Rock-it-ball is a new game with Hartlepool man Paul Reed at the centre of the action.

He is making it his business to ensure local people don't miss out.

TRACY WALKER spoke to him.




PAUL Reed is a man on a mission.

He wants to introduce a new sport to the people of Hartlepool. But his dream does not end there.

He also hopes to be able to promote Rock-it-ball as a demonstration sport at the London 2012 Olympics.

Paul only got into the game a year and a half ago but he has already risen through the ranks to become the coach of the England Rock-it-ball youth team and will take over as coach of the senior squad early next year.

The idea of the game is that there are five players on each team, five soft balls, a referee and two umpires on the court at once.

Each player has a stick, with two "baskets" at the end, and the aim is to use the sticks to throw the balls at opponents, as well as catch the balls in the baskets to gain points.

If a player is hit with a ball, they must stand still and put their hand in the air, otherwise the team is deducted 10 points.

"It has been compared to a cross between lacrosse and dodgeball. It's quite a unique sport," said Paul.

He got involved with the non-contact sport through his job as sports motivator with Hartlepool Borough Council's sports development team.

Paul, who lives on the Headland, in Hartlepool, went on a course to learn the game and since then has never looked back.

The 44-year-old, who was in the Army for 14 years before taking up his current role seven years ago, said: "Joe Bloggs could be walking down the street and they could easily pick it up. It's very easy to learn. I think anyone could pick it up. It's to everybody's ability."

He was asked to try out for the Thornaby Spartans Rock-it- ball team and then asked to join the England senior team after four months.

Now, he can't wait to get started with coaching the senior team and to roll out the game to town colleges.

He said: "At the moment I'm looking forward to coaching the England national team.

"My aspiration is to take England to the London 2012 Olympics as a demonstration sport. I think it could be an Olympic sport one day."

The game was developed in Yorkshire around four years ago but is fresh to North East England and Paul wants to see if people from Hartlepool have what it takes to be the next national Rock-it-ball stars.

Paul said: "We have adults and kids who play, but no one from the region to represent England.

"There might be 20 good kids who could make up a good team and we could put them straight in a squad but we don't know who's out there.

"It's everybody's dream to represent their country at sport and what better way than in a sport that no one knows is out there?"

Through the sports development team, Paul will be encouraging 16 to 19-year-olds to play and offering coaching to anyone else interested in taking up the sport.

And through his links with the national team, he will also looking out for talent that could play in a North-East college league,
People with a disability can also take part, says Paul.

He added that football and rugby teams would find Rock-it-ball particularly useful for a cardio-vascular workout during training.

Anyone wanting to find out more about Rock-it-ball can contact the sports development team on (01429) 284050.