The second annual summer hockey school to be held in Dryden this August will feature some new techniques the coaches picked up in an exchange program with Finland last October.
Randy Allen, local coach and organizer for this year’s hockey school, took part in the exchange program last year and picked up a few techniques he hopes to incorporate this year.
“The camps will be more focused on skill development and skating. They will also be doing dryland training that’s hockey related such as stick handling but they will also be doing some fun activities like European floorball that we learned about in Finland.”
Allen says the Finnish hockey coaching is based very much on skill development and every team has dryland practices whether they are playing competitively or house league.
The camp will be held August 23-27 and will feature programs for all ages.
Kids born in 1996-1998 and 1998-2000 will be in two groups, with eight-hour sessions for the five days.
Kids born in 2001 and later will be given an hour in the evening and a goalie clinic will also be held in the evening.
A conditioning camp will also be held for kids born in 1995 and earlier for an hour and a half in the evening. All house league, rep players, high school players and Junior A players are welcome.
The full day programs will feature three hours of on ice practices with two hours of dryland training.
Allen says the on ice practices will feature a lot of skill development, skating, puck handling and tactics for the game.
The dryland training will sessions will be half hockey related with cardio workouts, stick handling and will also feature games such as the European floorball, indoor soccer, floor hockey and dodgeball.
Allen adds that having these summer hockey camps are great for kids of all ages looking to get back into the swing of things before the hockey season starts in the fall.
“It’s a good advantage for all programs. It’s good for kids before try-outs and it’s a good tune-up for house league.”
The camp will give parents and hockey players alike a glimpse into some of the Finnish techniques that will be incorporated into the hockey season in the 2010/2011 season, focusing less on playing time at a young age and more on learning the fundamentals.
The camp will be held at the Dryden Memorial Arena. The coahces are looking for 30 kids per group on a first come first serve basis.
Deadline to register is May 31 and can be done at the Pool and Fitness Centre or online at www.ExperienceDryden.ca