NEWS

 

American Inline Hockey League (AIHL) defenseman and creator of “Hockey is Hockey,” James Tamburino was awarded the first ever George Pickard Memorial Award in a ceremony on Friday, May 20, 2016.  The award “for service to the sport of Inline Hockey” was presented by AIHL National Director, Jeff Haze.  “Jim Tamburino embodies the spirit of the sport of Inline Hockey,” said Haze. “ What he is doing with his family and their ‘Hockey is Hockey’ program shows that when it comes to giving back to the sport and its people he is a leader.  I was thrilled when he was selected to be the first recipient of the George Pickard Memorial Award as he is one of the most deserving people to receive this honor!”

 

George Pickard passed at the age of 86 on March 20, 2016. According to notes attached to his death notice, “He directed the largest Roller Skating organization in the world when skating was at the height of visibility to the public.  Ultimately, he became the first American appointed Secretary General International Federation of Roller Sports (FIRS).” He authored a book entitled “Titans and Heroes of American Roller Skating.”  A Titan is described as “One who stands out for greatness of achievement.” George Pickard was a Titan.

.  

Jim Tamburino MIGHT be described as a man of few words.  He’s quiet and unfailingly polite, friendly but not a big talker.  Given him the opportunity to write, and Jim is a man of MANY, MANY words.  When he’s not playing or coaching hockey, there is a good chance you’ll find Jim writing about it.  He’s currently under contract to write the life story of one of the NHL’s most prolific scorers.  He also has a few screenplays under his belt.  So, if you really want to get Jim talking, ask him about “Hockey is Hockey”, an annual event he created.

 

While Jim’s story began in Long Island, NY thirty-five years ago, the game of hockey has taken him all over.  He grew up watching his older brother, Joe, pursue his dream of playing in the first ever true professional roller hockey league, Roller Hockey International.  As a nineteen-year-old amateur in 1993, Joe was drafted by the Florida Hammerheads and made his way through an intense training camp of ice hockey professionals, becoming the youngest player in the league.  This accomplishment, along with attending Joe’s games with family and friends in NHL arenas, led to Joe’s ice hockey career, and additionally, led to Jim’s inspiration and passion for the game of hockey. 

 

As for Jim, after playing only one year of high school ice hockey, he graduated and moved to Truro, Nova Scotia to play junior hockey (“it was basically the setting of the movie Youngblood in 1999”).  Following two years of junior hockey, due to personal reasons and inexperience, the love for the game, somehow, had disappeared.  Long story short… Jim felt as if he would never lace up the skates again.

 

With education as the main focus, Jim went on to attend Baltimore’s Towson University.  With no interest in joining the university’s club ice hockey team, he was also begged by friends to join them on the campus tennis courts to play roller hockey.  He refused for over two months or so.  But, finally, one November afternoon, he organized his bag of equipment (the “just in case” bag of equipment), grabbed a stick, and went for a skate at the Burdick Tennis Courts.  

 

“I remember, surprisingly, having a lot of fun with everyone.  I met some new friends.  Some great friends that I’m still close with today.  I remember everyone leaving after the games had come to an end.  I stayed.  I did some laps.  One after the next as the sun went down.  I remember circling those courts, stride after stride, staring out at the open sky.  Just like I used to when I used to train with Joe throughout my neighborhood streets.  I found something that day.  I found that love for the game again.  I missed it.”

 

Before he knew it, Jim became President of the Towson University Roller Hockey Club, and with help from other club leaders and mentors, he developed it into a Division I program as a member of the Collegiate Roller Hockey League (CRHL), now known as the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association.  Jim was filling out all of the club paperwork that needed to be turned into the school administration.  He was booking hotel rooms.  Planning team bus trips.  Creating the program’s budget.  Contacting sponsors.  Speaking with players’ parents on the phone and guiding families of potential recruits through campus tours.  Organizing team dinners.  Planning team off-rink workouts and September training camps.  Hiring a coaching staff.  Creating the best possible program with the resources he had in order to give himself and everyone else involved the opportunity to do something they all had wished for at one point in their lives…to play on a college team.

 

While Jim served as club President and Team Captain for five years, Towson captured three consecutive ECRHA Division I Championships, and advanced to two NCRHA Final Fours.   

 

Since then.  Well, Jim played his final year of college eligibility during a year of graduate school at Stonybrook University, who was led by head coach, and older brother, Joe, behind the bench.  When the college roller hockey playing days finally ended, Jim was hired by Hofstra University as Head Coach of their roller hockey program, where he went on to coach for six consecutive years, and then held on and off roles for two seasons.  In that time period, Hofstra captured the 2014 ECRHA Division I Championship and advanced to the NCRHA Final Four a month later.  Additionally, Jim was named the ECRHA Coach of the Year, following his nomination for the same award the previous two seasons. 

 

As for his playing days, he’s still going.

 

“I played in a few NARCh and State Wars tournaments throughout the years.  They’re always fun.  The traveling.  Being with the guys.  Playing competitive roller hockey.  It’s always a great time and those tournament organizers do an amazing job to keep our sport alive.  I hope to attend as many as I can.  But, honestly, I love playing in a season.  Not just a local men’s league season.  But, something that allows you to be a part of a team for a long length of time.  Travel to different cities and towns with the boys.  And play some competitive hockey.  The idea of a season always grabbed more of my interest and still does today.”  

 

Which explains his AIHL career, which has seen him move from the Long Island 495ers to the New York Terror to the Empire State Legends, where he currently lines up on the blue line (if there was a blue line in our game).

 

“It's still fun for me.  At thirty-five.  And I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.”

 

I took the time to ask Jim a few questions about his event.  His in-depth responses paint the picture of “Hockey is Hockey” and speak volumes about Jim himself.

 

To hear Jim tell it:

 

“The idea was developed by my brother and I, and it all began when we were discussing the idea of putting together a pick-up inline hockey game with some of the top local talent.  It was a small idea, at first, to bring all of us together and play an outdoor game under the lights at the brand new facility, Twin Rinks at Eisenhower Park (now known as the Northwell Health Ice Center).  That small idea led to a bigger idea and a plan to turn this into an event celebrating the game of hockey.  As ice and roller hockey players, and now coaches, Joe and I have an enormous passion for the game of hockey. Hockey will always be an important part of our lives.  As joe has said, ‘The great people and everlasting friendships along the way are what makes it so special for us.  That’s what this event is all about.  Anyone who has played the game on any level can relate.’

 

“What began as a small idea in 2015, turned into a community event featuring a Draft Night, ball, roller, and ice programs throughout the next day, NHL and other professional hockey players, sponsors, vendors, music, entertainment, and more.  It turned into an event that’s about bringing all of those people we’ve met along the way – teammates, opponents, coaches, supporters – together to celebrate the game we all love, and hopefully gain some new hockey fans and friends as well.  We’ve created relationships and memories from the experiences this game has brought us and this is an event to pay tribute to that.  Whether it’s been out on the ice, on our inline hockey skates, or simply putting a hockey stick in our hands as kids and playing ball hockey, it truly has been a great game for us.  As our slogan says:

 

‘Hockey Is Hockey.  A celebration of the game and a tribute to our grassroots.’

 

Our second annual event was August 12 and 13, 2016.  Friday night was Draft Night for our Main Event Game - an outdoor elite inline game played the next evening - and it was pretty incredible.  The setup in the facility's lobby was perfect and I think everyone was pretty impressed when they arrived, especially those who attended the event for the first time.  To see forty hockey players and coaches, with all different backgrounds ranging from high school hockey, travel hockey, juniors, ACHA, NCRHA, Professional Roller, NCAA, AHL, and NHL, ages 17-44, all in one room, sitting in those chairs, soaking it all in and respecting what this event is all about... it truly means a lot to us.  To be honest, the first time around in June 2015, we weren't sure what to expect or how people would react and respond to the idea.  To see how well the first event went and to see the second one more than double in size, it was pretty rewarding to see how much everyone seemed to enjoy it.  There was a lot of positive feedback and there was a ton of exposure on social media outlets.”  

 

For our second event, we added a ton of programs throughout the day.  We added a few more inline hockey games:

 

The "Futures" Game - a group of local travel and college players.

 

The "Pioneer" Game - a group of "old-timers" who play a year-round weekly pick-up game who were invited to play a game during our event.

 

NCRHA Alumni Game - a college roller hockey alumni game

2 college roller hockey games - Hofstra University VS Stonybrook University and Hofstra University VS St. Joseph’s College.

 

We also featured three ice hockey clinics: boys, girls, and goaltenders.

 

The first ever ice hockey Dangle Off hosted by Anti3 Protect Series featured a breakaway contest between NY Islanders prospect John Schiavo, NCAA Division I ice player, KJ Tiefenwerth (Quinnipiac University), and former NCAA Women's ice player, Nicole Court, AKA - The Beer League Beauty.

 

Events began at 9am, with the Main Event ending at 10pm, featuring more than 100 participants throughout the day.  With a small staff of friends, we were busy throughout the day making sure everything was running on time; dispersing sponsor products to locker rooms, setting up locker rooms with locker name tags, equipment setups, etc.

 

The experience allowed us to learn how to manage a full day of events and how much staff we need and what tasks need to be done in order to make things run as smoothly as possible.  We learned that the new programs and games that were featured were a great success.  The responses were incredible and the list of future ideas continues to grow.

 

We couldn’t have pulled this event off without the participation and support of players like Greg Thompson, Joe Mazzie, Travis Bokina, Keith Johnson, (All AIHL players, teammates) and pioneers like Derek Kern, Ziggy Marzalek and Mike Enright.  Thank you to all of the players for being involved.

 

We also learned that our event appeals to several companies and potential sponsors.  This year's event featured sponsors such as Jaguar, the New York Islanders, AAU, Anti3 Protect Series, Eyeking, Iconic Sports Water, Monster Energy Drink, Puck Apparel, Black Biscuit, Jersey 53, Alkali Hockey, Carbon Sports, Farm Tough Hockey, Generation Floorball, the NCRHA, Tim McManus and State Wars Hockey, and... the National Hockey League.

  

Aside from the hottest day of the year landing on the same day as this year’s event, overall, it went really well.  The outdoor programs were a bit of a struggle earlier in the day due to the weather.  But, the players battled through it and displayed great attitudes and spirits in order to enjoy their games and the event itself.  And, the heat was capped off with a great main event game that night under the lights.

 

The responses and feedback from the participants was most rewarding. Everyone seemed to truly soak in what this event is all about and that is truly gratifying.  There was one moment in particular that stands out for me.  I walked into one of the locker rooms to make sure it was clean and all set up for the next game - The "Pioneer" Game.  There stood Mike Froelich, a man in his forties and a player that Joe grew up playing with.  With his back towards me and not knowing I was there, Mike was using his cell phone to take a picture of his locker name tag on the wall.  It was this subtle moment that made me realize that these players really appreciate a small detail like a locker name tag.  That was a great moment for me.  And, it was even better to see other players reacting in similar ways throughout the day - taking pictures, checking out the setups of the locker rooms, enjoying the cases of waters and drinks in each room, the jerseys hanging at their locker stalls, etc.

 

The list of future ideas continues to grow and some exciting plans are in store for future events, we feel that we met our expectations and the event accomplished all that we are trying to do.  The weather was an issue for the outdoor programs, but overall, the show went on and the Long Island hockey community was able to celebrate this great game.  

 

As for the future, we will continue to host an annual Long Island event at the same facility, the Northwell Health Ice Center, which is home of the New York Islanders.  The facility is state-of-the-art and is ideal for such an event.  We will continue to add different programs and games, featuring a new schedule for each event.  We will continue to work with the Islanders and the NHL and hope to have them become more and more involved as we move forward.

 

Along with 2x Hockey Is Hockey Main Event participant and former NHL player, Arron Asham, we would like to invite a few more current NHL players and alumni to get involved with the event.  As a writer, I am writing the life story of professional hockey player, Bobby Ryan, and I obviously hope to have him attend and hopefully participate in a future event. Ryan's involvement, along with other NHLers', would be an incredible experience for all that are involved.

 

Additionally, we have discussed the idea of not only hosting the event at other Long Island facilities throughout the year, but also bringing Hockey Is Hockey to other host cities and countries someday.  The ideas are endless.  This game is incredible.  Our passion grows.  And, on the ice, on the wheels, or in a pair of sneakers, Hockey Is Hockey!” (www.HockeyIsHockey.com)

    

 

If you cannot discern Jim Tamburino’s enthusiasm for the game of hockey, his appreciation for the place in his heart the game occupies, then you are missing an essential part of Jim Tamburino.   George Pickard in his death notices was described as “a skilled organizer who desired no recognition.  He liked to make things happen for athletes and coaches.  He was very successful in his endeavors to make everything appear seamless to the public.”  The very same might be said of Jim Tamburino, a most worthy recipient of the award given in Pickard’s name.