The love of the game

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Michael Hess
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England (USAFENS) --  He is quiet and cool tempered at home, at work and with the boys he teaches hockey to. His opponents would never know this tempered demeanor by his skill and aggressiveness on the ice.

Bobby Shearer, 48th Munitions Squadron, coaches, referees and plays in various local Anglo-American hockey leagues.

He is not alone. There are about 25 servicemembers or dependents from RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Alconbury in the Anglo- American roller and ice hockey leagues. There are not enough Americans here to form their own league. Lucky for them, there is also interest in the British community. The solution – play on British leagues against British teams, which is what the servicemembers do.

“We are the only American team in the league,” said Bonnie Marlar, Lakenheath Eagles scorekeeper whose husband is Slim Marlar, 494th Fighter Squadron.

The Anglo-American interaction goes further than a hard slam into the Plexiglas surrounding the ice, or a head-to-head scrap over a puck. The interaction can be a simple “good play” or “good job” or the friendly reply of “cheers” after a well-played game.

Hockey is a full-contact sport, though no harm is inflicted on purpose.

“It’s all just part of the game,” said David Jarvis, 48th MUNS.

Much like the common language the teams speak, the local hockey dialect took some getting used to.

In some cases, the rules changed slightly when they traveled across the Atlantic Ocean from North America .

“There are some rules that are different than the States. Some of their rules are actually soccer rules,” said Airman Shearer.

This leaves all who play at a disadvantage. For the Americans, it may mean more time in a penalty box. For the British players, it may mean a bruise or two more than usual.

“We are known as the brutes of the rink,” said Marlar, moments before Shearer was placed in the penalty box for laying out an opponent at a roller hockey game recently. A brutal sight was the skull and cross bones emblazoned jersey of his opponent flipping horizontally and tumbling to the ground, landing in what resembled a tattered pile of gear.

The intensity of body checks, a move where one player defends the puck with a defensive push of the body into the assailant’s body, allowed in most North American leagues are called as penalties here.

There are two main Anglo-American hockey leagues, one roller and one hockey.

The roller hockey league games are played in the Mildenhall Leisure Center and they only travel within the United Kingdom . The ice hockey league plays at various ice rinks across the United Kingdom . A select few servicemembers from the ice hockey leagues expand the Air Force community relations to the world.

“We just got back from the (U.S. Air Forces in Europe ) hockey championship. We placed second out of eight teams – the Canadians beat us,” said Shearer.

The tournament was in Garmisch , Germany . Shearer has played in Slovakia , Germany , Italy , United Kingdom and all over the United States .

As with anything involved with the military, continuity is a challenge faced by the teams.

“Our roller hockey seasons are nine months long; during that time people deploy, change stations or go TDY,” said Shearer.

“We lost a few of our better players,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s hard to stay competitive.”

Shearer and his East Anglia military community counterparts demonstrate teamwork on and off the ice, and create a sense of community with their British cohorts all due to the love of a game.