Liberty's two camp sessions in late April for elite players and mid-June to early July for youth are growing in status and popularity.
Registration opened this past week for the Liberty University Hockey Select Camps, set for late April, and the Summer Hockey Camps from mid-June through early July.
"We are excited to provide high-level athletes from all across North America the chance to showcase their skills and meet the staff that runs Liberty Hockey and to see what makes it great," Club Sports Recruitment & Summer Planning Coordinator Brett Berthiaume said. "They will have the chance to see the facilities and experience campus life, to see what we have to offer from a university perspective as well as a hockey perspective."
He said several current players, including sophomore defensemen Laz Kaebel and Colten Kovich and freshman Owen Lugowski, participated in previous Select Camps.
Select Camp participants wait their chance to showcase their skills on the ice.
"We see a lot of members on our team today who have showed up to that camp and committed to the program on the spot," Berthiaume said. "It is important to see who is serious about Liberty and who wants to be a part of what we are building here on and off the ice."
For the first time this spring, there will be a Women's Select Camp offered to players born between 2006-08 on April 25-27 in conjunction with the Men's Select Camp open to players born in 2007 or later (ages 17-22), also from April 25-27.
"Camps will run together side by side, but have different itineraries," Berthiaume said. "Both the women and men will have one on-ice practice led by Liberty's coaching staffs, from the DI, II, and III men's teams as well as the DI and DII women."
Both camps will provide participants a panel discussion for an opportunity to meet and greet players and staff members and have Q&A sessions. The women's camp will offer a lunch on Thursday, April 26, from 12:45-1:45 p.m. before the men's camp will have a dinner from 6-8 p.m.
"What we have been doing to increase our men's hockey program's recruitment will be helping our women's program to grow, too," Berthiaume said, noting that the spring camp has attracted more than 60 men's players and that is expected to increase. "The DI women's team has had great success and this will just be another element toward building an elite program and attracting high-level student-athletes."
A new feature included in this spring's camps will be dryland testing administered by Club Sports Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance Chris Kerr.
"These athletes will spend time with Coach Kerr using our 1080 sprint machine, which gives us another element to evaluate our athletes coming in," Berthiaume said, noting that the testing battery will include 10-meter sprint testing, a horizontal force-velocity profile (the industry standard to indicate speed training needs), broad jump, and peak vertical velocity.
More details and information regarding Liberty's Men's or Women's Select Camps is available on the hockey program's recruitment page.
The captain, alternate captain of a team at last year's boys U16 camp celebrate a goal.
The Liberty Hockey Summer Camps have grown steadily in recent years, with more than 300 participating in four sessions last summer. This summer, a fifth session will be added to provide separate camp experiences for high-school-aged underclassmen and upperclassmen.
"Last year, we had over 300 kids, boys and girls from Mites through U-18, come to our camps," Berthiaume said. "We've split up our U16 and U18 boys' sessions, which used to go together, so that now we can be a little bit more intentional with the two groups at different times."
Session 1, a co-ed camp for Mite (U8), Squirt (U10), and Peewee (U12) aged players will run from June 16-18 followed by Session 2 for Bantam (U14) boys from June 20-22, Session 3: for U16 boys from June 25-27, Session 4 for U18 Boys from June 29-July 1, and Session 5 for U12, U14, and U16 girls from July 7-9.
"Something that makes our summer camps unique is our ability to get current or graduate hockey players to come out and help in certain ways," Berthiaume said, noting that some serve primarily as counselors and others as on-ice clinicians. "Quinn Ryan has helped in the past with our on-ice skill development. Having that kind of level in expertise in teaching kids the game is awesome."
He said the camps are beneficial for holistic improvement of hockey skills and social and spiritual growth.
"We are excited to pour the love of Jesus Christ into their lives and teach them great hockey skills and work ethics on and off the ice," Berthiaume said.
