With August just around the corner, many arenas and associations have already started their preparation for next season.  We just recently wrapped a couple high performance events and look forward to the officiating schools, Female and Male Midget League Evaluation Camps and the Summer Skills Camp this month. Who says there's no hockey in the summer?

Enjoy!

Following in the foot steps of Sam Reinhart, Curtis Lazar and Morgan Reilly, 45 players embarked to Nanaimo, BC for the five (5) day Provincial Summer Camp. The players received specialized on and off-ice training offered through the Western Hockey League (WHL) Combine Testing with their state of the art equipment designed by Sport Testing Inc.

The players were separated into Team Bruins and Team Penguins to compete in four (4) games during the course of the week. The Bruins controlled the first two (2) games winning by scores of 5-1 and 6-2. The Penguins were able to fight back and win a pair of exciting 4-3 games to have the week end at two (2) games apiece, fitting for the top 45 U16 players in the province.

Twenty-five (25) players will announced on Tuesday, August 4, 2015 on the short list for consideration for Team BC that will compete at the 2015 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup.

What do Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Brendan Gallagher, Nic Petan and Sam Reinhart all have in common? They all played in the Major Midget League (MML). The first step towards playing in the MML is to attend an Evaluation Camp. The camps can involve practices, games and off-ice evaluations such as dryland training.

Evaluation Camps are being held across the province from August 6 - 9, 2015. Camp locations are:

Cariboo Cougars	Prince George Coliseum
Fraser Valley Thunderbirds	Centre Ice Arena (Abbotsford)
Greater Vancouver Canadians	Richmond Oval
Kootenay Ice	Nelson District Community Centre
North Island Silvertips	Oceanside Place (Parksville)
Okanagan Rockets	Capital News Centre (Kelowna)
South Island Royals	Westhills Arena (Langford)
Thompson Blazers	McArthur Island/Brock Arena (Kamloops)
Vancouver North East Chiefs	Poirier Leisure Complex (Coquitlam)
Vancouver North West Giants	North Shore Winter Club
Valley West Hawks	Langley Twin Rinks

The camps are open to all Midget players born in 1998, 1999 and 2000.  Interested players must register for the zone in which their parents reside. For a description of the zone boundaries, please visit the MML website. To register for an MML Evaluation Camp, please click here.

The 2015-2016 Female Midget AAA (FMAAA) season is going to be the best one yet! Want to be part of the action? Make sure to register for a FMAAA Evaluation Camp.

Benefits of playing in the league include: travel and accommodation for all away games, equipment (gloves, helmet, equipment bag, track suit, work out gear, socks and jersey) and plenty of ice time with three (3) practices and two (2) to three (3) games per week.

Evaluation Camps are being held across the province from August 7 - 9 , 2015. Camp locations are:

Fraser Valley Rush	Langley Sportsplex
Greater Vancouver Comets	Planet Ice - Coquitlam
Kootenay Wild	WFP Arena (Cranbrook)
Northern Capitals	Various locations
Thompson-Okanagan Lakers	Priest Valley Arena (Vernon)
Vancouver Island Seals	Strathcona Gardens (Campbell River)

Interested players must register for the zone in which their parents reside. For a description of the zone boundaries, please visit the FMAAA website. The deadline to register is July 29, 2015. Click here to register for a FMAAA Evaluation Camp.

Cool down from the heat of summer by registering your player for the Hockey Canada Summer Skills Camp! The camp offers an action packed week of hockey conditioning, skill development and off-ice games for players of a variety of ages and skill levels. The BC Hockey certified instructors will improve your child's hockey skills by focusing on progression and proper technique. Participants will learn new skills an drills in an environment that fosters sportsmanship, teamwork and most of all, fun.

The camp will run from Monday, August 24, 2015 to Friday, August 28, 2015 at Oceanside Place Arena in Parksville, BC and includes both on-ice sessions and dryland activities. There will be two (2) age groups for the camp - Novice/Atom and Pee Wee/Bantam. Each player will receive a development camp jersey and a water bottle. The cost of the camp is $400 (tax included).

Don't miss out on this cool camp! Register today!

A variety of topics were discussed at the High Performance 1 Seminars held in Kamloops and Vancouver this past month.

The seminars included many guest speakers including Jeff Compton who spoke on Mental and Physical Preparation and Todd Harkins who talked about Team and Player Selection.  Delegates also had the opportunity to work in small groups discussing many items, bouncing ideas off one another and learning from other elite coaches.

Delegates at the Vancouver seminar also attended the Coaches Conference at UBC, put on in partnership with the Coaches Site.  Many high-profile speakers were on hand including Steve Spott, Mike Valley and Willie Desjardins.

Tryouts can be very nerve-wracking time for both minor hockey players and their parents. One of the most positive things that parents can do during this time is to encourage your kids to have fun. Whether your child makes the team or not, it is about doing your best, learning from each tryout experience, and enjoying the process.

One way to ensure your children are happy with their effort and enjoy their time on the ice during tryouts is to make sure that you keep your expectations in check as to which team your child wishes to play for; not every kid in Canada was made to play high level, AAA or carded hockey, which is fine!

As a parent, don't ever force your child to try out for a team they don't wish to play on. If your child is happy playing on the team he or she is on now, and is content with the level they are playing at, then that should be all that matters. We often forget that the main purpose if playing hockey is for kids to have fun, not for parents to control where their children play based on their own aspirations and experiences.

Another thing parents should consider is which team your son or daughter should try out for. If you live in an area of Canada where there are multiple teams to choose from, you should do some research before narrowing down your decision. Fin out what positions teams are looking to fill, whether it be goalie, forward or defense, and then, depending on what position your child plays or wishes to try out for, you can both make a decision to better help their chances of making that team.

If a hockey player wants to try out for a competitive team, they must do so with an open mind and appreciate it as a learning experience. With this mindset, and by working hard and doing everything asked of the, they may be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

For players, long-gone are the days where training camps and tryouts were used for hockey players to get into shape. Fitness has become such a huge factor in today's modern game of hockey that it is absolutely necessary to show up to try outs in the best shape possible. An out-of-shape hockey player is one of the first things a coach will notice.

Make yourself visible to the coaches on the ice by showing an eagerness and willingness to compete, participate in drills and follow the coach's instructions. Don't get into the habit of just joining the back of the line; be near the front for drills. Always do every drill and complete every drill with as much effort, speed and skill as you can. Don't take any drills or shifts off. This is something the coach will notice right away.

most importantly, go out there and try your best and have fun! After all, that's what hockey is all about!

Source for Sports can help you do your best at tryout time with the right equipment and fitness training tools.  Check out www.sourceforsports.com for more tips.

Source For Sports. We know our stuff.