Indiana Ball Hockey Association

Hi, I'm Aaron, and I'm the President of the newly formed Indiana Ball Hockey Association!

Ball hockey (also known as dek/floor/street hockey) is a more accessible and extremely more affordable alternative to ice hockey that is gaining popularity across the country. Ball hockey is distinctive because players run instead of skating and play with a ball instead of a puck. These differences make ball hockey a unique sport with its own pace, rules, and appeal, while still retaining the nonstop action and competitiveness of ice hockey.

The IBHA was formed by passionate volunteer members to manage and ensure the success of ball hockey in the state of Indiana. We are currently the governing body for two ball hockey leagues, and another is in development. As a newly formed association, we are raising funds to allow these leagues to thrive. We have seen rapid growth in player interest over the last year alone, and our end goal is to be able to provide the best management and facilities for ball hockey in the Midwest.

Any funds we are able to raise will be split between our leagues and used to update facilities, replace outdated and/or damaged equipment, assist in paying our league directors and officials, and create the best overall experience we can provide for our players.

Our Main Goals Include:

Insulating and Repairing/Replacing the HVAC System at Ellenberger Park: There are currently three hockey leagues that play at this facility in the summer, and we intend to develop additional leagues, including a Youth Ball Hockey League. The rink is not temperature-controlled or insulated, which has become a safety concern (especially in the warmer months) as we continue to build interest in our sports and the facility becomes more regularly used.

Adding a Second Playing Surface at Ellenberger Park: The facility currently houses a single hockey rink that is larger than a standard hockey rink. We believe it would be beneficial to better utilize unused storage space (including the now-defunct Zamboni garage) and potentially expand the building westward to make room for two standard size rinks. With two rinks, the leagues operating out of this facility could run two games simultaneously, which would be ideal as our leagues continue to grow. Two rinks would also mean higher success rates in hosting tournaments, which are imperative when it comes to fundraising for local leagues.

Updating the Equipment Room at the Rooftop Rink: The Rooftop Rink equipment room has been fairly well-stocked with extra sticks and gear for community players to borrow. The issue is that most of the sticks are worn or broken, and most of the additional equipment is junior/youth-size, which unfortunately doesn't get much use. We have also been the victim of theft a number of times over the years, losing 25 pairs of brand-new adult-size hockey gloves, med kits, and our scoreboard control panel (twice). Ideally, the equipment room would be overhauled to include a vertical stick rack, benches for goalies to sit on while changing, cubbies for players to store personal items, and a locking cabinet for storing more expensive equipment, such as the scoreboard control panel.

Any amount you are able to contribute is so greatly appreciated. If you are unable to contribute at this time, please consider sharing our fundraiser with your friends and family. The Indiana hockey community is small but mighty, and we appreciate your love and support!

Check Us Out Online!

Indy Rooftop Hockey League

NBHL Indiana

Indy Inline Hockey

Continue reading for more details on the Indianapolis ball hockey community, and a more in-depth look at how we hope to use our funds!

A Brief History of Ball Hockey in Indianapolis:

In 2009, the Wheeler Mission Center for Women & Children moved from its home at 23 North Rural Street to its current home, blocks away. At that time, Wheeler opted to donate the building to Englewood Community Development Corporation (ECDC), a neighborhood outgrowth program that was founded just north of this location in the late 1800s.

In 2011, with help from the Super Bowl Legacy projects, development spurred on Indy's Near Eastside, and ECDC was granted funds to renovate the donated building into 32 spacious apartments with an attached gymnasium for recreational sports. ECDC was required to spend the grant money on-site, and Pittsburgh transplant (now-Executive Director of ECDC) Joe Bowling helped bring Indianapolis's first and only rooftop hockey rink to life.

"We built the rooftop rink in 2011 in hopes of re-creating our family's experience playing dek hockey in Pittsburgh when we were kids... We had to spend the money on-site, and there wasn't much left to do in the gym or the apartments. So that's when I started to think of doing a rooftop space."

The rooftop rink is a fraction the size of a standard hockey rink (about a third the size or less), so gameplay is limited to 3-on-3, whereas gameplay on a standard rink would be 5-on-5. Over the past 12 years, the building's aptly named Indy Rooftop Hockey League (IRHL) has just over 50 active players, and interest in the league continues to grow.

A Look Ahead:

Just three miles northeast of the rooftop rink is Ellenberger Park, a beautiful 42-acre park in the Irvington Historic District. The park was founded in 1909 and is widely known for its sledding hill and public swimming pool, which opened in 1930. An outdoor ice rink was installed in the early 1960s and enclosed in 1974, when the pool also underwent an extensive rehabilitation. For years, the ice rink was a popular attraction that hosted public skating events as well as competitive hockey games until much-needed improvements were deemed too costly, and the rink was closed in 2009.

In 2015 the Indy Inline Hockey League (inline/roller hockey) was searching for a new home, as they had spent the previous three years playing outdoors on a repurposed tennis court near the South Broad Ripple neighborhood. One of the league's players lived in Irvington and noticed people coming and going from the old ice rink facility at Ellenberger Park. After a few inquiries and ironing out some details with the Parks Department, Indy Inline secured a new home for their inline league. The rink was dark, though, and the locker rooms and exterior walls leaked during rains. The polished concrete floor seemed ideal for inline hockey but was too slick even for their high-grip rubber wheels. Ellenberger needed some upgrades and repairs in order for Indy Inline to succeed. However, their increased popularity meant more rentals for the park, and after a few seasons of playing in the dim, damp Ellenberger rink, the league's manager, Ryan Spahr, helped convince the Parks Department that upgraded lighting and flooring would immensely benefit the league and the facility. New Sport Court flooring was installed in 2020, followed by new lighting a year later.

In 2022, Indiana was invited to become an expansion division of the National Ball Hockey League (NBHL) — the first nationwide ball hockey league in the US and the first ball hockey league to be sanctioned by USA Ball Hockey. Accepting the invitation to the NBHL meant many things would need to change, including finding a standard-size home rink and adjusting from 3-on-3 play to 5-on-5. With Ellenberger's recent upgrades, this seemed like the perfect facility and the perfect opportunity for IRHL to grow the sport of ball hockey. In April 2023, the Indiana Division of the National Ball Hockey League got underway, hosting three local teams and one visiting team from Columbus, Ohio. The first season concluded in August, and with its success (and less than a year until the start of the next season), it has attracted enough interest to potentially double the size of the division.

The future of ball hockey has great potential in Indiana. Adult leagues are flourishing, and youth and high school ball hockey programs are accessible, inexpensive ways to introduce new sports to our children. It is my hope that with some fundraising and awareness, the sport will expand past the Eastside of Indianapolis and begin to encompass the state as a whole.

Thank you sincerely for taking the time to learn about ball hockey, and thank you again for any contributions you are able to make.

Aaron Stillerman

President | Indiana Ball Hockey Association