On the one hand, it's about playing a beloved sport and revisiting the days of youth. On the other, the pickup roller hockey program promotes staying young and remaining healthy.

Sponsored by the Manheim Township Recreation and Park Planning Department (MTRPP), pickup roller hockey is one of the few organized programs out there designed to address the physical and mental health of adults, especially men.

"They're guys who just really love hockey and love the game," said Jeff Green, an MTRPP program manager who's overseen the pickup roller hockey program for the last eight years. "Ice skating is much different than roller or inline skating. It's an avenue. These guys are friends, and they've gained friendships through pickup roller hockey. They're just average guys. They come when they're able to, and it's open to everyone."

By nature, pickup roller hockey is very informal and laidback. Individuals 18 years old and older simply show up at Overlook Activities Center's Roller Skating Rink, 301 Golf Drive, Lancaster, on Sundays between 7 and 10 a.m.

Following a warm-up period, Green divides the group of individuals into teams of six to eight members. The teams play against one another in an alternating fashion, for a designated period of time - for as long as 12 minutes - usually without keeping score.

Pickup roller hockey is played at Overlook Activities Center from early December to the middle of March when many of the more formal local outdoor roller hockey leagues are on sabbatical for the winter. There is a fee involved with playing pickup roller hockey at Overlook.

"It's pickup hockey at an indoor facility," said Green. "It's a very old-school type of just show up. People get a good workout and a good skate in. I enjoy playing here because you are playing for fun. It's very good exercise."

Roller hockey is different from ice hockey in that each side consists of four skaters and a goalie, a ball is used in the place of a puck and the playing surface is wood instead of ice. Players at Overlook are required to wear gloves, helmets and shin pads for safety.

"I wouldn't consider it competitive," said Green. "It's recreational. Everybody's paying the same, and we're all there to have fun. We have some guys who are really good. A lot of the guys are regulars, but we make everyone feel welcome."

On any given Sunday, between 20 and 22 individuals show up to play roller hockey. The players hail from Manheim Township, East Petersburg, Ephrata and other communities across the county.

"Some guys play two or three times a week," said Green. "A lot of guys love hockey, and this is their go-to place for the sport they love. The facility is a nice big rink. It is a great program as far as men coming together."

"I've been skating my whole life at that roller rink," Green continued. "It's about the friendships you grow through hockey. I love the game, but I don't place ice (hockey). I go to NHL games all the time."

Very much in line with MTRPP's stated mission of providing recreational activities for its residents, the origin of the pickup roller hockey program at Overlook predates this century.

"For me, it's almost like mental and physical relaxation," said Green. "I love my family and my job, but this is my one time throughout the week to have that avenue and let things go. It's a stress reliever to focus on the game you love to play. Everybody has that one thing they use to relax; for me it's hockey."

For additional information about Manheim Township Recreation and Park Planning Department, go to http://www.manheimtownship.org/1617/Recreation-Park-Planning.