Back to Basics Girl's Hockey Camp

Sorry I'm a little late posting pics of our last session of the camp. Quick trip to Toronto to see the Jays stink up the ball park and to remind me why I love hockey so much. Thursday night we gave the girls a large review of most of the skills we covered during the camp. I also thought it was fitting to pull a fun drill out of the archives, Egg Stick Handling since it was the last hockey school we will be organizing. 45 years seemed like the right time to pull the plug on a very memorable journey. I told the girls at the end that it was great to share my final hockey school with such a nice group. They were enthusiastic, never afraid to try and always stayed patient with themselves even though almost a third of them were brand new to hockey. So thank you girls and I hope to see you soon playing the game I hope you learn to love as much as I do. Thank you to all the instructors Sam, Carsyn, Megan, Cassidy, Janelle, Mya, Casey, Jessie, Sean, Dave, and especially Coach Bill who has been with me instructing/running hockey schools since about the mid 80s. Your dedication to the game and your friendship will be with me always. Thanks also to Denise, Jen and Judy for your help off the ice and for the great pics and videos. It certainly made our job easier and we appreciate it all you did for us and the girls. A BIG THANK YOU to Count Her In Sports for your sponsorship, helping us to keep costs down and enabling us to hire more female instructors. Thanks to the parents for your support of our programs. We hope your daughters enjoyed the camp. Finally thanks to the Town of Lasalle and the Vollmer Recreation Centre staff for their professionalism, friendly service and for helping make this program a success year after year. So it's goodbye to hockey schools for me but I'm far from retiring. I will be working with the South County Predators as the skill development director for the U7 and U9s as well as volunteering with the Hockey Moms learn to play program. I will also be starting a new project with the Sun Parlour Female Hockey Association as the Skills development coach. Mix in a little North Star HIgh School Hockey team coach and once again Judy gets her wish. To keep me out of the house. Lol. So NOT RETIRING lol. See you at the rink soon.

Session 5 already. Another busy night at the Vollmer. This particular group of girls have been great to work with at the camp. They work hard, always try the drills and most importantly are not afraid to fail. That's the key to learning. On this busy Tuesday night we reviewed lots of edge work, backward strides, & crossovers. We introduced transition turns working at turning front to back, back to front. We squeezed in some ring keepaway, emphasizing using their bodies to protect the puck, using tight turns and mohawks to evade attackers and using the stick lift to steal the ring. We also introduced shooting techniques. We explained that if they want to learn how to shoot the puck harder and more accurately, then they need to practice at home shooting pucks using proper technique and lots of reps. Their coaches during the season won't use a lot of ice time at practice working on shooting. We also continued working on passing and puck handling. We wrap the camp up on Thursday night just in time for the regular season to start. Thank you to all the girls and instructors that signed the jersey for me on Tuesday. It will be a great addition to my jersey display as start my 50th year. I will have it at the rink on Thursday for those who may have missed signing it. Thanks also to Denise and Emily for the pics and videos. See you at the rink Thursday.

Session 4 in the books. Once again a very busy night for the girls. We continued with some edge work, worked on lateral crossovers/unders down the length of the ice, introduced backward stride techniques and backward crossover/unders. We also continued on with passing techniques with a puck handling and shooting add on. We are so happy with the great group of girls we have this year. They have really tried their best to work on the importance of slowing down and doing/attempting the skills the right way and creating muscle memory. Hopefully it will give them a stronger foundation as they move on to the regular season and their hockey teams. Thanks to Ron Giofu of the River Town Times for attending last night to cover the hockey camp in our local paper. He is a great asset to our community and we appreciate his support for the many decades he has been in the business. Also thanks to our resident nurse, equipment manager, and photographer for her help and photos. Finally thanks once again to Count Her In Sports for their support of our hockey camp. With their help we have been able to keep costs down and more importantly had the opportunity to hire more female instructors who have been great with the girls. Thank you your support. See you at the rink Tuesday.

Wow. We're halfway through the camp. Time flies when you're having a blast with the kids. We had another busy night Tuesday reveiwing forward strides, stops, inside and outside edges. We continued on the journey with tight turns, forward crossovers/unders and passing and receiving. We even snuck in a little game of cross ice ringette. Our beginners are really starting to get comfortable and more confident on their skates, which is great to see. They haven't been afraid to try even though some skills are harder to master. It's a marathon not a sprint and everyone involved must be patient, most importantly themselves. We are certainly proud of them and all the girls for their effort and enthusiasm to become better more confident players. Joining us on the ice last night was a skating coach with close to 60 years teaching under his belt, Dave Beatty. We were partners for many decades and he has been a great mentor to me personally. He was a great asset last night and we hope to see him out again. Thanks Dave. Also thanks to Denise and Jen for the pictures, videos and for for your help on the bench with the girls. See you Thursday at the rink.

This post is very similar to the one that we put out last year on the second night but it bears repeating. Sorry no pictures tonight.
Night #2 in the books. The girl's worked hard Thursday night including a short skating stride review, lots of inside and outside edge work, and lots of puck handling drills including stickhandling while maintaining a proper stride, hands away from the torso for mobility. They also tried scorpion skating with the puck. We ran out of time for tight turns tonight, so that will be a focus along with an introduction into crossovers/unders in our next session. We talked to them about skating skills and eliminating bad habits, practicing skills slower with proper technique to create muscle memory. It's something all coaches should be trying to assist them with at every level. Unfortunately the rush and focus to competition (games) severely impedes the progression to master all skills. Studies have shown that high percentages are quitting the game for many reasons. One being. feeling frustrated due to lack of skill development and falling behind their peers. We all need to do a better job giving them the tools they need to play this great game. We wouldn't send a bunch of carpenters to build a house without the tools they need for the task. We want them to stay in the game for as long as possible. Have a great weekend and we will see you at the rink next week.
On a personal note, this picture taken last night at the camp represents 3 generations of the Lucier family I have had the priviledge to coach: Tim in 1978, his son Ryan in 1991 and Ryan's daughter Jaycee marking her start with the game on Thursday. That should make me feel really old but all I feel is very overwhelmingly happy that I still have the love for the game and the opportunity to still be here coaching and instructing. Just another milestone in a very long and rewarding journey. But I do feel old too. Lol

It was great getting back on the ice on Tuesday night. The girls worked hard and hopefully they had some fun. We worked on proper body position, balance drills, forward strides, stops, and puck handling. We will continue to build on those skills and introduce new skills each night. Thanks for your continued support of our program. It was sold out again and we were able to welcome 10 players brand new to hockey. It's always great being able to help with the start of their hockey journeys. Thanks to to my wife Judy for capturing the first night in pictures and video, Also thanks to the parents who volunteered their time handing out jerseys, helping in the dressing rooms and on the benches. We appreciate it more than you know. See you at the rink on Thursday.

Well just over a week to go before we gear up for another hockey season. We would like to thank "COUNT HER IN SPORTS" for their help in sponsoring Back To Basics Hockey Camp this year. Our goals with all the hockey schools and programs we have run for over 40 years was to keep it affordable, inclusive and provide the proper number of instructors on the ice. We have been able to hire more female instructors this year. They serve as great mentors for the participants and will someday potentially get into coaching girls hockey. It has been more of challenge in recent years to attain these goals but with the help of great organizations like Count Her In Sports we have been able to reach our objectives. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

Wow. Just over 2 weeks to go and we hit the ice to get ready for another season. We still have a couple spots left until we're completely filled up. First come first serve. Can't wait to see everybody back at the rink.

Jusy one more day till the big event for Count Her In Sports. Please help support this great cause.

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Please help support this great event and Count Her In Sports. They have been insturmental to many organizations like ours in keeping costs down and opening up opportunities for female athletes.

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We're filling up fast. There are now only 8 spots left. If you are interested in registering your daughter contact us or if you know someone who might be interested please pass the information on to them. I hope you're enjoying your time away from the arena and soaking up some sun.

Hockey season seems so far away but we are very excited to be coming back again to run this camp in August. Registration is ongoing for Back To Basics Hockey Camp. If you have already reserved your spot you can now register. Registration forms were emailed to those who already reserved their daughter's spot. Please fill out the form and email it along with your etransfer to: [email protected]. We thank you for your support. If you haven't registered or know someone who may be interested in the camp please share this information with them. There are only about 15 spots left in the camp so please try to register as early as possible. Last year we infortunately had to turn people away because we were filled up. Please help us by sharing this post on facebook. Thank you and we will see you at the rink in August