Marty Hastings - Kamloops This Week
There is a new hockey-school option to consider for those looking to improve in the off-season.
Kamloops Elite Hockey School’s inaugural camp will run from July 15 to July 19 at the Ice Box Arena.
“Hockey school is where I developed most as a young player coming into the season,” said Chris Heid, the school’s owner.
“We’ll work on basic skills and strength and speed and footwork — all the stuff you don’t have time to do during the season.”
Heid has played professionally since 2003 in the American Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League and in Germany.
He will run the school with longtime Kamloops coach Brennan Krausher and dry-land specialist Greg Kozoris of Kozoris Acceleration.
“Our goal is to try and provide as good an experience as a kid is going to find anywhere and try to do it for as competitive or better price than anybody else is offering,” said Krausher, who coached from 2009 to 2012 with the Kamloops Ice Pirates spring hockey program.
“And, for me, it’s a chance to get back into the game.”
The camp — which will feature two age groups, seven to 10 and 11 to 13 — costs $360 per player.
The younger players will hit the ice each day at 10 a.m. and finish at 2:30 p.m., with the older group starting at 11:15 a.m. and wrapping up at 3:45 p.m.
Lunch and dry-land sessions will be bookended by on-ice instruction, with the morning practice geared toward individual skills and the afternoon skate focusing more on team play.
“We’re going to have a lot of professional players stopping by and, with our off-ice training, we have one of the most elite coaches in Greg Kozoris, who trains NHL players on a regular basis,” said Heid, who was drafted in the third round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild.
Brothers Riley and Brendon Nash — both of whom have NHL experience — will lend a hand.
There will be between 10 and 15 more guest instructors with professional experience at the camp, Heid said.
Log on to kamloopselitehockey.com to download a registration form. For more information, call 250-851-5448 or email kamloopselitehockey@gmail.com.
“My mother started taking me to a hockey program when I was just four years old, mainly to keep me busy and giving me the chance to interact with other kids,” Heid said.
“I wanted to give back and do something that I enjoyed when I was a kid.”