How you do one thing is how you do everything, so let's get off on the right foot.

It’s almost September, meaning we’re very close to the sight of steam rising off the ice as the zamboni finishes its final lap and the sound of rambunctious players anxiously waiting to hit the ice. Farewell summer, hello hockey season!

As a previous head scout of mine used to repeat during multiple arguments about a prospective player’s chances of cracking the roster: “I’m just ready to watch hockey.” Amen to that.

This is the first in a series of six articles designed to help you run the most effective training camp possible. I’m going to avoid pandemic talk because this will be a series we can return to every summer, but I’d be irresponsible if I didn’t share some of the lessons I learned running a junior A spring camp during the height of the pandemic’s third wave. It became known as the Logistics Olympics. I’m proud of the work we did to pull it off, and the reaction from players and their parents afterwards means the time I spent arranging the details was worth it. I learned a lot and want to share lessons that can be applied to your camp.

Criteria

Contributors: I asked a range of coaches for their insights into each of the six sections.

• Sven Butenschon: Head Coach, UBC Men’s Hockey (USports)
• Scott Burt: Head Coach, Rapid City Rush (ECHL)
• Kris Mallette: Head Coach, Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
• And myself, Kelvin Cech, GM/Head Coach, Niverville Nighthawks (MJHL)

Age Groups

As the range of contributing coaches demonstrates, we made a distinction between training camp and tryouts. This series is generally intended for junior hockey and older, though many elements will no doubt apply to U18 and younger.

Content

Each post will cover the bones of training camp, from the planning, implementation, and fall-out. Hopefully you’ll get some inspiration or knowledge to help you run your next camp.

• Training Camp Exceptional Part 1: Schedules, volunteers & extras
• Training Camp Exceptional Part 2: On-ice training camp options
• Training Camp Exceptional Part 3: Pre-game guidance and communication
• Training Camp Exceptional Part 4: Training camp evaluation
• Training Camp Exceptional Part 5: Exit meetings
• Training Camp Exceptional Part 6: Post-camp team building

Ready? Here we go. Fail to plan, plan to fail.

Check-In

In order to successfully deliver any training camp, especially the logistics olympics, the time to start preparing occurs well before you ever greet an athlete at the rink. The check-in table should be the last milestone following hours of work organizing the details of camp. I’ve noticed that no area of training camp is more stressful than the check-in table, and it doesn’t matter what level. That goes for staff as well as players, and it’s on you to make both sides of the table as relaxed as possible. It’s the first impression of your organization for many of the athletes, and a lot of them will be nervous whether they’re walking into their first professional camp beside men who have families, or they’re a teenager making the jump to junior hockey. Remove stress, build comfort, achieve confidence.

Delegate: Most of us rely on volunteers during training camp, so break down check-in responsibilities and empower your people to make decisions on the fly. Put someone in charge who can direct traffic and communicate efficiently to the players. Give me your name, collect your jersey, put your bag in dressing room X, go get weighed, go back to dressing room X and get dressed.

Coordinate: One way you can make the job of the check-in table is by properly organizing jerseys and socks. Hopefully you’ve got plenty of space so you can spread out the uniforms. Arrange the jerseys by number on a rack or have an additional person hand them out.

Automate: Avoid problems with version control by checking people in digitally. Use a google doc so only one version of the information exists, and it’s impossible to lose. Here’s a google doc you can download and add your own names to: Training Camp Check-In Template. Add columns for height and weight, email address, whatever, just ensure everyone works from this database.

Consider: Make friends with your arena staff. In my next job the first thing I’ll do is bring a case of adult beverages to the arena staff. My relationship with the staff at the logistics olympics camp was very important to me, and it helped us get extra space, keep dressing rooms overnight, and maintain positive vibes in the midst of chaos. I’ll never forget that.

Schedule: Hopefully you never have to implement the monstrosity above that was necessary in the spring of 2021. Hockey players are more relaxed when they don’t have to worry about where they’re going, so keep everyone organized (including yourself and your staff) and stress-free with an easy-to-follow schedule. Use this Training Camp Schedule Template as a guide.

Extras

Watching what happens on the ice is the most important part of training camp, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to provide value. Extras are like deposits in the bank. When you deliver a good experience, your reputation and that of your organization will experience an inevitable boost. It might not be immediate, but word travels in the hockey community, which is a good thing. Providing a valuable experience for every player will build loyalty and confidence for players who stick around when training camp is complete, but it will also leave a good impression with players who don’t make the team. You can’t keep everybody, but you can make everybody feel welcome and give them a sense of accomplishment regardless of their status with the team.

Fitness: Treating everybody to a fitness session with team trainers or other experts is an inexpensive way to add value to camp. It’s also a simple way to demonstrate the values of your organization – not every player comes to camp with equal parts work ethic, desire, and competitive spirit, but a training session or testing is a valuable way to set your standard. A proper activation sets the standard for personal care and is the easiest way to avoid injury.

Mental health awareness: The stress of walking on to a camp at the next level manifests in different ways, but it’s always there. Players are often conflicted – they want to fit in with potential new teammates, they don’t know their way around a new rink, and a lot of them are downright worried to try too hard. It’s ridiculous to say, but we all know it’s true. You can remove a lot of conflicting thoughts and set the table for a caring, understanding, and competitive environment by talking to the players about mental health or bringing in a specialized professional to do it for you. Help the players let down their barriers and then watch the on-ice creativity and competition flourish.

Food: Every hockey player wants to be treated like royalty. That doesn’t mean that earns them the right to act like royalty – quite the opposite. Taking care of players before and after sessions is another way to promote loyalty, but more importantly, appreciation. Bonus points if you can bring in local chefs or score a sponsorship with a local sandwich shop (community-building for the win), and your scouts can watch the scrimmages comfortable with the fact that the players have been fed. Of course you’re not responsible for the habits prior to camp, and if healthy food is a shock to someone’s system, then they might just play themselves out of a job anyways.

Culture

For each of our contributing coaches, culture is a crucial element to introduce immediately. Taking care of the physical aspect of the game, the mental aspect, eating properly, and focusing on the task at hand by being organized and blocking out distractions is a team effort. A training camp such as this puts staff and athlete on the same side. You want the best possible team at the end of camp, and the player wants to put her or his best skate forward. If you deliver a training camp that demonstrates how your club operates on a daily basis, you’re more likely to identify players who will thrive in that system. How you do one thing is how you do everything, so let’s get off on the right foot. Getting the details dialled in before a single skate even touches the ice is the easiest, though most time-consuming, way to do that.