up an exact year. The sport and thus the term street hockey eventually spread south to the United States. Most people who play the sport generally agree that no single person or entity invented the term "street hockey" but that it simply invented itself, just like the term "ice hockey," since it describes a form of hockey. People would literally play the game out in the street so they had to ask people to play by asking them if wanted to play hockey out in the street. All around the country you will see many kids of all ages some as young as 6 years old playing this game. As children and teenagers, almost all ice hockey players work on their skills and practice their games by playing street hockey, often alone in driveways or out in the street in front of their houses. Which is common since, you do not need ice to play. These kids can play anywhere with a hard ground surface. Some kids even organize teams to compete against others. There are official games and tournaments these kids can join. Throughout the history of organized hockey, many professional ice players participate in various promotional street hockey games and charity events, often appearing as part of the respective National Hockey League team's youth street hockey programs. Since not every ice hockey player can be on the ice at all times, the vast majority play some form of street hockey either for pure enjoyment, to better their overall hockey skills, or both. Also, since the cost of smaller-sized home ice rinks was too expensive for professional players, many would often play street hockey throughout the summer months to keep in shape physically. That also offered them a chance to work on various different aspects of the game in a cost-effective manner. Before the era of big salaries, many semi-professional and professional players would play in pickup games with each other when they lived within driving distance of each other. In-line hockey is considered less expensive than ice hockey. Therefore, more likely for kids to play and keep up with, this can include their game and fitness. It was only in the early 1970s, when Raymond W. Leclerc, the founder of the Mylec Corporation and the creator of the No Bounce orange ball, along with several prominent players in the Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada, established rules for