Well today was the start of the U15/U14 USAH Girls National Development Camp in Rochester, NY (ESL). The weather here in Rochester hopefully will be an indication of the week to come, sunny and nice. Check-in was between 2-5 and was handled as it normally is with the girls checking in at the rink to drop off hockey equipment followed by a trip to the dorms to check in, turn in paperwork, and get room assignments and linens. All was done within 5 minutes. The dorms are new and a quad format with 4 rooms leading off a shared common area with a kitchen.
After checking in, the girls hung around chatting with old friends and making new ones. There was “welcome” meeting at 5 in the theater and then it was off to dinner and then the first practice. The practices were shared ice and 45 minutes in length and consisted of some basic flow drills, passing and skating followed by a high paced drill consisting of 3 separate stations where the players rotated through (cross ice mini game, passing, and puck handling) . It was a good practice and it gave the girls a sense of what’s to come in the upcoming days. For the most part, the 15′s and 14′s covered the same things but in some cases the drills were a bit different. I believe, but am not sure, that the coaches are given the “theme” of the day and suggested drills but have a lot of flexibility on how to implement it.
At the rink, the photographers are here and were shooting tonight. They have a booth setup in the upstairs area where the girls can stop by easily on the way to the “snack area” setup in one of the meeting rooms. I didn’t take many photos tonight (it’s been a long day) but I did take a few. The one on the cover of this entry plus a few others below are from tonight. I’ll get more during the upcoming week.
One last thing…I posted via Twitter that it’s confirmed there will be an “All-Star” game on the last day of camp along with cross ice games for those not selected. If you’ve read my U17/U16 camp summary, you know how I feel about this topic.
Tomorrow the girls will have the following schedule:
On Ice
7:00 – 8:00 am 14 Black 7:15 – 8:15 am 15 Green
8:10 – 9:10 am 14 Gold 8:25 – 9:25 am 15 Grey
9:20 – 10:20 am 14 Royal 9:35 – 10:35 am 15 Gold
10:30 – 11:30 am 14 Red 10:45- 11:45 am 15 Black
11:40 – 12:40 pm 14 Green 11:55 – 12:55 pm 15 Red
12:50 – 1:50pm 14 White 1:05 – 2:05 pm 15 Royal
2:15 – 3:45 pm 14 Black/14 Gold 2:30 – 4:00 pm 15 Green/15 Grey
4:00 – 5:30 pm 14 Royal/14 Red 4:15 – 5:45 pm 15 Gold/15 Black
5:45 – 7:15 pm 14 Green/14 White 6:00 – 7:30 pm 15 Red/15 Royal
Off- Ice (Strength and Conditioning)
9:45 – 10:45 am 14 Green, 14 White, 15 Red, 15 Royal
1:30 – 2:30 pm 14 Royal, 14 Red, 15 Black, 15 Gold
4:30 – 5:30 pm 14 Black, 14 Gold, 15 Green, 15 Grey
