Club Highlight: Detroit Revolution
Our last Club Highlight is The Detroit Revolution!
The Detroit Revolution was founded in was founded in 2008 by Mike Farinelli. While Farinelli's background first started with playing, it quickly transitioned into administrative roles taking on multiple Director roles at various inline hockey programs, starting at The Skate Zone (Rochester, MI) Gemini Skating & Sports (Rochester, MI) Little Caesars Roller Hockey (Shelby Township, MI) and most currently serves as the Director of Hockey Operations at the Fraser Roller Hockey League. (Fraser, MI)
Pictured: Mike Farinelli skating with the Detroit Revolution at the ECHO Hockey Fall Classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Center at Walt Disney World Resorts
Starting out in Rochester Hills, Michigan, The Revolution first started out as a Franchise based organization, participating in multiple professional travel leagues including the Major League Roller Hockey Series (MLRH), The American Inline Hockey League (AIHL), and the Professional Inline Hockey Association (PIHA). "DREV" has participated in the majority of inline hockey tournament series, including TORHS, NARCh, State Wars, ECHO, Slamm Hockey (MLRH) 2Hot4Ice, Tour Cup Series, and most recently the Midwest Inline Hockey Association (MIHA). The Revolution would go on to win multiple National titles including MLRH, State Wars Senior A, Tour Cup Series, and various numbers of local regional tournaments around Michigan.
Pictured: The Detroit Revolution vs Michigan Thunder in the 2010-2011 MLRH Pro Season. The Detroit Revolution PRO team would defeat the Chicago Rollersnakes to become the $10,000 National Champions for the 2010-2011 season.
The Revolution would make a significant change in direction as they decided to leave the Rochester location and move to Joe Dumars Fieldhouse/Little Caesars Roller Hockey in 2012, where they called home for the longest period of time in their history. During this time, the Revolution would go through a reorganization where new opportunities and new players would come into the fold, including one last entry into the MLRH World Hockey Tour before moving into the Midwest Inline Hockey Association.
Pictured: The Detroit Revolution vs Pittsburgh Inferno in the 2015-2016 MLRH World Tour.
Starting their MIHA franchise in 2012, the Revolution have maintained 2 or 3 squads ranging from entry level teams and players up to elite levels of play. With opportunities to play against teams from all over the Midwest, the experience has been a positive influence on both the Revolution along with opportunities for players looking to enter the grassroots and amateur side of adult travel inline hockey. Starting in the 2022-2023 season, Nick Banaszak was appointed general manager of the Revolution MIHA operations.
Pictured: Detroit Revolution MIHA National Champions in the 2019-2020 season
The DREV MIHA Squads make up the majority of the Revolution at this point, with more than 45 current players playing in the Midwest! The Revolution will still from time to time enter teams into major national tournaments including State Wars, and most recently traveled to play in the Las Vegas Cup. They currently operate under Mike Farinelli and Nick Banaszak and call Fraser Roller Hockey their home.
Pictured: The Detroit Revolution Tier 4 squad in their regional championship victory in MIHA over the Cincinnati RollerDactyls in the 2022-2023 MIHA Season.