From the town of Orange to the Czech Republic and everywhere in between, Robin Driscoll has played at the highest levels of her sport. And at 55 years old, she shows no signs of slowing down.
The Postmaster in Old Deerfield by day, Driscoll recently returned from the 2017 World Ball Hockey Federation (WBHF) Championships, played in the towns of Lovosice and Litomerice in the Czech Republic. Driscoll and Team USA captured the bronze medal there, defeating Slovakia, 3-0, in the third-place game.
What’s ball hockey, you ask?
Essentially, it’s patterned after and closely related to ice hockey, except the game is played on foot, no skates, on a non-ice surface. There are several names for the sport, from dek hockey to street hockey. Driscoll first got into the sport around the year 2000, and she’s been running non-stop since.
“My kids played when they were little so around (2000), a group of mothers got together and we decided to form a women’s street hockey league,” explained Driscoll, who lives in Wendell. “It was just local stuff for the first few years, but then we formed a travel team and started to go play in tournaments.”
Driscoll’s early days in the sport trace back to the 202 Street Hockey Association in Orange. From there, with her travel teams spreading their wings and playing in tournaments throughout the Northeast, Driscoll got on the radar of the national teams. She began playing for Team USA about four years ago, eventually landing a spot as a captain on one of the Masters-level squads reserved for players 35 and over.
Driscoll was the assistant captain for the USA Red Team at the Masters World Championship in 2016 in Banff, Alberta, Canada, where the squad finished fifth. The USA Blue Team took the silver medal at the World Championships, losing to host Canada in the title game.
Earlier this summer, she was a member of the bronze-medal squad of USA players that traveled to the Czech Republic to represent the U.S. Dek Hockey Federation. The tournament was a product of the World Ball Hockey Federation (WBHF), and Canada took home the gold medal with the host Czechs nabbing silver.
“It was quite the experience,” recalled Driscoll, who went to the country a few days before the tournament started and spent some time in Prague. “It was not the first time I competed internationally, but this was more of a rewarding experience because ball hockey is really big in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They bussed in school kids as fans and they had made little signs that said ‘Go America.’”
While the sport is growing in the United States, it’s still no match for the atmosphere in the Czech Republic. The event was played about 45 minutes northwest of Prague.
“As far as hockey tournaments go, it was a good one not only because we won bronze, but the tournament and environment was a big deal,” Driscoll said. “They actually had an opening ceremony where you walked in with your country and all that so they made it a big deal.”
Canada beat the host Czech Republic to capture its fourth World Championship in the event in the past five years. Hungary also competed, finishing fifth in the field.
“We put the team together at the last minute, compared to Canada, where the sport is huge and they’re always very prepared,” said Driscoll. “We had a very short bench, only 14 players including the goalie, so we didn’t have enough for three complete lines. We were happy to get bronze but I definitely think we would’ve done better if we had more people.”
The elder stateswoman of the U.S. squad, Driscoll said she was pleased with her performance.
“I was definitely the oldest on the team so, of course, I’m really proud of myself,” she offered. “Most of the women were in their 20s for this tournament because it was a regular-level and not Masters-level tournament.”
Back locally, Driscoll stays plenty busy with the sport. She plays in three different leagues throughout Massachusetts, while playing in tournaments in ball hockey hotbeds like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
“I’m unfortunately a little obsessed with it,” she said with a laugh. “I make it a big commitment. A lot of people I play with in the leagues may play once a week, but I usually play three times a week in three different leagues. And then probably about five tournaments a year.”
The sport has grown locally, with leagues available in towns like Orange, Winchendon, Leominster and Dracut.
“Certainly it’s growing leaps and bounds in the last four years I’ve been playing internationally,” explained Driscoll. “When they started out doing the international championships, it was a lot of recreational players who had just started playing. But now we’re starting to get D1 college hockey players that have that skill to start with.”
Acclimating to the sport came relatively naturally to Driscoll, despite not playing ice hockey beforehand. After growing up in Braintree, she played rugby at UMass and competed in powerlifting when she studied abroad in Sweden and Norway.
“When I was younger, there really wasn’t many options for women’s hockey, so it’s been nice to see that change over the years,” she said.
The Postmaster in Deerfield for the past four-plus years, Driscoll has enjoyed the balance work and hockey have provided her life.
“Getting the opportunities to play in some of these places, it’s been awesome,” she gushed. “And it’s great to see the sport continue to grow. We’re hoping that it only gets better from here.”
For more information on the sport, visit the two national organizations for ball hockey online: U.S. Dek Hockey Federation (usdekhockeyfederation.website.siplay.com) or American Street Hockey Institute (ashihockey.org).