Asarese, hockey matter to West Side youth

By Lars Lewis and Anthony Howard

BengalNews Reporters

            Inside the Asarese-Matters Community Center on a Monday or Wednesday night during the winter, next to the scorer’s table sits a man who has seen and done it all for amateur sports on the West Side. 

Ottavino “Tovie” Asarese, 84, is the founder and commissioner of the West Side Play Area Street Hockey League on Rees Street, where he’s been involved in amateur and youth sports for over 50 years.

Since 1970, the floor hockey league has provided West Side teenagers with an opportunity to play the sport of hockey without paying the large fees ice leagues command.

Ottavino "Tovie" Asarese has his eyes on the game.

Asarese, who is a member of the Great Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, has inspired multiple generations through his leadership and commitment to keeping kids safe from the streets by forming multiple sports leagues for the youth.

“It is an alternative to ice hockey. It gives kids who didn’t or don’t have a lot of money a chance to play,” Asarese said. “I wanted to keep the kids busy in the winter time. We needed something kids wanted to play.”

Asarese also founded the West Side Little League football club, West Side boys baseball and West Side ponytail softball all with a similar goal in mind: to keep the fun going year-round.

The hockey league was created 19 years before the community center that houses it today was constructed. During those 19 years, the league was played outdoors on the playground next to the center.  

“When we built the playground, there were no lights,” Asarese said.

Asarese on the value of the floor hockey league to the community:


 At one point the league had 24 teams that played games five days a week. Now, Asarese said a lack of funding has caused the league to shrink to four teams across three different age groups -- 8 to 10, 11 to 12 and 13 to 15.

Still, Asarese said that the hockey program itself has been stable in terms of interest. It’s just a matter of spreading the word about the league.

“We do not have any money, we rely on public announcements.” Asarese said.

He also said that he is currently looking for more ways to spread awareness of the hockey program to ensure its longevity. 

The Asarese-Matters Community Center itself receives funding from New York State and charges a $5 registration fee for the cost of the trophies at the end of the season. 

Some youth who have outgrown the games remain involved to help support it. 

“I grew up in the league since I was 7 and I played all the way until I was 16, then I came back to referee the past two years,” said Marco Marrero, a 21-year-old student at D’Youville College. “The experience here is unique and it kept me off the streets. The league teaches kids sportsmanship and some of them build relationships here that continue to high school.”        

            Even with a new blue gym floor that was installed before the season began, most of the equipment used by the kids is outdated and torn. There is also a need for more bleachers for fans to sit and watch the games. 

The center itself was almost shut down last summer when its five-year contract with Erie County expired. With the needs of new equipment and the growing concern for support, the league is in need of assistance from sources aside from the state. 

But even after 40 years, the league continues to push forward with the support of the community that has never wavered. Asarese has fought through these concerns and wants this league to continue long after he leaves this earth.    

Darryl Hill, who coaches in the league, said he feels what Asarese provides to West Side youth is crucial to community.

“A lot of these kids that look forward to playing hockey bring their moms and dads out to support them and sometimes even their whole family,” Hill said. “Not a whole lot of places around here do that.”