Thursday, July 9, 2009

Back to School

The Prince George Spruce Kings 29th annual Hockey School is ready to hit the ice in August providing kids between the ages of 6 and 14 an opportunity to skate and learn the game from past, present and future Spruce Kings. The annual Hockey School has become a regular feature in the first three weeks of August and has become a summer tradition for many families over the years. Many students have first found a true love for the sport while attending the Spruce Kings Hockey School and have then gone on to play the game at the higher level. Spruce Kings alumni instructing this year include the Calgary Flames 2009 NHL draft pick Ryan Howse, Northern Michigan NCAA scholarship recipient Sam Muchalla, 2007-08 BCHL Rookie of the Year Jordy Christian, 2008-09 Spruce Kings Rookie of the Year Justin Fillion as well as Wes McLeod, Nick DeSousa, Joe Morgan, Tyson Hall and many others.

Registrations Forms for the Hockey School are available on the Spruce Kings website and can be filled in and submitted online or printed off and sent in by mail, fax or in person.

With a focus on having fun and enjoying the game, students will be introduced to the basics of hockey in the areas of power skating, puck handling, passing, checking, shooting, positional play and team building. Each age group will have their own specially designed practices, drills and instruction for the first four days of the camp. On the final day, each session will have their own inter-squad game followed by a wrap-up bar-b-que and autograph session for the entire family. During the first four days of each sesssion, students will participate in a total of two and half hours of ice time daily split up into a morning and afternoon session. During the break between ice times, students will have their lunch and also participate in a different activity each day.

Again this year there will be a special session for the older players who are looking for a little edge heading to training camp. Players between the ages of 15 and 20 will have their own specially designed Conditioning Camp designed to get the summer rust out and prepare the player to compete at their respective training camps. Intended for all players that will be playing in the 2009-10 season from Midget through Junior, Collegiate and Pro Camps, the Conditioning Camp is two solid hours of ice time each day and will consist of high tempo competitive drills and practices. Registrations Forms for the Conditioning Camp are also available on the Spruce Kings website and can be filled in and submitted online or printed off and sent in by mail, fax or in person.

Based on birth year, students will be placed in one of three age groups: 6-8, 9-11, 12-14 with all three age groups having a session each of the three weeks. Each session is five days in duration and the groups have staggered starts and end times during the day. Group 1 gets started at 8:00am and finishes up their afternoon ice time at 1:45pm, Group 2 goes 9:30am to 3:15pm and Group 3 starts at 11:00am and is off the ice at 4:45pm. Week 1 runs from Tuesday August 4 - Saturday August 8, Week 2 starts on Monday August 10 til Friday August 14 and the final week starts on Monday August 17 wrapping up on Friday August 21. The Junior Conditioning Camp runs from 6:00 - 8:00pm during the second week, August 10 - 14 and is open to all interested players between the ages of 15 and 20.

The cost for the full week session of the Hockey School is $300 with a tax deductible reciept issued from the Prince George Spruce Kings, the Conditioning Camp is available for $190 per student. All sessions are limited in size and spots are only available on a first come first serve basis. Vacancy can not be guaranteed and many spots have already been filled up with early registrations; don't wait, fill in your registration and get back to school with the Prince George Spruce Kings 29th annual Hockey School.

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