Derek got on skates when he was 6 when his grandparents took him skating for the first time at the local skating rink. Because inlines did not exist in the beginning of his skating career he skated on quads. Derek started speed skating at 10 and started play “Hardball” at 11. Hardball used cane stick much like field hockey, quads and a ball. Derek belonged to the local speed skating club and hockey club for quite a few years. He picked up his first pair of inline skates at 13 and that is when it all began. Quads became a thing of the past for him as soon as he realized he could fly on inlines. Derek skated over to the local tennis courts where much of his early roller hockey career started. “I would skate over to the tennis courts with buddies and we would play hockey for hours. The high school hated us as we would chew up the courts.”
At 12 the Boys and Girls Club had a new hockey league and Derek joined. At age 13 Derek was still speed skating and actually, got the opportunity to skate against Apollo Ohno (yes the olympic speed skater). “I beat him off the line because I was a hockey player and new how to start quickly. Then he lapped me.”
Back in the 1990’s roller hockey was big in Oregon. Salem had two teams in almost every division, Portland had three or four. Mt Hood had a team, Corvallis, Eugene and Bend. There was no shortage of local tournaments and the competition was awesome. Each of these towns all had organizations much like the Bullets do today.
At age 18, Derek started a team called “Strange Brew.” Derek pulled in a couple guys from Portland, from Salem, from Eugene and from Bend. You might know one of the guys from Bend. His name is Eric Colter.
Strange Brew brought home Oregon’s first national championship for roller hockey. Back then it was the AIRHS nationals that was the big spot.
Derek has a long history of hockey, and a deep love of the sport.
“I used to think it was strange to think about going to a hockey tournament and not playing (coaching). And now I can say without a doubt it is one of the most fulfilling things I have done in my entire life. Helping these kids grow is absolutely fills my bucket. Helping our hockey community grow in Central Oregon has become an absolute obsession.”