Plum's Austin Soboslay relishes experience at inline world championships

It’s not every day a roller hockey player gets the chance to play in an international tournament, but Plum’s Austin Soboslay earned that opportunity.

A forward for Inferno Travel Hockey, based in Mt. Pleasant, he has played in multiple pro inline hockey leagues and tournaments and even competed in Toronto.

In October, Soboslay left the continent to play after he was selected for the USA junior men’s inline hockey team in the World Skate Inline World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A coach he knew, Anthony Violante, let him know about the team, and Soboslay said he was shocked to learn he made the cut.

Team USA got off to a slow start in round-robin play while building team chemistry, but in the playoffs, the team battled all the way to the finals, earning a silver medal against Chinese Taipei.

“We just really banded together, and it was amazing,” said Soboslay, a senior at Plum. “We came in as the lowest seed in the playoffs against the No. 1 seed, and then we crushed them. It was against France, and we just dominated and that felt great.

“We all felt great after that. Going into the next playoff game and championship, I really felt like we all knew where we were on the rink, and our chemistry was great and we were having fun doing it.”

Soboslay said it took a while to get settled in, but then the team started playing together.

“It was tough,” he said. “It was an absolute battle from the beginning. There was basically no chemistry because we were all just trying to get to know each other better.”

Soboslay added that every team was hungry to win, and that led to competitive games throughout the tournament. There also was a learning curve in terms of play style.

“They play a different style,” Soboslay said. “It’s more run-and-gun, fast-paced like you don’t possess it as much. It’s attack, attack. It was very competitive. It was a style I wasn’t used to.”

Soboslay had three points in seven games, tallying two goals and an assist. He had the fifth-most points on the team and was a factor in the run to the championship game.

“Overall, I think I played pretty well,” Soboslay said. “I felt pretty good how I left that tournament, and I tried as hard as I could. I think that’s what counts at the end of the day.”

Outside of hockey, he enjoyed sight-seeing and spending time with his teammates in Buenos Aires.

“It was just very interesting to see how people live and to see their culture down there,” Soboslay said. “It was a great experience. I had a lot of fun off-time between games. My team and I would just walk around and try different restaurants and go to different shops. It was very, very fun.”

Soboslay said meeting new friends and spending time with them was just as great of an experience as playing roller hockey.

“During the tournament, we basically became family,” Soboslay said. “It was a really cool experience, and I still try and keep in touch with all of them as much as I can.”

His teammates came from all over the United States, from as far as Hawaii and California.

Soboslay credited his brother, Ryan, for helping him get started in inline hockey. Ryan played inline hockey professionally, including in a league in Spain.

“He was the one who got me into the sport in the first place when I was very young, and he’s been my biggest influence by far,” Soboslay said. “He came to almost all my games growing up. Even if we won, he would tell me what I did wrong and how I could improve. He’s by far my biggest influence, and he’s definitely part of the reason how I got better.”

He also credited his family and the support system he has for how far he has come in roller hockey.

“None of it is possible without my parents and my brother and sister’s support,” Soboslay said. “All these tournaments and leagues I play in, my parents were paying for it. They’re driving me, my brother and sister would drive me to games and practice all the time. … I’m thankful for it every day. And I try and tell them that as much as I can.”

Set to graduate this spring, Soboslay is contemplating what’s next, but for now, he wants to keep playing hockey and is focused on his upcoming annual tournament in Florida with Inferno.

“I want to keep playing as long as I can,” Soboslay said. “I don’t just like playing the game, but I also like teaching younger kids just the basics of the game. That’s really fun to me as well, just passing on knowledge that I’ve learned, so I want to do that as long as I can.”