5/17/2023 0 Comments Itrain hockey forward skatingHe did a great job of introducing each topic (skating, shooting, deking, 1 on 1s) with key points and emphasizing those key points multiple times so that they stuck in your head while you were doing the drills. It was clear that Sean is super passionate about hockey and constantly trying to improve as a coach. He was happy to spend 5 minutes after camp answering my hockey questions. He took photos with anyone who asked and also signed a lot of boys's sticks. Sean was always very positive and generous with his time. And one of the 10 year old boys had to leave camp after 3 days because he pulled his groin. By the end of the 5 days, my groin started nagging me a little. All the explosive skating is hard on the groin. Sean wanted us to do all the drills at game speed if possible, so lots of crossover starts and linear crossovers. So I would do an off-ice warm up before getting on the ice. Sean really wanted to pack in a lot of material. I think it's assumed that you are already a good skater. Sean didn't spend much time on skating fundamentals, compared to stickhandling and shooting. I've never bothered to learn the mohawk, so I was kind of screwed on drills involving those. In particular, you would want to be proficient in crossovers (both forward and backward), mohawks, and shuffle strides (forward c-cut with one skate while balanced on the heel of the other skate). You definitely want to be at least a very good skater and good stickhandler to get the most out of camp. It was a pretty high level camp, so I think the description "Elite" was appropriate. His stories were always very entertaining. He talked a bit about the psychology of being a great athlete. Or he would talk about his own experiences as a youth hockey player. Sean was also a great storyteller and would talk about NHL players he admired and why. Sean did break things down more when it came to shooting. That was inspiring, though at times, it might have been a good idea to slow down (especially for skating stuff) so we could see what was happening. He is an amazing skater and he would demonstrate everything at full game speed. Sean was just as impressive in person as he is in the videos, when it comes to playing hockey. Deking was really fun, especially when we got to deke into shots on Day 5. Sean gave some really great tips about shooting on Day 2. Day 2 was a lot of the same skating drills but with the puck. The pace was a bit too fast for me, especially if I wasn't familiar with a drill. Sean would demonstrate a skating drill for 10 seconds and then expect everyone to do it right away. The rough breakdown of the 5 days was: Day 1 - Power skating + stickhandling, Day 2 - Skating agility with the puck + wrist and snap shots, Day 3 - Deking + using dekes in 1 on 1s, Day 4 - Offensive and defensive tactics in 1 on 1s + cross ice games, Day 5 - Deking into shots + 1 on 1s.ĭay 1 could be kind of boring for people because it wasn't clear how the skating would apply in a game. He said that in California, his camps were mostly adults. In this particular camp, the elite groups were mostly 8-12 year old boys, but Sean told me afterward that it varies from location to location. I was actually around the same size as a 12 year old boy, so it worked out pretty well for me. Players were separated into groups by age, so don't worry, you won't be playing 1-on-1's or doing drills in the same line / group with 8 year olds. But he would always let people try first. He would often have us do some drills and then if he saw a mistake, he would stop everyone and point out the mistake and show how to correct it. He clearly had a plan for managing large groups of players. Despite the large group, he did a really good job of keeping the sessions up tempo and there wasn't much standing around. He did get a few parents / coaches to volunteer and help move piles of pucks around and setup nets. Sean Walker, the iTrain Hockey coach, was the only coach for about 30 players. pulling the puck between the legs) to basic (but important!) tips about shooting. There was a variety of material ranging from fancy dekes (e.g. Both the Elite groups did the same material and were ages 8 to adult. The youth group was limited to ages 7-10 and geared more towards the basics of hockey. There was a youth group from 9 am - 11 am, Elite Group 1 from 11 am - 1 pm, and Elite Group 2 from 1 pm - 3 pm. I wanted to followup and write about my experience, if anyone else in the future is thinking about going. Thanks everyone who encouraged me to go to the 5-day iTrain Hockey camp.
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