Bremerton Skater On Roll To Spain -- `I Guess I Was Destined To Do This,' Stevenson Says

Jim Stevenson has owned and operated roller-skating rinks for almost 20 years and for the most part has done a good job of staying away from bad business decisions.

That is, until his son Mike began trashing the rink.

Soon after Mike learned to walk, he was on skates at his father's first rink in Salem, Ore. Mike soon took a stick and ball to the rink and invited his friends. More sticks, more balls, more damage.

Dad's rink in Bremerton has turned into a mecca for roller-hockey players, and subsequently, into a maintenance headache.

"We try to keep on top of it," Jim Stevenson said. "We put boards over the signs, put nets on both ends. But there's damage, no doubt. The kick boards get hit harder, and it really marks up the walls. Most rink owners just don't want roller hockey in their rinks."

That's not an option for Stevenson. His son, now 19, is the youngest member of the U.S. roller-hockey team, an underdog going into the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. Since the Stevensons moved to Bremerton in 1985 and bought Skateland, about 100 youths from ages 8 to 18 have enrolled in roller-hockey leagues at Stevenson's rink.

"I guess I was destined to do this," said Mike Stevenson, who graduated from Olympic High School in 1991. "When Sunday morning would roll around, I would hit the ball with my dad's team in Salem. I was always hitting the ball around."

Mike went to his first national tournament at age 14. He always

has trained with older players. His present team, the Hurricanes, consistently places at national tournaments.

The roller-hockey movement, thriving in Bremerton and at a rink in Lacey (also called Skateland) that Jim Stevenson once owned, has been slow to catch on in the United States. In Europe, professional roller-hockey players can earn up to $500,000 a year. It will be a demonstration sport at the Olympics.

"It's much like soccer, which still hasn't gotten hold in this country," said Bob Hemphill, part-owner of Skateland and a former national-team coach.

Said Jim Stevenson: "You've got to get it into your system. There are only 300, maybe 500 good players in this country."

Some of the best live in Western Washington. Frankie Lee, one of Mike Stevenson's Hurricane teammates, lives in Bremerton and is the first alternate on the U.S. Olympic team, which has eight floor players and two goaltenders. Another member of the Olympic team, Jeff Gibson, lives in Lacey.

"The U.S. team has improved tremendously," said Gibson, who played professionally in Italy. "We have a good chance of being in the medal round, which would be unheard of for the U.S."

The Americans never have placed higher than fifth in the world championships, although they were second at the 1990 Basler Cup, ahead of Portugal, Germany, Holland, France and Switzerland.

Only four teams will compete in the Olympic Village for a medal. The U.S. must beat the three other teams in its pool - Italy, Spain and Argentina - three of the world's best teams.

"We were never able to consistently go into a meet and knock off two or three teams," Hemphill said. "But we've spent a lot more money and time with the team. Before, one or two players could shoot a cannon shot. Now we have several." ------------------------------- ROLLER HOCKEY

A preview of the demonstration event in Barcelona:

-- Dates: July 26-Aug. 5, Aug. 7. -- Washington qualifiers: Mike Stevenson, Bremerton; Jeff Gibson, Lacey; Frankie Lee, Bremerton (alternate). -- Who to watch: Dick Chado of U.S. (captain and two-time USOC roller-skating athlete of year); Karl Huckaby of U.S. (gold medalist and MVP of U.S. Olympic Festival in '91). -- 1988 gold medalist: Roller hockey is a first-time demonstration sport. -- Fast fact: Also called ball hockey, the sport is a hybrid of ice hockey played on roller skates.