Sylvan Lake - Jasper Hockey Summer Camp

Sylvan Lake/Jasper Summer Hockey Camp Program Details

MISSION STATEMENT:
WE WANT TO TEACH OUR CUSTOMERS HOW TO SKATE, PASS, HANDLE THE PUCK AND SHOOT. WE TEACH THE BASICS AND EMPHASIZE FUN. OUR GAMES BUILD ON THAT BECAUSE SPEED AND PUCK MOVEMENT ARE THE FOUNDATION TO SKILL DEVELOPMENT.

IT'S A SIMPLE IDEA THAT THE GAME BECOMES FUN, AND FUN IS PLAYING WITH SPEED AND SKILL.

WE ARE PROUD OF OUR PROGRAM AND OUR CUSTOMERS INCREASE THEIR CONFIDENCE AND SKILL LEVEL OVER THE COURSE OF THE WEEK BECAUSE OF THAT PHILOSOPHY.

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The Sylvan Lake/Jasper Summer Hockey Camp runs the same program in Sylvan Lake and Jasper. The following information is the program details for both camps.

We have 9 one week sessions in Sylvan Lake and 2 one week sessions in Jasper. Each week we accept 108 students plus goaltenders. Our student to instructor ratio is 6:1. We take the entire list of students for each week and have it sorted from the youngest person in the camp to the oldest.

The list is then divided into three groups.

· Group A is the youngest students for that week.
· Group B is the middle aged students for that week.
· Group C is the oldest students for that week.

Then we take each group - Group A, Group B and Group C, and divide them by age again from youngest to oldest. We have three age groups in Groups A, B and C so that we keep the students as close to their age group as possible.

We feel that students should play within their own age groups. The challenge to the student is not the other players around him/her, but the challenge is to focus on the drills and become a better player. The drills are designed so each individual player can improve at their own pace. Players who are new to hockey learn as much as the more skilled players learn.

When the groups take to the ice, we always have a group warm-up and then we do station drills. The youngest students in the group are at one station, the middle aged students for that group are at another, and the oldest students in that group are at the third station. Each station is 15 minutes long. The station drills account for 45 minutes of ice time each. The goaltenders in the group receive 45 minutes of coaching from the goaltender instructors while the other students are going through their station drills. We conclude the ice sessions with full and half ice drills as a group.

Our afternoon ice sessions include a power skating session and again focus on the station drills. The goaltenders in the group again receive coaching from the goaltender instructors.

We do try to keep friends or small groups together if there is a special request made, but there are no guarantees of that happening, especially if the age difference is too much for that particular week. We do try our best, and the majority of the time we are able to accommodate everyone.

Because we have 3 groups there are three different schedules and the students rotate through them during the week. All students are mailed schedules and information packages in June or early July, depending on when they are scheduled to attend our sessions.

Each summer, parents have questions about how our camp is set up and we encourage those questions. However, some parents are uncomfortable about asking so we are taking this opportunity to provide as much information as we can about our program.

The drills are not just drills to fill time. They are designed as a road map with a beginning, a middle and an end. The drills teach bits and pieces and reinforce skills. Then progressions are made on the initial drills and they are reinforced again. The main theme is to keep the students interested on the ice by changing the drills and to follow a progression so that they can be challenged towards improvement.

The program is based on progressive steps from passing to shooting to contact confidence and, of course, skating. In six days, we try to have the students learn the fundamentals and have a good time while they are doing it. That's why the stations where the students have different drills are so important. They are designed to be fun, while the student learns to bend his/her knees or to keep his/her head up. He/she learns that power comes from your legs and that quick feet will help you move the puck along the boards when another player has angled you in the corner.

During the week the students work on the basic FUNdamentals of skating, puck handling, passing and receiving, and shooting. The program progresses towards 3 on 3 games during an ice time, a one hour game and a final game in which the students display their hard work. It is amazing to see their progression!

We don't have all the answers, but we always try to learn from the students that we teach, and the parents who care about them, as we also care! Each year we make changes to our program so that the students can have fun and learn! We hope you come enjoy a week with us.

The camp accommodates players ages 7-17 (we will take 6 year olds if they have played a year of hockey) and each student is given a hockey jersey for the week. The hockey jersey is our gift to you!

The Sylvan Lake/Jasper Summer Hockey Camps are proud of our off-ice program. A Physical Education Instructor coordinates all aspects of the off-ice program, including dry land training and all forms of coordination and flexibility exercises, orientation chalk talks and DVD's.

The morning off-ice session will be a classroom orientation and chalk talk session. It will give the students an overview of what they will be covering on the ice and the reasons for those drills.

The afternoon session is a dry land training period. It is designed to teach the importance of flexibility and incorporate activities to develop coordination but, more importantly, it is fun! We cannot get a student in shape in one week but we provide them with tools to continue in their training. We take advantage of games to allow the students to bond with one another and have a good time, as well as time at the beach, depending on the weather.