John Stray Corrado This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Hockey Weekly Online

   www.hockeyweekly.com/aug14/tot - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/22/2001   Last Visited: 9/16/2002

   "We're here to promote the sport," said John "Stray" Corrado, Head Director of Total Roller Hockey. "We want to have as many teams playing in the area and at our facility as possible. We just want kids to play and develop their skills." "A few years down the road, we'll be the dominant force on the west side with hockey," said Corrado. "I wouldn't go as far as saying we'll be the Joe Dumars or the D.R.H.A. (Detroit Roller Hockey Association) of the west side, but we are going to be the top notch west side facility."
   
   Above, the three are preparing for the installation of the glass that just came in for the two-rink complex. The rink in the foreground has a section of the boards in plexiglass for handicapped spectators.
   
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   "One of the nice things about the rinks will be the handicapped viewing areas," said Corrado. "It's a real neat feature." The physically challenged sections will be built into the stands and enclosed with plexiglass. TRH will run an Open League with 10 divisions and a House League with nine divisions. A High School League is also planned to begin in October. Drop-In hockey and open skating will be available at selected times during the week. The facility will have eight locker rooms and showers.
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   Corrado says a lot of prospective players have expressed interest in Total Roller Hockey's respective leagues. "Actually, its outrageous right now," said Corrado. "There's a lot of facilities but we're the only one's with two rinks available full time for hockey. We have talked to over 70 different teams that have a possibility of entering. I don't think we'll hit those numbers but we have done our homework." TRH is also offering practice times sold in one hour blocks. Practice times are made available via the internet. "The web is a very big thing for us," said Corrado. "All our forms for the fall, all our registration stuff and pretty much any thing we do is put on the web."
   
   Corrado wants to host a tournament in the near future, possibly bringing in the Tournament of Roller Hockey Series to run a regional at the facility. A 450-500 square foot pro shop and a bar/restaurant will be built on the premises. Hockey clinics and camps are on the agenda as well. TRH, which is owned by the seven-person groupWixKix, plans to provide up to date player statistics for league members.
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   "Nobody on the west side has live internet scoring at the present time," said Corrado. "The guys and kids love their stats, so we wanted to produce and make sure that they have all of that available at their finger tips." According to Corrado, Playmaker will be installed and running in time for the league's inaugural games. Before he was named director for TRH, Corrado worked at U.S. Blades for three years. The former Grosse Pointe North goalie also helped the D.R.H.A. to design and run their website. He will have two assistants, Marty Larson and Scott Daar, helping with day-to-day operations. "They're going to be doing everything right along side me," said Corrado. "Whatever I can do, they can do as well." Corrado feels that excellent customer service, consistent officiating and league parity are important attributes to strive for when operating a Roller Hockey facility. "We want teams to play against their own level," Corrado said. "Parity in our leagues is something we really want to structure ourselves around." Corrado believes that Roller Hockey's popularity will continue to grow, as long as kids have have a safe and structured place to play. "Kids are playing it (Roller Hockey) everywhere," said Corrado. "They need a safe place to play indoors, with guidance, rules and regulations so they learn about the sport." Roller Hockey and soccer are just two of several sports offered at the 220,000 square foot Total Soccer facility. Total Baseball and Softball and Flag Football are located in the same complex. The Frappier Acceleration Sports Training Program will soon be available to athletes looking to improve their conditioning and skills. Total Roller Hockey is located at 30990 Wixom Road in Wixom. You can visit its website at www.totalrollerhockey.com.
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   "I can't wait to hear the puck against the glass, the horn blast and a kid pumping his fist in the air when he scores," said John "Stray" Corrado, head director of Total Roller Hockey who is centered between his assistants, Marty Larson (left) and Scott Daar in the picture at the right.