| A generational assist |
By: Mark Remme
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Posted: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 10:03 pm
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Nine-year-old Mike Varveris passes the puck out of the defensive zone during Monday’s afternoon session at Troy Ward’s Hockey and Sons camp at the Shattuck-St. Mary’s campus. (Mark Remme/Daily News)
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FARIBAULT — Jeff Dick and his 11-year-old son, Jason, are not strangers to Troy Ward’s Hockey and Sons skills camp held at Shattuck-St. Mary’s campus.
For the past three years, the father and son have brought their gear from Maplewood and learned the game together. And the pair see no reason why they won’t return again next year.
Why? It’s the bonding. It’s the time shared on the ice ... It’s the moments that come with seeing a parent lace up the skates right alongside a child.
“The best part is watching the parents do push-ups,” Jason said, smiling.
Ward’s camp is becoming famous for fun-filled weeks not only between parent and child, but also between parent, child and friends. Jeff and Jason Dick have met several friends during their years at Hockey and Sons, including Jed Simmons and his 11-year-old son, Streeter.
The Simmonses, now in their fourth year with the Hockey and Sons camp, found the camp online while they were living in Connecticut. Now Atlanta residents, the father and son often try to coordinate with other friends they’ve met when coming to camp.
“We came out here not knowing a soul; now we’ve made great friends and we’ve brought a lot of friends,” Jed Simmons said.
The sold out camp hosted approximately 80 kids during its Aug. 1-5 session, and it will host another sold out group Aug. 5-9.
Parent-child combinations from across the country make the trek to Faribault for the event, and Ward, who began the camp 11 years ago, said the rate for camp participants who return for additional years is at about 60 percent.
“Once they’re here and they spend that time with their kid, they realize what it captures in their life,” Ward said. “That’s part of it.”
Parents who take part come in all backgrounds of hockey, too. Jeff Dick, for example, hadn’t skated before Jason began playing hockey about seven years ago. Jed Simmons, on the other hand, was more familiar with the ice.
That was part of their reason in joining the camp in the first place.
“I was looking for a camp that I could go to with him, both of us being hockey players and him being a new one,” Jed Simmons said.
And once the Simmonses came to the camp, they wanted to come back.
“It’s a long travel, but it’s worth it,” Streeter Simmons said.
Part of it is Ward’s belief in a family-friendly atmosphere. For instance, he said the majority of his camp directors have kids of their own — some of whom come to the camp and participate as well.
“I think that’s important,” Ward said. “If they come here and do the whole staff thing and can do it with their children, it makes it all that much more important.”
For the campers, the staff’s leadership makes a big difference.
“The coaches on the ice that Troy’s brought together make what we do a lot of fun,” Jed Simmons said. “They coach elite high school, college and professional programs. But the feeling that you get on the ice is that they’re here for you.”
— Sports reporter Mark Remme may be reached at 333-3129. |
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