Hockey is hot item with local sports enthusiasts

Hockey has traditionally been a sport popular in New England and other regions where temperatures sink well below zero, but players have been going at it in warmer climates over the past two years, according to a floor salesman at Play It Again Sports, which has stores at Harrisburg's Paxton Square Shopping Center and the Capital City Plaza.

"Hockey was a rule way up in the Northeast, but now hockey is the biggest recognized sport around here," said Tom, the salesman who would only give his first name. No matter whether it's street, ice or in-line hockey, he said, "More people are playing it than ever before." And yes, he said, this includes puckers who are female.

Overall, revenues for sporting goods stores are growing, according to the National Sporting Goods Association, which is the trade group for those retailers.

In 1992, the sporting goods industry recorded total revenues of $34.8 billion. Revenues were $41.6 billion in 1996 and are projeced to be $42.8 billion this year, according to NSGA.

Based on NSGA's 1996 survey, snowboarding is the fastest-growing sport, scoring a 32.5 percent increase over 1995 figures with a total of 3.7 million participants. Soccer was in the number two spot with a 15.6 percent increase over 1995 figures. However, the number of soccer participants is 13.9 million. Target shooting, softball and kayaking/rafting top out the five fastest-growing sports on the survey.

There is a growing interest in archery also. Michael Eitland, Ferguson's Sports products manager, said bow and arrow hunting is popular now compared to rifle use. "It's hard to tell just yet, but it seems that more people are replacing rifle hunting with bow hunting. Like with the difference in fly-fishing and regular fishing, you might say that archery hunting is more specialized than rifle hunting," he said. Eitland, whose store is on Mountain Road in Harrisburg, said just how popular bows and arrows are with hunters will be clearer in a few weeks. Oct. 4 marked the first day of the open archery season and rifle hunters begin their sport the day after Thanksgiving.

Archers are growing in numbers, but hunting overall, said Eitland, is not quite as popular as it once was. "We are seeing fewer younger people interested in hunting, because it's sort of a generational thing. If the parent's don't hunt, it's not likely these days that their children will want to hunt."

Around Central Pennsylvania, the big game is still deer. And while Eitland said bows and rifles both do the job, archery hunting may be considered safer because closer distances to the target are required. Still, archery hunting requires more stringent practice, and old-time hunters prefer rifles.

On fishing, Eitland noted that some aspects of the sport are not declining as swiftly as others, but overall "general fishing has been dropping off for 10 years. On the other hand, fly-fishing climbed steadily for a few years, then began to drop. Also, fishing licensing has been on the decline for the past 10 years, although this varies from area to area, and you really can't count on where will be up or down. Around here, it's sort of steady in season."

While some people take their sports seriously, some treat sporting activities like a trend, Eitland said. "Remember that Robert Redford movie, 'A River Runs Through It?' Well, after that came out, a lot of people wanted to fly-fish. It caused quite a stir with the Yuppie crowds who thought it was cool, so they got into it for a little while."

Speaking of what' s cool, there's always clothing gear to go along with the sport. Dan Simmons sells sports clothing at Kelly's Sports Express in the Colonial Park Mall, Harrisburg. The big items at his store are the footwear, and that's what is attracting those between the ages of 16 and 25, said Simmons. And if you've wondered if there's any end in sight to the constantly skyrocketing prices for a pair of Air Jordans and other Nike Products, Reeboks, Avias or Filas, apparently there is no cost ceiling on the horizon.

"I've listened to more than a few it heated arguments in the store, parent's not wanting to pay the prices that keep going up for these shoes," he said. Still, Simmons insists that although the parents can't justify spending as much as $150 to $200 for a pair of athletic shoes, "they end up buying them anyway. I hear lots of complaints, but the shoes keep selling." And athletic sneakers costing in the hundreds of dollars certainly require being offset with a 'pricey' sporting outfit to complete the ensemble. "Once they get the shoes, the parents are pushed (by kids) to buy running suits, T-shirts, sweatshirts, whatever matches the shoes," Simmons said.

And hearing the arguments isn't easy for Simmons, especially when he further daunts parents by advising them to purchase shoes that actually fit, rather than trying to buy shoes "that the child can grow into. I have to advise against that, because the shoe has to fit, or it can be dangerous for the wearer," he said. "We get new styles and makes of shoes in every week. And depending on what the shoe will be used for -- a game, running, hiking -- it needs to be styled specifically for that (activity)," Simmons said.

With the advent of the 1997 Women's National Basketball Association, girls are heating up cash registers, wanting shoes and gear worn by female star basketball players. But so far, Simmons' store has had to miss out on that business. "Lady Footlocker has an exclusive on the WNBA items until next year, and I'm sure other sports stores will start getting it in when '98 rolls around," he said.

Football, basketball, snow-skiing and track sports are four staple sports here to stay said Tom, at Play It Again Sports. He believes that "products are being built with more quality, and for some sports, the equipment is being modified to improve the player's game." For instance, golf clubs, the irons and the woods, are available with larger heads, and they're getting more popular. This helps learners, and it's just good for the game. And since Tiger Woods, we're getting a lot more young people interested in playing golf and they want those heads," said Tom.

As for what's new and what's trendy, Tom said he thinks the alternative sport of aggressive in-line skating, which involves skating down steps, zooming off rails and combining acrobatics with skating, appeared trendy at first, "but it's not really a trend. It's a specialty sport that younger people are doing. I think it'll stick around, because the skaters are getting more creative."