Home Ice: Reflections on Backyard Rinks and Frozen Ponds

by Jack Falla

There is no shortage of books that describe how participating in a particular sporting activity strengthens bonds between people. Falla's book accomplishes this feat through a collection of essays on backyard skating rinks and frozen ponds and how these local skating venues allow their participants to get in touch with the game of hockey in addition to building relationships with family and friends. The author, a sportswriter and author of Sports Illustrated Hockey, is the architect and CEO of his full-scale backyard rink, the Bacon Street Omni, around which neighborhood life seems to revolve during the long, cold months. Each essay is short and provides for excellent recreational reading for people interested in skating in general and hockey in particular. Throughout, the author's love for winter sports is clear, especially as a link between his New England childhood and his current life, but readers who have never put on a pair of skates may have trouble connecting with this well written book. --Library Journal

Genres: Hockey, Nonfiction, Sports

190 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Andrew Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like hockey, you will enjoy this book. Jack Falla brings a bit of the mystic rhetoric to the game that used to be reserved for writings of baseball. The essays weave hockey, ice and a wee bit of existentialism. A good citizen of Massachusetts, Falla more than once quotes Emerson. The book works on many different levels.

Falla died a handful of years after publishing Home Ice. As such, some of his essays have a wistful edge. That said, this book shines.

[Daniel Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hockey has a storied well-recorded history. There have been any number of histories, memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, and books for children written to document that history. In fact, only the genre of the novel has been short in its hockey coverage. That said we will review those books too. For every Beartown, there are 5-10 from the other genres. Get to work on that hockey novel, there is a market for it!

With Hockey By the Book, I hope to feature works by authors that you have heard of and some that you haven't. I hope to introduce you to new works and authors that we love and cherish. In truth, I love to read about hockey across all genres.

So, let's drop the puck!

When one looks at the authors in the hockey world Ken Dryden generally rises to the top of the list and rightfully so. His "The Game" is arguably the most read and renowned hockey book of all time. We'll cover that at a later date.

I'd like to introduce you to the late, great Jack Falla. Falla a Boston University Professor of Literature and Sports Illustrated staff writer covered the NHL and other sports throughout his career. His real treasures to the world of hockey literature are his two memoirs: Home Ice - Reflections On Backyard Rinks and Frozen Ponds and Open Ice - Reflections and Confessions Of A Hockey Lifer. For those of us that play and love this great game, he captures the essence of our love for the game in the most eloquent and articulate way imaginable. For those that just enjoy watching the game, it deepens your love for and respect for the game.

Home Ice: In case you wonder about Falla's credentials, the great Bobby Orr, a notoriously taciturn and silent man, wrote the forward. His quote "It's wonderful how ice can be so warm" really sets the tone for this book. The book and events center around the Bacon Street Oval. The oval referred to is the backyard rink that Falla built and maintained throughout his adult life. That rink and Falla's love for it and those that inhabit it give the book the cozy feel of sitting around the fire listening to Falla tell stories. Whether you grew up in a cold climate or a desert, playing football or doing theater these stories are so relatable and enjoyable that they are bound to strike a chord with all readers.

Each of the chapters sets the stage for the stories he tells. They follow the seasons and reasons for setting up and maintaining a backyard rink. The one thread that runs through all of the stories is the community and love the game. "Rink Rat Oddessey" relates the tale of Falla touring the US and Canada to skate backyard rinks. Each of the owners of the rinks, including one Walter Gretzky, waxes philosophical and poetic on the enjoyment of skating on their rinks. It rings true for many a player that fell in love with the game at an early age. His reflections as middle-aged man color the story with the nostalgic brush of a well-spent youth. A youth that blossomed into a fantastic and enviable adulthood. The book highlights the romance of a time gone by. It leaves a picture of hockey that many will never have the opportunity to see and many have already forgotten.

There is another memorable chapter in which Falla outlines his skate with the "Great One". Yes, that great one and the Edmonton Oilers. He is unable to take Wayne out on a pond but instead is invited to skate with the team in practice. I won't ruin it for you by telling the story. Suffice it to say it is a great story that shows why Gretzky is so great, yet the reason might not be what you think.

Lastly for those interested in building and maintaining a backyard rink, he includes helpful tips and tricks at the end of the book.

I will review the follow-up book "Open Ice" in the next edition of Hockey By the Book.

Until then be well!

Daniel

- Please feel free to send suggestions for books that you would like to see or think I should read.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of essays about the author's experiences skating outdoors, on ponds and homemade rinks, both as a kid and adult. His passion and joy for skating are evident and inspiring for anyone who loves to skate. I enjoyed his anecdotes and could relate to many of them since I grew up in a cold-weather state and have a lot of fond memories of time spent outside with friends in hand-me-down skates. This book made me reminisce and appreciate those memories all the more. It also made me reflect on the way skating has connected me to friends and family over the years and has given me an enjoyable way to exercise outside, which one needs to stay sane during a long dark winter. I'd recommend this one to anyone who loves to skate!

[Jim Dwyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was geared up to read about the experiences the Fallas and their friends shared on the Bacon Street Omni. And Falla delivers the goods with humor and honesty, with wit and wisdom. But Home Ice, for me, has become more than a celebration of hockey and that which unites families and communities.

I, a relative newcomer to New England, didn't expect to learn so much about the Boston Bruins. I had heard of Orr and O'Reilly, of course, but I didn't grow up watching them as Falla did. He brings his memories of the Big Bad Bruins to life. Falla also mixes Black and Gold with the Oil. His skate with Wayne Gretzky enriches the book, giving it balance: the Great One juxtaposed to the average Joes who play on the pond.

[AJ B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very good chapters but some very boring ones as well

[Iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant read, though I preferred "Open Ice."

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Falla is a sports writer. I confess to considering that something of an oxymoron. Writing and sports were two things I considered to be on divergent ends of the entertainment spectrum. One is art, the other is brutality. This book proves me horribly wrong. In Home Ice, Falla wrote eloquently about childhood memories, snow shoveling, family life, and Wayne Gretzky, and made me see how all of them are inextricably connected. He almost made me want to be a hockey fan. (Almost.) He definitely made we want to create a backyard rink. That is, until I read the chapter about how to make one. Instead, I will be one of those people who wishes she had a backyard rink and all the conviviality and family bonding that seems to come with it. Of course, Falla probably would have had the latter without the former. Even so, he makes you believe in the magic of the ice. And that is the magic of his writing. This is a beautiful book.

[SA · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely memoir of the home rinks Falla created over the years, and the interest he took in them as a writing subject. I've never skated on a home rink--I've never lived in a place cold enough to sustain one--but it was very vivid from his descriptions, and made me want to go skating. A real pleasure.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic collection of essays about, essentially, the pure joy of skating.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

essays on a home ice rink and the love of skating outdoors.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book - particularly if you like hockey. There's not a ton of the sport in this one. It's more about relationships and life with a backyard rink.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book. Very nostalgic, it made me appreciate things in life more. I enjoyed all of the stories of family and loved ones and just plain having fun together.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes me yearn for home, NH. I loved it.

[Brian Quast · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book three times over the course of 15+ hockey seasons & it is still a fantastic memoir written by a terrific author.

[Benn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, such a good read.