麻豆社区

Local hockey players won't have to wait long to return to the ice and play the game they love.

That's because the Whitehorse Minor Hockey Association is hosting a summer hockey school consisting of week-long camps beginning in late June.

WMHA board president Carl Burgess said registration to the summer hockey school has proved popular, with camps filling up rapidly.

"The board and the league has decided to do everything we can to become a year-round operation, hence the summer hockey school,鈥� Burgess said. "We're offering seven different camps this summer, and it seems to be going over well.鈥�

Instructors include St. Louis Blues associate coaches Brad Shaw and Ray Bennet, as well as Team Canada member Jocelyne Larocque and University of Alaska Fairbanks head coach Dallas Ferguson.

"We do have connections, and we've used those,鈥� said Burgess.

In the past, players have gone Outside the territory for similar style camps.

"We know our membership are interested in summer opportunities,鈥� Burgess said, who added that interested parties from Alaska, N.W.T. and northern B.C. have also inquired about the summer school.

Camp subjects include a lacrosse-hockey crossover, defensive skills, offensive skills, goalie skills and advanced team play.

"We've tried to do something for everybody, so each week will be a slightly different format,鈥� Burgess explained.

"The camps are open to everyone, not just our membership.鈥�

Burgess said city staff has been very accommodating to the summer hockey program, which he described as a "big rental ask鈥� of the city and facility.

The association has also begun advertising for a full-time head coach position, seeking an elite-level hockey

administrator to provide vision and develop the strengths of the minor hockey program.

"The biggest problem Whitehorse minor hockey has in terms of development is a lack of competition, and so many kids that our coaching expertise gets spread thin,鈥� said Burgess. "We have 75 volunteer coaches, and it doesn't seem like enough.鈥�

Burgess estimated that 450 players are registered in minor hockey.

"There's a price to success and we're feeling that,鈥� he said. "People are getting stretched thin and we're trying to figure out how to restructure things. We need to slowly reinvent ourselves and evolve as the demands and the leagues grow.鈥�

New coaches need direction, and Burgess said a league-wide coach program needs to be developed by "a coach of coaches.鈥�

The incoming administrator would serve as a resource and service to both house league and rep coaching staffs.

"Our new coaches need help,鈥� he said. "No one does this full time. We're extremely excited about it.鈥�

The hope is to see practice strategies and skill plans become uniform across the league.

Burgess said his first year at the helm of minor hockey was an exciting and busy one.

The highlight for many was the NHL charity game in October, that saw a variety of Ottawa Senators players compete in front of a sold-out crowd at Takhini Arena.

"It's been a huge eye-opener for me,鈥� he said of his role as board president. "I think everyone's starting to realize how big and how fast the league's been growing.鈥�

Information on the summer hockey school and the head coach position is available via the association's website www.whitehorseminorhockey.ca.