Making the most of your goalie camp investment

Good communication is a hallmark of a good goalie camp.

Hi gang,

As promised, Round 2 of my early May post blast. If you haven't already signed your young netminder up for a summer goalie camp, here's a laundry list of items to consider to ensure you maximize your dollars. Just make sure your child isn't playing hockey every day this summer. It is, after all, the off-season ... And, as always, let me know what you think.

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Making the most of your goalie camp investment

It's that baffling time of year, even before the end of the youth league season (and just after the close of the high school campaign), when parents are already looking ahead to summer camp options. I know that sounds crazy, but it's simply the reality of year-round hockey.

Now, I'm a big proponent of down time, as opposed to playing hockey 24/7, 365 days a year. I don't believe players – not even the most diehard hockey fanatic – can maintain that level of enthusiasm year round.

But summer camps are important, because they give goaltenders a chance to work on their technique without the additional pressure of game results. Brian Daccord, founder of Stop It Goaltending in Massachusetts, refers to off-season camps and clinics as "developmental" training.

In season, it's all about "performance," or preparing for the next game, said Daccord. During the season, goalies (and coaches) don't have the luxury to work on new techniques or tweaks to their game. They have to focus on the task at hand, and that's winning. It's all about results. Consider the basketball player who needs to improve his free throws. Can you expect him to try something new in a game, when every point counts? Of course not. He's going to default to what he's most familiar with, regardless of the success rate.

The same is true for goaltending. The game is simply too fast to consciously think through every movement. There's no time for indecision. Reactions have to be automatic. So you need enough time to put in the repetitions needed to create adequate muscle memory without any related concern over game results.

Spring and summer training allow goalies time, and a pressure-free environment, to explore and experiment. Comfortable with the "load" on the post (or "VH," for vertical-horizontal), but want to try to "lean" (or "Reverse VH")? Off-season camps and clinics are the time to try it out. Like many techniques, the "lean" requires time to get comfortable with, much less master.

So, all that said, there are a number of questions that parents and players should ask before selecting a summer camp. In other words, to quote Daccord, "you should know what you're paying for."

First and foremost, does the camp have a "curriculum" that spells out exactly what goalies and their parents can expect? For example, at Stop It, we have a well-established 8-week program – called "blocks" – that is specifically designed to establish a foundation that goalies can build on. As any contractor will tell you, a strong, sturdy, reliable foundation is the key for a solid structure.

Here are some other key factors:

THE FORMAT

Weeklong camp or a series of clinics? I personally like a series of clinics that stretch over the course of a several months, maybe once or twice a week, for an hour to 90 minutes per session. This keeps things fresh (and, let's face it, there are worse places to be than an ice rink on a steamy summer day). This approach also works well if your child is skating in a low-key spring or summer league. For the last two years my daughter Brynne played in the New England Women's Hockey League. This league was more like organized pick-up, giving all the kids a chance to try something new without worrying about costing their team the game. That kind of freedom is liberating.

The weeklong camp is what Daccord calls an "experience." It's typically an intense setting, with 16 hours (four hours a day over four days) on the ice, covering a wide range of skills and game situations. It's the goalie camp version of cramming for a big exam. The downside is that they don't always allow for the repetition that's so important in creating muscle memory. So it's on the goalie to remember what they've learned, and continue to work on that skill set in the weeks following camp. On the positive side of the ledger, weeklong camps typically expose goalies to a number of different coaches – and coaching philosophies – and other goaltenders. And that's fun.

Is the camp goalie specific? One of the reasons that goalie-specific training is so popular is that goalies rarely get enough individualized attention in a typical "team practice" environment (this holds for youth as well as high school and junior programs). Mixed camps, offering instruction to forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders, can have the same pitfalls. "You're going to get X amount of minutes of training or instruction, and then get stuck in the net to be a target," said Daccord. "At the end of the day, is that what you signed up for?"

Do the camps offer large groups or small groups? This really comes down to ratio of coaches to goalies. On a regular sheet, we at Stop It can have as many eight stations running simultaneously, but each station has a qualified coach, working with one to four goalies. So even though we've occasionally got up upwards of 24 kids on the ice, all are getting personalized attention. That's key.

Does the camp stress basic skills, like skating and puck handling? Footwork is essential, because getting to the right place at the right time in the right position is the hallmark of good goaltending. Being able to handle the puck often separates starters from back-ups. Look for a camp that doesn't ignore these details.

Technology. Keeping up with the times is a big bonus. We employ tablets with video delays, so campers can actually see what we see, and can immediately apply what we're teaching. This is particularly useful for "visual" learners, but almost every goalie enjoys watching himself or herself in action. If they're getting lit up, watching might be less fun, but it's more important from a coaching perspective.

ANCILLARY ACTIVITIES

Closely related to "the format," camps can be judge by what they offer for off-ice activities as well as on-ice instruction.

Is there a strength-training component? Whether you're a butterfly netminder or prefer the hybrid style, modern goaltending requires strength and endurance. No matter what level you're currently playing at, getting stronger will make you better. But there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. Proper weight training instruction is invaluable.

How about nutrition? You are what you eat. My mom said it, more than 50 years ago. Today's nutritionists pretty much say the same thing. In order to get stronger, and have durable connective tissue that aids in flexibility, you need to eat right.

Yoga/flexibility/mindfulness. I've lumped these together because the crossover benefits are almost countless. Knowing how your body works, how your mind works, and how the two work together are crucial to improvement. I don't break the position down into percentages (physical and mental). Suffice to say that both are necessary to reach your full potential. Instruction here will pay big dividends on the ice.

What are the non-hockey activities? Softball, Ultimate Frisbee, volleyball, basketball, soccer, and similar sports are all beneficial. They not only keep kids active, working those quick-twitch muscles and honing coordination, but they'll also ensure that everyone will sleep well at night.

LEVEL OF COACHING

This one is tricky, because there are so many qualities that make for a good coach, and not all of those qualities are readily apparent. For starters, you want experience, enthusiasm, and technical expertise.

Experience. Most camps employ a combination of full-time professional coaches and part-time coaches, plus college and high school "junior" instructors. Do some homework, and check the bios of the coaches (reputable camps will list those on their web sites). If you're selecting a camp with a "name" coach, first ask how long that coach has been instructing, since playing at a high level and coaching at a high level are two very different things. Oh, and make sure the "name" coach actually plans to be in attendance and coaching (see "Tim Thomas").

Enthusiasm. There is no substitute for an upbeat staff that understands how important it is to be a positive. Goaltending is hard enough. At Stop It, we set the bar high, but then we're relentless in our encouragement to help kids reach and exceed that bar. Similarly, the best coaches are not only students of the game, they're also students of human nature. There are significant differences in my approach to coaching girls and boys, women and men. And there's an almost infinite number of subtle differences in the "proper" approach within those groups. Every child, or young adult, is different. Find a coach, or a coaching outfit, that takes pride in getting to know each camper.

Technical expertise. Flexibility is equally important for coaches. In short, a good coach is open-minded and well-versed in a number of goaltending "styles." The ability to pair a goaltender with the correct style is vital to that goalie's chance of success. Beware any coaching program that boasts a "one size fits all" approach. That's the goaltending equivalent of squeezing a square peg into a round hole.

THE SHOOTERS

I've said this in prior columns, but it bears repeating. You might have the best coaches on the planet, but without good shooters, the instruction is limited. Having really good shooters takes your instruction to another level. And by "good," I'm not just talking "talented." I'm referring to kids who can bring it, but are also willing to do exactly what they're told. Often, that means paid shooters.

"The other question parents never ask is, 'Do the coaches coach, or do they coach and shoot?'" said Daccord. "When a coach shooting, they're putting their head down. They're not watching, they get tired, and their coaching suffers."

Having quality shooters allow coaches to do what they do best, and that's coach. That's what you're paying for. Make sure you get your money's worth.

FINIS

Taking time off won't stunt your child's growth

Mother Nature never intended for kids to play hockey
year round. That's why ice melts in the summer.

Hi gang,

So, it's already late June, and my summer camps schedule starts in earnest next week. It's remarkable to see how big the business of goalie coaching has gotten in the past 10 years. Summer, oddly enough, is my busiest time of the year when it comes to coaching, and my writing often takes a back seat.

So it's with a certain sense of irony that I venture into today's topic. The coach in me knows that the off-season is a great time to take your game to the next level (or for your child to do the same). But it's called the "off-season" for a reason. Don't forget to give yourself, or your child, a break. Here are some thoughts on the topic. Let me know what you think.

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Taking time off won't stunt your child's growth

March and April signal the end of another ridiculously long youth hockey season. And, unfortunately, the beginning of the next. Starting with Labor Day, the season usually runs for more than seven months. Why? Because youth hockey is driven by people who own the rinks, the leagues, and the teams. They want those sheets filled. Let's not sugarcoat this – today's youth hockey landscape, in large part, isn't designed to transform little Johnny into an NHLer or Division I player, or little Jennifer into an Olympian. It's designed to make big bucks for grown-ups.

Now, before I go any further, I need to distinguish between "for-profit" select and/or club programs, and the traditional "non-profit" town programs. On the whole, I'm far more concerned with the select or club teams. They charge more, promise more, and sometimes deliver more. But even non-profit local "town" programs are forced to play this game, because for-profit leagues and rink owners dictate the schedule.

That's why, when the season ends, tryouts start almost immediately. Select or club teams want to get you, and your child, back on the hook. The tryouts themselves can be a shameless money grab, with dozens of kids trying out for a handful of spots, at $20 or more per session. Then there are spring and summer leagues, with requisite practice sessions. All of which cost money. As too many professional athletes say these days, "It's a business." We need rinks, which means rink owners need to make money. I get it. The problem, though, is that this "business" traffics in young boys and girls, and the dreams of parents.

Admittedly, some "select" programs do a better job developing players. But I've seen a seismic shift in select hockey that's akin to an arms race. Youth programs are actively recruiting kids as young as 10. Once one program starts advertising championships or high-profile "alumni," they all do. Then the goal becomes "winning," and "marketing." Somewhere along the line, the ideals of "childhood" and "age-appropriate development" get trampled.

It's time to stop this madness. Or at least scale it back to a "reasonable" level. Playing hockey year-round, whether you're a goaltender or a positional player, isn't automatically going to make you an all-star (especially if you don't have the natural physical gifts). It won't even automatically make you the best player you can be. We've been sold a bill of goods that most experts acknowledge is misguided.

I guarantee you this much – Year-round hockey isn't necessary. Your child won't be banished to some hockey hinterland if he doesn't play all summer. Do you think Bobby Orr played year-round? Gordie Howe? Patrick Roy? Orr, in his recent autobiography, practically begs parents to come to their senses and bring some sanity back to the youth game. Mark Dennehy, the coach of the Merrimack College Warriors, has told me repeatedly that the number of D-I prospects on any "select" team can be counted on one hand. With fingers left over.

Worse, it's far more likely that these programs, while churning out little automatons who "look" good, fail to cultivate any true love for the game. The kids can skate, shoot, and stop the puck, but are they having fun? I honestly fear that that soul of the game is being compromised by this Faustian pact that parents agree to, which essentially states that if they pay top dollar for "top-level" programs, they ensure their offspring a spot on at least a college or major junior roster. Yet anyone who is familiar with the German legend of Faust knows how badly that arrangement ends, with Lucifer hauling the old man off to Hades.

The youth hockey corollary is a child who says, "the heck with it," and simply walks away from the game. No one wins in that scenario.

Here's what I suggest to parents. First, lighten up. A once-a-week program (maybe twice) in the off-season, supplemented by one or two full-week camps, is plenty to keep your child's skills sharp. I'm a big proponent of instructional programs, whether clinics or camps, provided they're done in moderation. I've heard stories of parents lugging their kids from one goalie camp to another over the course of the summer. That's just nuts.

A once-a-week clinic, or occasional camp, can be tailored to a specific need, such as skating, stickhandling, or defensive play. For goaltenders, weekly clinics will maintain their current ability level. A concentrated camp, on the other hand, can correct bad habits that crept into their game over the course of a long season. The repetition of a good week-long camp provides the building blocks that goalies need to improve their game, without going overboard.

Second, encourage your kids to play other sports. Ball and stick sports like basketball, baseball/softball, tennis, soccer, lacrosse, or football. Lifetime sports like hiking, cycling (road and mountain bike), swimming, trail running, or rock climbing. Have them play tag, or hide and seek. Get them outside, and let them have fun. No systems, no drills, no structure. As long as they're active, it's all good.

The best all-around player on my daughter's high school team "dabbles" in hockey in the off-season. She might attend a summer camp, or skate the occasional weekend game in the fall, provided it doesn't conflict with her soccer schedule. But when hockey season starts in November, she is "all in." I firmly believe this impressive young woman played so well because she was hungry for hockey once the season rolled around.

That's what you want; Hungry players, who love hitting the ice. It's the rare player who can maintain that passion throughout the year. Forcing them, under the guise of constant improvement, often has just the opposite result.

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Guru Mailbag

The Letter: Hi. My daughter Ashley is just 15 and a high school freshman. She has been playing hockey for five years. She mostly plays defense, but this year her high school team needed her to play forward. She is a strong skater. She will be teaching with Laura Stamm at our local rink this summer. However, she is strongly considering learning how to play goalie. She plays goalie in field hockey and has been exceptional. I think she has the "goalie mindset." If she is to play goalie next season, she'll need to start training now and over the summer. Can you give us some suggestions for off-season training and summer goalie camp ideas? Thanks.

My Reply: Great questions. First, I think it's great that Ashley is working with Laura Stamm. That will remind her of the importance of skating. Goalie-specific skating, on the other hand, is a very different animal. It is the foundation of everything we do, because getting to the right place at the right time is the key to making saves. But while the skating is different, it's not rocket science, either. If you're an athlete, which Ashley appears to be, the conversion isn't that difficult. What it takes is fairly intense repetition. With new goalies, I recommend a 4- or 5-day summer camp, one that offers at least two hours of on-ice instruction per day. My daughter's high school team had two beginner goalies this season, and I convinced their parents to send both to a local camp in August. The improvement was really impressive, and rewarding. A good goalie camp provides not only repetition, but proper repetition (assuming quality instruction). Also, look for camps that have paid college shooters, not volunteers. Better shooters make better drills, and better goalies. Last, talk to the camp owner, or the director. If you have any questions, ask. Don't assume. This conversation will, at the very least, give you a sense for what the owner's priorities are. If he spends too much time talking about himself, and not about your child and what he or she can expect to learn, that's a red flag. Camps, like hockey programs, should be about development, both in terms of skill, and love of the game. Best, -Brion

FINIS

The boys and girls of summer

Putting a young goalie in "time out" ...

Hi gang,

Nothing like a little hip-replacement surgery to force me to take some much-needed down time, and get The Goalie Guru current. This is always an interesting time of year for me, as spring represents such a transition time for the hockey player.

The following is a recent Goalie Guru column for the New England Hockey Journal, on the benefits (and myths) regarding summer camps, inspired by my own experiences over the past 10 years. Let me know what you think ...

WHAT A GOALIE CAMP WILL - AND WON'T - DO FOR YOU

Full disclosure. I often feel uncomfortable lobbying for summer hockey camps. It appears self-serving, since I spend a good chunk of my summer working for them. I understand that. However, that fact also keeps me honest, and I always make every effort to give every child my full attention. I've never mailed it in.

But my allegiance to summer camps goes beyond that. The reality is, I'm a fan of good sports camps of any kind, and my daughters are proof. My eldest, Maddi, attended an overnight volleyball camp in my wife's home state, Kansas, and came home with the tools to jump-start a terrific freshman season. My youngest, Brynne, is a 13-year-old hockey player, and she's benefited greatly by the "immersion" that a weeklong summer camp provides, and she'll be going back to a skating and stickhandling camp this summer. That's when she's not at soccer camp.

So, while I work for camps, as a parent I can appreciate the positive impact they can have. As long as kids also get a break. Booking your young goalie for eight weeks of camps over the summer is begging for burnout. On the other hand, the "concentrated dose" that a weeklong camp offers is invaluable, because it provides essential building blocks. Just like a good diet – you need to establish a solid foundation, which supports future development.

Here's another reason I'm a fan of summer goaltending camps. They are all about goalies. Period. Not shooters, not defensive schemes, power plays or penalty kills (though those topics are covered extensively, from a goalie's perspective). This is just the opposite of almost every youth hockey program I've seen, where goalies are treated like some sort of mildly intriguing appendage.

Campers will get plenty of work, likely more than they bargained for. But the workload is designed to make the goalies stronger, quicker, smarter, instead of simply running them into the ground (which, as best I can tell, is the end-product of roughly three-quarters of the shorting drills I see in youth hockey these days).

Still, don't be fooled into thinking all camps are equal. There's a well-known shooting and stickhandling camp (which will remain unnamed, to protect the guilty) that offers free spots for goaltenders. When I inquired, I learned there was no instruction. Absolutely none. Zero. They wouldn't even consider having a goalie coach on the ice. These camps simply wanted targets (and, in reality, should have been paying those poor kids). The lesson? Be sure to ask beforehand.

So, with all that said, here are a few persistent myths about camps I'd like to dispel:

You'll get better by just showing up. OK, there's some truth to this. We will make you a better goaltender. But if you think the ability of Mom and Dad to pay for a camp will miraculous make you an NHL All-Star, you're misinformed. Playing goal takes work. Sweat and exertion. There are no shortcuts.

Nice gear makes a better goaltender. There's an old saying, which I repeat often during my goalie sessions: "A good craftsmen doesn't blame his tools." Mommy and Daddy might be able to afford this camp, and all the really expensive gear that the position requires, but if you don't bring the requisite effort, it will all go for naught. Bank on it.

Camps are to get in shape. Wrong. Anyone showing up to camp "to get in shape" is going to miss half the benefit, because they'll be spending half the time trying to keep lunch down, or trying not to huck a lung. The kids who benefit most from camps are the ones who show up ready to roll on Day One. You are reading this in April (or at least the April issue). You have no excuses. Get in shape now.

We will hold your hand. Hockey is a great game because it not only teaches self-sufficiency, but also because it treats that concept as one of its bedrock principles. We – your councilors and instructors – are not getting between the pipes. You are. So it's our job to make sure you're ready to do your job. If you think you're going to get pampered, think again. That would be a disservice to your folks, your team, and ultimately, to you. Our job is to make sure you get in the pool without drowning. And we'll show you how to get faster. But whether you actually get any better or not is really, at the end of the day, up to you.

We will tie your skates, and put on your pads. See the previous paragraph. Throughout the week at camp, we'll offer advice, particularly when it comes to ill-fitting or inadequate gear. My colleague Kevin Morrison at Bertagna Goaltending loves to remind youngsters to cut the boot straps on their pads to an appropriate length, to avoid tripping on them if they come loose. We talk about proper gear care (don't leave it in your bag; hang it in front of a dehumidifier), and gear fit. But we're not nannies.

We are your parents. Not even close. But we understand that Mom and Dad are laying out a pretty penny for you to attend, and we're going to make sure they get their money's worth. But if you talk back or throw temper tantrums at home, and expect to get away with the same behavior at camp, you're in for a shock. There are, at a minimum, 14 or 15 other campers sharing the ice with you. My experience has been that about 75-80 percent of them will dig deep and work hard. If you don't, simply because you can't adjust your attitude, you'll get left behind.

It's all about competition. The objective of these camps is to improve. But far too many kids treat it like a competition, and as a result default to old, comfortable habits, even if those habits prevent them from getting better (the classic example is a kid who stays on the goal line because he's a afraid of getting caught out of position, even though he's giving up half the goal. The solution is becoming a better skater, not staying deep). I remind my campers that I'm not the one picking their teams, or their team's starting goalie. They don't have to worry about impressing me. I only want them to get better. That means getting out of their comfort zone, and push their limits. To quote Brian Daccord of Stop It Goaltending: "In season, it's about results. In the summer, you're working on improving technique, improving quickness, working on your strategies and your technical game, so you know how you want to play every situation. You want to work on your weaknesses, try new things, try to implement new facets to your game, new techniques."

So bring it, but have fun with it.

FINIS

Hello campers!

A version of the following column originally appeared in the April issue of the New England Hockey Journal, but I thought it was particularly timely now, as school winds down and parents look to summer activities.

HELLO CAMPERS!

Ah, spring. When Old Man Winter loosens his grip on the Northeast, baseball pitchers and catchers report to Florida or Arizona, and the interminable hockey season finally winds down. Let’s not kid ourselves – it is a long season. My daughter’s Pee Wee hockey team had its first hockey game before her first soccer game last September. How crazy is that?

Still, it's during spring, with all its showers and subsequent yard work, that my thoughts invariably turn to summer camps. Am I a fan? Absolutely. Are there caveats? Without question.

Now, if you're a parent, I bet I can guess what you're thinking. "A goalie coach stumping for summer camps … What a shock!" So, before you jump to any conclusions, let me set the record straight. I'm a big advocate of down time, and taking a break from the game. I believe in playing different sports, and developing different skill sets. That gives your body a chance to recover by working different muscles, and helps keep your mind fresh as well.

I’ve seen too many youngsters – talented young goaltenders – lose their passion for the game because they simply play too much and see too many pucks. It just wears them down, and can suck the joy right out of the game. It makes me think Shep Messing. In the 1970s, Messing was a terrific if irreverent soccer goalkeeper from Harvard who went on to play for the US Olympic team and professionally for the New York Cosmos and Boston Minutemen.

Messing was a competitor, but not the hardest worker in practice. He clashed with his Harvard coach about his training regimen (or lack thereof). Messing’s argument was both cheeky and clever: "I only have so many saves in this body. Do you want me to waste them all in practice, or would you like me to have a few left for the games?"

Now, I don’t buy into Messing’s philosophy completely (he was, after all, a product of the counter-culture 1960s and '70s), but there’s a ring of truth to it. You want to have all your players – an especially your goaltenders – as sharp as possible before a game. After seven or eight months, that's not easy.

The September-to-April season can be a grind, and the mental and physical wear and tear on the players is something every coach needs to be cognizant of. I appreciate that pushing through those obstacles can help build character, but only to a point. Too often, goalies are hitting the wall just when the games mean the most – the playoffs – and that's a recipe for disaster. After the season, give them a break. Trust me, your son or daughter won’t “fall behind” by taking time off. In reality, it can recharge their batteries.

Summer goalie camps, after a brief vacation away from the rink, are a chance to jump back into the game with a renewed sense of purpose. The rink, for me, has always been a welcome respite from summer’s sweltering temperatures. You get to hang out with a bunch of other goalies, and you can participate without the added pressure of winning that comes during the regular season and playoffs.

Interestingly enough, Brian Daccord, owner of Stop It Goaltending, sees a distinct difference between "in season" and "off season" approaches to goalie coaching, especially at the higher levels of competition.

“The goalie coaching position is now defined two ways,” says Daccord. “You have a performance coach, and then you have a development coach. All the kids now have two coaches. In the summer, they'll have a development coach, and during the season they'll have a performance coach. How you handle and train the players during the season compared to the summer is apples and oranges.

“In season, it's about results,” says Daccord. “In the summer, you're working on improving technique, improving quickness, working on your strategies and your technical game, so you know how you want to play every situation. You want to work on your weaknesses, try new things, try to implement new facets to your game, new techniques.

“You can't do that during the season,” he says. “In-season, it's about getting that goalie ready for that next game. That means physically and mentally. The mental part of the game for the performance coach is far greater than the development coach.”

In a similar vein, Joe Bertagna, who has run Bertagna Goaltending for 38 years, says camps provide young goaltenders the special attention that the position demands these days, but is typically lacking from most in-season programs.

"With youngsters, we’re educating, and giving them the basic skills they need," says Bertagna. "With older goalies, at the Division 1 college level, we assume they have the tools. That doesn’t mean they can’t adapt and adjust and they don’t need someone monitoring their development."

Bruce Irving, the goalie coach for Harvard who works with both Bertagna and Daccord, agrees. "For the most part, the goalies end up on teams playing for coaches who have never been a goalie," he says. "I don’t think they get the necessary attention in most standard team environments."

Another potential problem with in-season coaching that can be avoided during the summer is an over-reliance on the goalie coach. "The kids are used to having coaches now," says Bertagna. "But at certain levels, the goalie coach has become a crutch. The kid has to go to his weekly goalie coach, and I think they’re over-coached in some instances."

Conversely, during the summer, we assume that there's less stress weighing on the minds of our campers, particularly school pressures. That's why camp instructors, though they expect hard work, also put a premium on fun. It's all about learning in a nurturing environment. The camps I work for feature shooters, but those players understand that the on-ice sessions are designed for the goaltenders, not them.

In short, the summer is a great time to experiment, and tweak your game, in a more relaxed environment, without worrying about the next game or your place in the team hierarchy. As camp coaches, we're not assessing whether you're going to be the starter or not. Our primary focus is to make you a better goaltender. Period.

Last, there's also a question of overnight versus day camps. That's a much more personal decision. I always recommend that parents contact the camp director so they can develop a comfort level. Ask for references. That’s doubly true for overnight camps.

In general, I'm a fan of day camps, which allow my young goalies to concentrate during our sessions inside the rink without any distractions of adjusting to a new environment outside the rink. In other words, they can sleep in their own beds. However, older kids might really thrive in that over-night setting. Again, it’s a personal decision. Just take time to do your homework beforehand. It will pay dividends for your young netminder.

Best,
-Brion