that crap. I know we are a bunch of men and testosterone levels run high sometimes, but come on guys, we are adults and we don't need that crap.
Be respectful of one another. Please...
The league relies on unpaid refs. Guys who give up their time so that we can have refs to try and keep the peace. Unfortunately, stuff gets missed or calls get botched. That is not their fault per-say, but it is just the reality of having volunteers for our games. We may look at trying to get paid refs for our games at some point, but I would like to think we don't have to go there and hope we never have to go there.
This will depend on everyone who steps on the floor to play. If you want to get the aggression out of your system, then try and find a place to play that will allow you to do that, but the HFHL is not that place.
We value all of our players and have a great mix of talent and personalities. That is a good thing...but we need everyone to stop with the crap and just try and have some fun and play hard but not reckless.
I want to thank you all again for taking the time to read this. Please try and remember what this should all be about guys.
Thanks and be well.
Martin Kane
HFHL Commish