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(Reprinted with permission from RINK Magazine, V. 4N.3)
By: Mike Gempeler
Hockey Director, US Sports Camps
Founder/Director, Rocky Mountain Hockey Schools
Yes, it’s that time of year again! Time to decide which hockey school to send you son or daughter to. Well, we are here to help. Let’s start with the basics.
DAY vs. RESIDENT CAMP
Typically, resident camps are the sleepaway variety where the player goes to the camp and boards there for the week, whereas day camps are conducted at your rink by a hockey school that comes to your area. Is one better than the other? No, as long as the camp staff is properly qualified. Fees for resident camps will be more expensive and should encompass everything including sleeping quarters, transportation to and from the rink, all on and off ice activities, and a meal plan. If not, rethink that camp. Day camps on the other hand are just that. A 9 to 5 camp that is run at your rink at which you pick drop off and pick up your child every day. Sometimes these will include lunch, but more times than not, you are responsible for your child’s meals.
In determining which of these camps is best suited for your player, you need to decide if they are age appropriate for a resident camp. If your child is on the younger side they may not be ready for a week away from home. That could narrow your choices immediately. Age has a lot to do with it because kids often do not want to go to a “sleepaway” camp before age 8 or 9. Also, are YOU ready to send your young child to a sleepaway camp for a week or two? A serious question many parents need to ponder.
CAMP GENDER
More and more these days you are finding camps that are gender specific, i.e. boys only or girls only. This is a very important factor to take into account when making your decision. It is my experience that boys don’t seem to care one way or the other, whereas sometimes girls do not like being segregated into a girl’s only camp. They like playing against the boys, proving their skill level to them, and most of all, competing against better competition. The one thing I caution a parent of a female hockey player about is the physicality of a co-ed camp. What I mean by this is simple. Girls do not play check hockey and there will always be some checking involved, whether it is taught or not, in the older age group at any hockey school. Please keep this in mind when determining which group your daughter belongs in.
CAMP FOCUS
There as many camp focuses out there as there are camps. I have attempted to give you an idea of what each camp covers based on the topics below.
Powerskating Camps– most camps will cover the pure fundamentals of the forward stride, speed and quickness development, backward stride, cross-unders, starts, and stops. Some of the more advanced groups will possibly cover forward and backward lateral mobility, transitions, drive leg, front-to-back & back-to-front pivots. These camps are extremely valuable for all players, but more so for the beginner to intermediate player. The down side is they only cover one discipline.
Stickhandling Camps– As the name implies, these camps focus on only puck control skills. This includes stickhandling, shooting, passing and sometimes scoring. These camps are also extremely valuable for all players, but more so for the beginner to intermediate player. The down side here is the same. These camps only cover one discipline, but they do teach it well.
Combination Camps (Powerskating & Stickhandling Camps) – These camps usually split the on ice instruction in two spending equal amounts of time with each discipline. Excellent camps for all players as they strive to develop an individuals skill level in the two disciplines of hockey: powerskating and stickhandling.
Offensive Camp – Camps focused specifically on offensive skills. They are valuable for any player, but less so for a defensive player. Excellent when combined with a defensive camp.
Defensive Camps - Camps focused specifically on defensive skills. They are valuable for any player, but less so for a offensive player. Excellent when combined with an offensive camp.
Evaluation Camps – There seems to be an influx of this new type of camp, but do not let the name fool you. They are not instructional schools/camps in the traditional sense. There is no actual instruction or skill development taking place at these camps. They mostly do drills or scrimmage and are for scouting purposes only. I do not believe these camps are valuable to any player under the age of 14.
Specialty Camps – These camps typically offer a weeks focus on a particular aspect of the game, whether they be offensive or defensive camps as discussed below, or even scoring, checking or systems camps. All these camps are valuable for the older player.
CAMP COSTS
The cost of any camp, as in any properly run business, is a function of its’ expenses. However, unlike other businesses, hockey schools have an added, and often costly, extra expense: ice time. Most of the time if you see a fluctuation in camp prices for the same hockey school but in different regions, it is because of ice costs. In some locations across the country, ice time per hour is becoming extremely expensive, as there is great demand for it and few rinks. However, within any great democratic society, you have many choices. Do not send a child to a camp that you feel is too expensive. There will always be another, cheaper camp somewhere else, maybe closer to home.
Now that we have researched the tangible information we need regarding type, gender, focus, and cost of the camp, we need to look at the intangibles. What king of staff does it have? You want to find a camp whose staff has a background in youth coaching, teaching, or education. These people have the necessary skills to effectively teach and communicate with younger players. What experience do they have? How long have they been around? How many students have they worked with? What kind of recommendations do they get from friends and coaches? To do this, I highly recommend you call these camps and find out about them as well as a little about their customer service. They should all have 1-800 numbers you can easily access from their advertisements or the internet.
WHERE TO FIND A CAMP
The best way to locate a hockey school is by reading one of the two main hockey publications. American Hockey Magazine (AHM), and The Hockey News (THN). AHM is a publication of USA Hockey and is sent to every player registered with USA Hockey at the beginning of a season free of charge. Most, if not all, hockey schools advertise here regularly. The big advertising issues are the January, February, March, and April/May editions, with the February issue have a comprehensive hockey listing section. The hockey News is a newspaper style magazine with a very similar February summer hockey school listing, but a subscription base and therefore, harder to get a hold of.
Another valuable resource in this day and age is the internet. There are several camp directories that allow you to search for camp by region, state, sport, even cost. The best are www.sumercamps.com, www.localsportscamps.com, www.kidscamp.com, www.ecamps.com, www.campdepot.com, and www.bunk1.com.
On the local front, I would suggest your favorite pro shop and local rink. Not only will the staff be fairly well versed on the subject, but they may have brochures or posters available for their customers. Lastly, I highly recommend asking youth child’s coach, as well as fellow parents that have had some summer hockey school experience.
RECOMMENDATIONS
My recommendation for a quality summer hockey school experience for your child would include 1-2 weeks of skill development, and possibly a week of specialty camp for older players. Remember, this is summer and these kids play hockey all winter. They need a break from the rink as much as you do. Plus, you do not want them to get burned out a quit the sport all together. Summer should be all about skill development. During the season a coach does not have as much time as they would like to do this because they are busy installing systems and focusing on team play. And as the Great One Wayne Gretzky once said, “If you can’t skate, you can’t play hockey”. It doesn’t matter how well you can execute a neutral zone trap. If you cannot skate or control the puck you won’t be on the ice to prove it.
GOOD LUCK!
Mike Gempeler is a 14-year hockey school veteran who is the current founder/director of Rocky Mountain Hockey Schools, as well as the Hockey Director for US Sports Camps. He has spent time as a youth hockey coach, private powerskating instructor, private stickhandling coach, youth hockey director, and youth hockey association consultant.
He is currently developing a worldwide sports consulting business, Global Sports Consulting, Inc., that focuses on the development and management of youth and adult sports programs. Among the services GSC will provide is tournament direction, rink and pro shop management, youth association management and development, turn-key operations, charity events, and coaching/motivational seminars.
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