pro inline hockey association

[splayerc12 0]

what is their salary it cant be like the nhl or ahl or do they even get paid ? any any other info about this league plaese feel free to share. thanks thinking of trying to play in a couple of years

[splayerc12 0]

please some one help me out

[Thockey17 1]

Sad to say, but pro inline hockey is a joke.

[splayerc12 0]

really why? whats wrong with it ?

[EndGame 0]

Are you talking about the PIHA? Players in that league don't get paid unless their team wins the championship. The team that wins gets a cash prize of some sort. It's not much, though. Unless you win that championship, you're playing for free.

[splayerc12 0]

yes i am is it hard to make the teams though and like how do live in hotels and stuff and where do you play

[Hoffer 0]

Yea you only get money if you win the championship. Other wise you are actually paying to play since you pay for the tryout and then if you make it you pay for jerseys, pants, and if the team wears all matching gloves you also get to pay for gloves. I think if you win your team gets 10,000 dollars to split. Correct me if I am wrong.

[stock07 1]

This topic has been around and around on many other boards..It causes alot of harsh feelings for some, because they feel they are a "true" professional league, but anyone who knows anything about top level inline knows there is not and probubly will not ever be a true PAID league....Dont get me wrong the talent in the PIHA on some teams is defianly top notch and some of the best players in the country and possiablly the world play on teams in it, it definalty is the best "pro" league going right now but there is no pay most players are either college kids in school or regular joe's with full time jobs, the league is by no means their full time job...There is also MLRH, but that is nothing more than an adult beer league with fighting and hitting allowed(if you want to call it fighting)....Not meaning to crush your hopes here or anything, just passing along the facts....

[Jim A 4]

a guy from the York Triumph (Hammond?) mentioned to me once that guys like the Yoder's went to Italy to get paid to play inline in a pro league that ran for 3 months at a clip...sounded like they got a sweet hookup over there..but ...that was the first/last I had heard about it

PIHA is essentially at AAA league for adults, some NARCh PRO guys mixed in, lot of NARCh Plat..

[EndGame 0]

I think if you win your team gets 10,000 dollars to split. Correct me if I am wrong.

I'm fairly certain you're right about the money. $10,000 split between a full squad isn't really much money for a full season of hockey.

The Richmond Rollin' Robins play out of the same rink where my rec league is located.

[Hoffer 0]

a guy from the York Triumph (Hammond?) mentioned to me once that guys like the Yoder's went to Italy to get paid to play inline in a pro league that ran for 3 months at a clip...sounded like they got a sweet hookup over there..but ...that was the first/last I had heard about it

PIHA is essentially at AAA league for adults, some NARCh PRO guys mixed in, lot of NARCh Plat..

Yes I can confirm that. They were over there for around 3 months playing in a league, in Italy. It was all expense paid and they got paid on top of that for playing and winning.

[MDE3 0]

Another "Pro League"(really AAA) was created last year in a failed attempt to unite the various "pro inline" leagues...it was called the XIHL....and lasted only the one season...to put things in perspective....the XIHL was a pretty talented league..comparable to PIHA(most of the top players played in both leagues in 2005), but allowed full contact and fighting....this league was definitely a notch above MLRH, but many of the players were common to both the PIHA and MLRH leagues, which tended to overlap seasons, creating some strife...and also a large part of the reason this league failed.

The team which won the first (and probably the last) XIHL championship was called the Werewolves....they had a great owner who paid for most travel expenses, including flying the team out to the west coast on two occasions. This owner paid for all team equipment except skates, supplying top of the line uniforms, gloves, and helmets. In addition this owner paid for hotels(all the trips) and even meals on many occasions. There were never any other fees for rink time or playing expenses, other than that some of the players may have paid to try out. To put the talent in perspective....this team with a notable addition, and a couple of missing regulars, went out and played in the 2005 Narch Winternationals in the men's Platinum division...they won this division. They would have been a low to mid pack Narch Pro team probably had they chosen to compete at this level.

I only mention all this, to illustrate the level of compensation from playing in the AAA or "pro" leagues such as PIHA...This was probably the team which recieved the most financial support of any so called "pro" team I have seen, or been around...I am not demeaning other owners in saying this...just illustrating what the most you can expect might be unless things change dramatically.

Aside from raising fan interest to where teams can regularily attract more than 60 - 100 fans to see a game, the biggest problem facing any "Pro" inline league, is the lack of suitable venues to support a larger fan base, assuming one can be created. There are very few arenas which you could economically rent to seat 1500 - 3000 fans assuming a league could generate this kind of fan support per game. As such attracting wealthy owners to support these teams is a bit tricky, as there is little promise of a viable financial return from ticket sales.

All those negatives aside....the PIHA organization is doing a very credible job maintaining good participation and even expanding the number of teams in it's league. It appears to be well run and organized, and provides some exposure to to high end men's inline hockey to local fans of the game, who will never get to see much Narch or Tohr's Pro level competition...These Pro levels are widely regarded as the top level of inline hockey in the country....and where they do play for some decent purses in the major tournaments....even then still not enough to consider quitting your day job.

As previously mentioned in another post there are a significant number of Narch and Tohrs Pro players who also play in the PIHA league...including a smattering of Team USA world championship team players...so the competition is pretty still stout in this league.

[stevoc 0]

Isn't one only considered a professional if they are getting paid to do whatever they are doing? (IE: it's their profession and how they make their living)

[MDE3 0]

The difference between aspiration and reality...... As there is some money being paid out at years end, I guess they technically fall into the category of being "paid to play"....more of a legal definition than a practical one.

[DaveTheWave 0]

Professional has many connotations but you could rule this example out because even if these guys did win and get paid, they still aren't making more than another job and certainly not making a living.

[MDE3 0]

That's why most of the leagues designate themselves officially as AAA men's leagues....The PIHA has "professional" long term aspirations and was started and is still run by Charlie Yoder who has coached inline on the National level, and whom many consider to be the "father of modern inline hockey" from his efforts with USARS back in the mid eighties....He is also the father of one of the truly great inline players of our time...CJ Yoder.

[stock07 1]

That's why most of the leagues designate themselves officially as AAA men's leagues....The PIHA has "professional" long term aspirations and was started and is still run by Charlie Yoder who has coached inline on the National level, and whom many consider to be the "father of modern inline hockey" from his efforts with USARS back in the mid eighties....He is also the father of one of the truly great inline players of our time...CJ Yoder.

Either way, there is no true "PRO" sector in the sport of inline....A player that plays on many high level teams, including "the national" team, but works or owns a rink still cant be considered a "PRO", they are getting payed to coach, run a league, run a rink, but not to actully play hockey...Although Im sure it seems that way....MDE3 is right though the Yoder's are pretty much inline royality especially up north, but are known nationwide...

MDE3...I've seen your post in the past elsewhere, I know you know a ton about inline and have been around it for a long time.....Would you agree with me on this point, That it will never be finacially profitable for a TRUE professinal inline league to exsit nationwide? I know there are a ton of variables to this question, a lot of what ifs, etc... But after many round and round discussions Ive come to think it would never be possiable unless you find someone who just has money to burn and can throw it away outfitting and sponsering each team in the league....Not having to worry about what you make off tickets or attendance at the door.....

[MDE3 0]

Given that even the NHL has trouble now getting prime time television coverage on major networks...which is pretty much a mandatory situation for the success of any "professional sport"...I think we are a long way away from there ever being a truly professional inline league.

There is a general consensus among media types that hockey(in any version) is a difficult television sell in the US markets....Well I find that a bit strange..considering how popular the sport became on television back in the eighties and early nineties.....

This gets back to some fairly earnest questions. Was it the boring play that drove away the audiences, was it a shrinking youth playing population...or at least a slowed growth in that sector, that caused fewer families to switch their tv's to hockey? Has it been the cost of playing the sport for the youth which turns families away and to other sports, causing a drop in family interest in watching the pro game?

Or alternately is it the structure of the game, which when played well, particularily under the new rules, has fewer stoppages in play...and do the mandatory stoppages.."tv time outs"....then break up the flow and cool down the emotional involvement of the fans? These fewer stoppages translate into fewer sellable timeslots for advertisers....meaning television executives would rather see a different sport/program which is more "seller friendly" to air time ads.

Is it then the media itself which has "cooled" down the television audiences to hockey(look at all the bad press it has gotten, and how it has been treated like a "joke" on even ESPN coverage) simply because other venues cost less to host, and provide more sellable slots on prime air time? They(the tv moguls) have a cunnundrum....If they create more artificial stoppages to allow more time slots for ads, they run the risk of losing their audiences...primarily because hockey is such a momentum based, emotional sport....the fans who love it have that kind of emotional involvement with the game, that if you keep shutting it down..they get frustrated and bored, and go on to other less frustrating programming. If they do not do this....they are giving up sales time....either way they lose, either in sales, or ratings....in their minds. Please compare the advertising time in your average televised football game to any televised hockey game, in a play:ad time ratio to get my drift.

So if a sport as exciting as NHL hockey can be cannot find prime time programming on major networks...anything considered a lesser version of the game(as unfortunately inline hockey is percieved) is going to have to survive on gate sales, not television revenues.

So we get back to a team owner who has to generate revenues from gate sales, to support and field a truly professional inline team....Now we are back to trying to find arenas which are cost effectively sized to host these games, which could allow crowds of 1500 to 3000 to watch the games (these attendance numbers generally considered the "break even" to "profitable" range paying modest player salaries and covering team expenses)....assuming these fans could somehow be attracted to come watch. These arenas are few and far between...unless you look at the civic centers found in small northern towns..where years ago these facilities were created for the local junior/senior and local industrial league ice hockey teams, and the circus and various live entertainment shows in summers. This type of venue is found in low population areas...typically small Canadian towns and small northern US cities. For a true professional inline league to succeed, the sport of inline hockey will have to be marketed to these local areas...not in the big cities and major population areas....just because that is where they can play in buildings large enough to support a team and small enough to be affordable.

That said..remember something else...as recently as the 1960's and early 70's even NHL players had summer jobs to supplement their income and make ends meet. The NHL game grew out of these smaller venues not all that long ago. Expecting a full blown professional inline league to evolve directly onto the national scene parrelling the NHL is totally unrealistic...as was generally demonstrated by the RHI. It will have to be grown from the ground up.....just like the NHL was years ago..and pay it's dues. I think the growing interest in the sport in Canada, is a major positive for the game.....if leagues grow up in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, BC etc....then it will not be too long before teams are formed on a more serious basis.....in these smaller markets...creating the seed growth a professional league will need.

If you look at what the PIHA is doing....I think their "vision" has realized most of the above, and are working slowly towards those ends...marketing teams in small town areas, and looking to grow the sport slowly from the ground up....will it ever achieve the status of being able to earn a living from the sport??...Time will tell...a lot of time...

PS...I think I have outdone my longest post with this one...quite an achievement...even for me.....

[stock07 1]

No doubt about your post, novel length....but none the less I knew you would be able to break it down right....lol

[MIGHTYJOHN 0]

Its unfortunate but today's "PRO" leagues will always run into problems until & unless the sport gains MASS interest....I played MLRH this yr & I can say Bill Raue took good care of Us reimbursing Us for road games etc...but....w/o the MASS attraction that is what caused the league to go under this yr & have to end our season early..

[Jim A 4]

bill raue - what a nut...what was it 2001 when he had a team on "standby" to play the CO team for the title??

as for the NHL, the $ to go to a game and really experience it is too much..for a long time $50 at MSG put you in the 300's which was a good spot...but over in NJ, here in Dallas etc..that puts you waaayy out of the action and its like watching an NBA game from up there..you can see stuff happening..but its not worth the $ and you don't get the feel..

if any sort of pay for play roller were to take hold, it'd have to be marketed like a minor league baseball team...if they rely on the talent its not enough..it has to be a destination event..ala the St. Paul Saints

[opus22 0]

ive played in the mlrh triple a and i play in piha presently. i never assumed i would be paid. not only that, but each guy was supposed to pay to be in the league. not everyone did, i was lucky enough to get a sponsor - which sucks since not everyone paid. the idea was once every team had paid off a certain amount that was the cost of running the league, the players would get any money made past that point back. i dont see it happening as not that many people come.

that doesnt mean it isnt a good league or a worthwhile experience. the amount of hockey ive played plus the equipment i got is worth the money that went in. even if it had been my money it still wouldve been cheaper than than buying the equipment and paying to play an equivalent amout in leagues. ill have gotten 32 games out of it, and it was against the best competition i couldve found around here. is it "pro" in a paid, nhl sense...of course not. it was better run than any bill rauie (sp?) league ive played in - and ive met that guy a few times. the people in charge of piha care and really want it to succeed, and i dont think at all that they're in it to make a buck.

[stock07 1]

Ill agree with you that the people running the PIHA are probubly not in it to make a buck, the people running that league have been around inline a really long time, which Im sure you know them well and know there isent any money in it and never will be..It is simply a hobby for them to run the league and try and get a well organized, competitve, high level of inline hockey....Although on other message boards as of late there seems to be some problems coming about in the PIHA that were similer to the same problems MLRH had year after year...With the changes or additions PIHA is bringing out next year if all goes well with them it will strengthen that league even more, they have the right idea though growing it little by little and keeping it for the most part grassroots...MLRH as Im sure you know as well is nothing more than an adult house league with checking and fighting, and for me after one season with a full time job that pays my bills and the BS that goes on in that league I had no use for it....I love high level inline I think its a great game but personally I can get my fix playing NARCH or TORHS...But if the PIHA makes its way farther south I would most certainly give it a look...

[MDE3 0]

Three seasons ago MLRH finally evolved into what was generally considered to be a pretty good league until the XIHL situation occurred in the 2003/2004 season...

Actually Bill was supposed to participate in that season (under the MLRH name) as well, but there were some long term legal problems over the use of the MLRH name and "royalties" for it's use...That ended up with Bill's commisioner who had done a great job cleaning up the image of the MLRH and basically making for a well run session with a minimum of BS in 2003/04....leaving to form and help run the XIHL..and then when another internal squabble ensued in the XIHL....with him leaving the scene pretty much entirely.

In the 2004/2005 season with so many of the top players playing in the XIHL, MLRH had trouble fielding teams of players who would compete in two full contact/fighting leagues..and that season became pretty much a joke. As the PIHA evolved into a better organized league...most of the top talent ended up there for the 2005/2006 season and few again played in both...making the operation of MLRH difficult, and generally considered a "lesser" league.

The problems remain the same. For the foreseeable future, the only money/income for these teams will be from sponsors and the gate .... if a local organization is successfull in attracting a sufficient number of fans to come watch top level inline hockey (say 800 to 1500 fans at a game even)....where are you going to find arenas to play in? If you get 200 fans in the current venues at leat 1/3 of them will not be able to see the game.

[opus22 0]

the worst fights ive ever seen have been mlrh games, some of them were in the tryouts. there are some sick people out there and they will do anything to think they are part of some "higher" level of hockey. i saw people absolutely bloodied in cheap fights that not only should never have happened but were never broken up until it was far too late. the checking is a joke as well, a lot of guys dont know how to hit and the refs are inline refs that dont a know a legal hit from a cheap one. the idea of the physicality and fighting seems like an exciting idea untill youre out there and you have no idea what the other team is going to do because the ref is letting go head shots on checks, and big hits from behind...you ask him about and he looks at you like your retarded and say..."but its full contact?!". that just isnt safe and im surprised someone hasnt sued from getting really messed up. i was knocked out briefly in a game myself. im glad that piha is around instead of mlrh here in CO. it may not be the highest level possible for roller, but its really good and its just a safer feel. guys dont even want to fight and get a 3 games suspension. its a little harsh imo, id like to get rough from time to time - but the threat of it i believe leads to a better atmosphere than anything i experienced in mlrh.