The weather may be getting warmer, but that doesn’t mean your ice-loving kids need to put away their skates or hockey sticks. Canlan Sports is offering hockey and skating camps for all ages and abilities this summer.
“Everything we do is from a play-based perspective,” Alex Cristiano, Director of Marketing, says. “We feel that the best way to encourage kids to stay active and motivated is to make learning fun.”
What is Canlan Sports?
Canlan Sports has 15 sports complexes across North America. For Chicagoans, the Romeoville and West Dundee locations are running hockey and ice skating camps throughout the summer.
Each camp session is five days long, Monday through Friday, and is youth co-ed.
“Whether the child is taking a hockey or ice skating session, kids can expect a real camp-like experience,” Cristiano says. “Each day is divided into a 50/50 split – equal time on the ice and land. During dryland, we do a lot of socializing games and other friendship activities.”
No matter the camp you sign your child up for, their skill level will be accommodated.
“We don’t organize our camps by expertise because it’s more about the experience,” Cristiano says. “Take our hockey camps for instance – everyone develops within the camp whether they have a lot of learning under their belt or they are just getting started. Each child gets to work on various holistic skills on and off the ice at their own pace.”
Julia Maniccia, Manager, Content Strategy, adds, “We just want to introduce as many young people to ice sports as possible, and we ensure this by focusing on things like play, established curriculums, low child-to-instructor ratios, fun, excitement and socialization.”
Summer camp on ice!
This summer, Canlan has several camp options for both ice sports.
Starting in June, week-long sessions will center around specific skills. For hockey, kids can choose from Speed, Agility, Stickhandling Camp, Defense Camp, and Skating, Shooting, Scoring Camp. For ice skating, there is Edges Camp, Learn to Skate Camp, and Jumps and Spins Camp.
“In our specialty summer sessions, we work on improving technique, enhancing skills and building confidence,” Cristiano says. “But remember, above everything is fun and play. Our campers truly enjoy their time at Canlan Sports. Play is what we do.”
Hockey camp
During a week of camp, the first four days focus on different skills – skating, passing, shooting and defense. Each day includes four hours of on-ice and four hours of off-ice activities split up throughout the day. This is followed by the fifth day of an all-star skills competition.
“On day five, we have what we call all-star competitions,” Cristiano says. “Parents, family and friends can come to watch the kids put their newly sharpened or obtained skills to the test. It’s a friendly competition and everyone has a lot of fun.”
Ice skating camp
Like its hockey counterpart, the skating camp follows an on-ice and off-ice format. Every day, kids focus on different aspects of skating while “visiting” various countries.
“For example — we will tour Canada and while we focus on their strong sport, hockey, we will incorporate power drills, strong pushes and quickness on the ice,” Canlan’s website states. “We may visit France and work on jumps and spins that would be the powerhouse of singles skating while Italy will have edge work and ice dancing.”
Registration is currently open for either camp.
“We are very excited about our camp offerings,” Maniccia says. “Kids always have such a blast at these camps and that encourages us to keep going.”
Content sponsored by Canlan Sports. Learn more and register your child for hockey or ice skating camp at canlansports.com.
