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JULY 2005
Elite Edge Hockey Camp: Life lessons and hockey
By Katie Harp
A revolutionary way of conducting a hockey camp was started this year by Brandon Walker, hockey operations coordinator for the Nashville Predators.
Walker’s camp, Elite Edge, took place June 1-5 at Southern Ice Arena in Franklin, Tenn.
“There is a high level of a player in this area that can be showcased,” Walker said.
“These boys are getting a chance to make themselves better in the summer. They don’t have this opportunity in the regular season.”
The camp, in its first year of existence, had 73 boys, birth years ranging from 1986-1991, to attend. |
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They represented cities around Tennessee as well as, Louisville and Tampa. There was also one camper who traveled from Canada.
By receiving teaching and instruction from top coaches and having a high competition level, this camp will make them better players, Walker said.
The camp was set up with teaching sessions in the morning and games in the evening. Each camper was randomly placed on a team at the beginning of camp. The campers were also given a 150-page binder of tips on how to become a better player.
“I kept in mind these players needed instruction,” Walker said. “This camp was structured with their best interests in mind.”
Walker invited several people from around the country to serve as coaches and instructors at the camp. Most have previous background of being hockey camp instructors.
“These guys were eager to see the players and the area,” Walker said.
One of the instructors was Dan Wildfong, forward for the Central Hockey League Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.
“The coaches are just trying to get the most out of the kids that are here,” Wildfong said. “I have been with them on the ice all day. They have shown me a lot of what they can do.”
Brent Peterson, Predators associate coach, spoke to both parents and players Saturday, June 5.
Peterson talked on how many of the things learned through playing sports, specifically hockey, can be beneficial later in life.
“If you don’t play another day of hockey, or if you go to the NHL, all the things you learn while playing sports will support you well in your life skills in whatever you end up doing in life,” Peterson said.
“When playing sports, specifically hockey, you learn how to win. You learn how to lose. You learn how to get along with teammates, how to be humble, cooperate and communicate.”
Peterson went on to say there are two kinds of hockey players and two kinds of people: campers and climbers.
“Campers do some things well and are happy to be where they are,” Peterson said. “They don’t work at things. Climbers start working one thing, master it and move on to the next. To be a climber, you can’t be satisfied with where you are.”
He also reiterated that not everyone is going to become a professional hockey player. Players should strive to be good people along with being good players.
“I got more satisfaction out of a player that was a good person and a good player who called me and said, ‘Coach, I just got my degree. I am a doctor. I’m married, and my wife and I have three children,’” Peterson said. “What a success story that was.”
He encouraged players to set goals, both short and long-term and to make a road map as how to achieve these goals.
“If you don’t have a goal, you have nowhere to go,” Peterson said.
The camp concluded with each of the teams playing one last game to determine team rankings for the camp.
Another unique aspect of the camp was at the end the top players in the camp were chosen for all-stars.
“The coaches did evaluations of each player at every practice and game. The players chosen for the all-stars were the ones with the cumulative best average,” Walker said.
The Center Ice All Star team was composed of goalie Chris Johnson, Tampa, Fla.; defenseman A.J. McCollum, Hendersonville, Tenn.; defensemen Jon Simon, Memphis; forward Ryan McAleese, Franklin, Tenn.; forward Michael Lebowitz, Nashville; and forward Jack Duncan, Memphis.
Justin Bracey, Mt. Juliet, Tenn. was named the Hockey Stop Pro Shop All-Star Game MVP. This award was chosen by the coaches based on the player’s performance during the all-star game.
McCollum was overall recipient of the Kwik Hands Leadership Award. The campers chose this award. Kwik Hands team awards were given to J.P Zdancewicz, Memphis; Josh Herbert, Memphis; and Justin Maphet, Mt. Juliet, Tenn.
Walker was happy with the end result of the camp.
“The kids got a lot out of it and that’s the main thing,” Walker said. “Hopefully each one will be a better player next year because of it. The instructors were happy with the level of the kids out there. We have a lot of interest from many people for next year’s camp |
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