Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Mites, Squirts, and Peewee (U8, U10, and U12) hockey players line up for a drill in the LaHaye Ice Center under supervision from Holistic Development Assistant Corey Owens. (Photo by Grace Greer)
Hockey Summer Camps train young players in the ways of the Lord, sharpening their skills and faith
6/25/2026 3:04:00 PM | Men's D1 Hockey, Men's D2 Hockey, Men's D3 Hockey
Club Sports staff, student-athletes take an all-hands-on-deck approach to developing talent on and off the ice.
Successive three-day Liberty University Hockey Summer Camps for boys ages 12-, 14-, 16-, and 18-under attracted 262 players from up and down the East Coast and as far away as Canada and California to the LaHaye Ice Center over the past two weeks, setting the stage for Thursday's through Saturday's U19 girls camp, with another 67 participants on campus.
"We are blessed to have so many campers come out and have a great experience," Club Sports Recruitment & Summer Planning Coordinator Brett Berthiaume said. "We are excited to see hockey growing in the South."
Club Sports staff and Flames Division I, II, and III men's hockey players and coaches served as camp counselors and clinicians, including DI Assistant Coach Ben Hughes and Deputy Athletic Director Jeff Boettger, who Hughes replaced on the DI coaching staff last year.
"We are super thankful for all of the staff that we have that gave many hours to prepare for these camps," Berthiaume said. "It's one big team effort across the board. It's nice to see athletes from all of these teams chip in and pour into the program that they love, and it's been awesome to see the success we've had with the campers on and off the ice in terms of improving their games and growing their faith as well."
"The Lord is definitely moving here, so it's really cool to witness," added rising DI graduate forward Ryan Finch, a first-year staff member who served as a head counselor for all four boys camps. "All the kids that came here had a good time and experience, and hopefully the Lord moves in all of their lives."
He engaged with the youth during on-ice sessions in the rink as well as around campus and in Residential Commons I, where the overnight campers stayed.
"Pretty much from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m., we're just watching them … making sure the kids are in one place and that they learn about Jesus and just have fun playing hockey," Finch said. "It's been loud sometimes at the dorms, but it's a lot of fun being able to pour into the kids. Even if you're not always sharing the Gospel, you spread it by giving them love and giving them joy and happiness. Through that, and worship and chapel time, they understand the reason why they are here, that it's bigger than hockey."
Besides staying in the dorms and having breakfasts and dinners in the Reber-Thomas Dining Center, camp participants were treated to a full menu of activities throughout three action-packed days. In addition to daily skating and drill sessions and scrimmages in the LIC, as well as worship and chapel held in the School of Business' Towns Auditorium, campers played indoor soccer at the Thomas Indoor Soccer Center and beach volleyball at the East Campus Volleyball Courts and took tours of the university's campus.
Gary Steffes, executive director of Pure Encouragement, provided spiritual inspiration during daily chapels, challenging the campers to find their identity in Christ and not in who they are as hockey players. Club Sports Holistic Development Assistant Corey Owens, a graduate forward and Disciple Maker on the DII men's hockey team last season, facilitated the spiritual development side of the camp, leading worship and training counselors on how to lead small group Bible studies as well as to share their testimonies.
During the 16-year-old camp, three participants expressed a desire to be baptized, with a few more making first-time decisions to follow Christ and many more rededicating their lives to Him.
"If the Lord is leading kids to accept Him into their hearts and to profess their faith in Christ while they're at this camp, we are super humbled to be able to provide that opportunity," Berthiaume said. "We were super blessed and pumped to baptize three of them here in the ice center, in a little tub set up right outside the rink."
Camp staff provided Bibles with personalized notes for those new believers, and reached out to their families for support and to get them connected with churches in their communities.
Club Sports Athletic Director Kirk Handy, who is entering his 27th season as head coach of the DI men's hockey team, served as a bench coach for a few of the boys teams and led chalk talk sessions in the locker room between periods of their games.
"He's always a great person to have around these camps," said DI graduate defenseman and alternate captain Nick Pomerleau, the camps' other head counselor. "He's put a lot into Club Sports and the hockey program here as well, so it's always awesome to see him loving what he's doing here and just having an impact on these kids. Plus, his two oldest kids, Parker and Preston, helped out with the younger groups on the ice."
Liberty's student-athletes and staff were complemented by Quinn Ryan ('19, '21) who worked all four summer camps for the ninth consecutive year, starting after his freshman season in 2017.
"Quinn's a great guy, and obviously he's one of the best who's ever come through Liberty so far," Pomerleau said. "It's awesome to have him here for a lot of the camps. He definitely has the mind for the game, and he has all of the skill in the world. I've learned from his teaching on the ice, and I hope these kids have picked up a few things as well."
The last two sessions of campers had the opportunity to work out under the supervision of Sports Performance Coordinator Chris Kerr.
Pomerleau, who was working the camps for a fourth summer in a row, said the spiritual impact on the players was just as evident as the development of their hockey games.
"It's been an amazing time here, getting to know all of the kids, getting to coach them, and getting to see what God is able to do in their lives through this camp," he said. "It's been awesome to see the Holy Spirit working through these camps and work through these kids, and really just use the people here at Liberty to show them God's love. There have been a lot of kids that have chosen to give their lives to Christ, which has been great to see."
Pomerleau recognized several players from previous summer camps, and he hopes to see them return again next year and potentially represent the Flames on the ice someday.
"It's cool to see them come back again, to see from last year to this year how they've grown on the ice and off the ice," Pomerleau said. "It's a great place for them to be able to showcase their skills and who they are, and hopefully we will see a few of these guys here in the future come here as (recruited) players."
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterGallery: (6-25-2026) Boys Hockey Summer Camps 2026
"We are blessed to have so many campers come out and have a great experience," Club Sports Recruitment & Summer Planning Coordinator Brett Berthiaume said. "We are excited to see hockey growing in the South."
Club Sports staff and Flames Division I, II, and III men's hockey players and coaches served as camp counselors and clinicians, including DI Assistant Coach Ben Hughes and Deputy Athletic Director Jeff Boettger, who Hughes replaced on the DI coaching staff last year.
"We are super thankful for all of the staff that we have that gave many hours to prepare for these camps," Berthiaume said. "It's one big team effort across the board. It's nice to see athletes from all of these teams chip in and pour into the program that they love, and it's been awesome to see the success we've had with the campers on and off the ice in terms of improving their games and growing their faith as well."
"The Lord is definitely moving here, so it's really cool to witness," added rising DI graduate forward Ryan Finch, a first-year staff member who served as a head counselor for all four boys camps. "All the kids that came here had a good time and experience, and hopefully the Lord moves in all of their lives."
He engaged with the youth during on-ice sessions in the rink as well as around campus and in Residential Commons I, where the overnight campers stayed.
"Pretty much from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m., we're just watching them … making sure the kids are in one place and that they learn about Jesus and just have fun playing hockey," Finch said. "It's been loud sometimes at the dorms, but it's a lot of fun being able to pour into the kids. Even if you're not always sharing the Gospel, you spread it by giving them love and giving them joy and happiness. Through that, and worship and chapel time, they understand the reason why they are here, that it's bigger than hockey."
Besides staying in the dorms and having breakfasts and dinners in the Reber-Thomas Dining Center, camp participants were treated to a full menu of activities throughout three action-packed days. In addition to daily skating and drill sessions and scrimmages in the LIC, as well as worship and chapel held in the School of Business' Towns Auditorium, campers played indoor soccer at the Thomas Indoor Soccer Center and beach volleyball at the East Campus Volleyball Courts and took tours of the university's campus.
Gary Steffes, executive director of Pure Encouragement, provided spiritual inspiration during daily chapels, challenging the campers to find their identity in Christ and not in who they are as hockey players. Club Sports Holistic Development Assistant Corey Owens, a graduate forward and Disciple Maker on the DII men's hockey team last season, facilitated the spiritual development side of the camp, leading worship and training counselors on how to lead small group Bible studies as well as to share their testimonies.
During the 16-year-old camp, three participants expressed a desire to be baptized, with a few more making first-time decisions to follow Christ and many more rededicating their lives to Him.
"If the Lord is leading kids to accept Him into their hearts and to profess their faith in Christ while they're at this camp, we are super humbled to be able to provide that opportunity," Berthiaume said. "We were super blessed and pumped to baptize three of them here in the ice center, in a little tub set up right outside the rink."
Camp staff provided Bibles with personalized notes for those new believers, and reached out to their families for support and to get them connected with churches in their communities.
Club Sports Athletic Director Kirk Handy, who is entering his 27th season as head coach of the DI men's hockey team, served as a bench coach for a few of the boys teams and led chalk talk sessions in the locker room between periods of their games.
"He's always a great person to have around these camps," said DI graduate defenseman and alternate captain Nick Pomerleau, the camps' other head counselor. "He's put a lot into Club Sports and the hockey program here as well, so it's always awesome to see him loving what he's doing here and just having an impact on these kids. Plus, his two oldest kids, Parker and Preston, helped out with the younger groups on the ice."
Liberty's student-athletes and staff were complemented by Quinn Ryan ('19, '21) who worked all four summer camps for the ninth consecutive year, starting after his freshman season in 2017.
"Quinn's a great guy, and obviously he's one of the best who's ever come through Liberty so far," Pomerleau said. "It's awesome to have him here for a lot of the camps. He definitely has the mind for the game, and he has all of the skill in the world. I've learned from his teaching on the ice, and I hope these kids have picked up a few things as well."
The last two sessions of campers had the opportunity to work out under the supervision of Sports Performance Coordinator Chris Kerr.
Pomerleau, who was working the camps for a fourth summer in a row, said the spiritual impact on the players was just as evident as the development of their hockey games.
"It's been an amazing time here, getting to know all of the kids, getting to coach them, and getting to see what God is able to do in their lives through this camp," he said. "It's been awesome to see the Holy Spirit working through these camps and work through these kids, and really just use the people here at Liberty to show them God's love. There have been a lot of kids that have chosen to give their lives to Christ, which has been great to see."
Pomerleau recognized several players from previous summer camps, and he hopes to see them return again next year and potentially represent the Flames on the ice someday.
"It's cool to see them come back again, to see from last year to this year how they've grown on the ice and off the ice," Pomerleau said. "It's a great place for them to be able to showcase their skills and who they are, and hopefully we will see a few of these guys here in the future come here as (recruited) players."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's D1 Hockey
F
/ Men's D2 HockeyFriday, May 29
Friday, May 22
Friday, May 22
Monday, May 11