Parents of Pierre Area Youth Hockey Players,

The Black Hills Hockey Academy is proud to announce we will be coming Pierre South Dakota August 3rd through the 7th, 2015.

While the summer months are a great opportunity to get away from the rink and recharge the hockey batteries, they also present an opportunity to improve your skating and puck handling skills so that once next season rolls around you have the edge on the other players in your age group. One of the greatest feelings I get as a coach is when a parent calls me to tell me their son or daughter made the team they were trying out for, and thanking me for the work we did in the summer to get them to that point. The right summer camp will go a long ways in fine-tuning your hockey skills and keeping you at the top of your game during the long summer months. At BHHA we are not your average “assembly line” hockey school. All of our camps are run right here in local South Dakota, and that means we can focus all of our resources and energy into putting on the absolute best experience for your child. I would feel confident putting our camp up against any of the larger camps in the bigger cites, and saying that the athletes will benefit as much if not more from our camp. Each year we have seen the same faces walk through the doors of the Roosevelt Park Ice Arena in Rapid City for the Hockey Academy. 2015 will mark the second straight year that all of our Rapid City camps have completely sold out. We have had many of those young athletes coming all the way from Pierre. Most of the kids that have attended once will rank our hockey academy at the very top of their list of things they would like to do in the summer.

Here is what a few people have had to say about past camps:

"This will be Alex's third summer at Black Hills Hockey Academy summer camp. He is already counting down the days until camp starts! As parents, we are always pleased to see how Riley and his staff encourage our young skater to grow at his own pace as a hockey player. Each year Alex leaves camp with improved skating and stick handling skills and more confidence, which carries over into the fall season. Riley and his staff show a genuine interest in helping our son reach his goals."

-Pete and Christie Vonderau

“The coaches are invested and interested in the kids and give specific advice for improving. They are more personable than most instructors I’ve had. They are organized and come to camp with a plan and also have great drills. I like to focus and be pushed to improve. The numbers were right for instruction and individual attention.”

-Sara Bachand, Pierre, SD

“As a parent, I liked the length of camp and ice time for the money I paid. We will be coming back next year and will recommend it to fellow players in the Pierre area.”

-Carla Bachand, Pierre, SD

*****Please check out the website for pictures from last year’s camp.

http://www.bhhockeyacademy.com/gallery.php

August SuperCamp

The on-ice portion of our August Supercamp will again focus on power skating, puck handling, shooting and skill work. Hockey power skating teaches the player proper skating technique, including endurance, agility, rhythm, balance, and strength. As you start to incorporate these skills your game, performance is enhanced and injuries are minimized. The earlier these skills become a habitual part of the player's practice and game, the more likely the player is to succeed in the sport of hockey. The process of becoming the complete hockey player is a multi-edged sword: Without proper technique, no amount of ice time will help a player optimize his or her skills. An hour each day is dedicated to off ice games and also drills that players will be able to use the rest of the summer. At BHHA we make learning fun! A big part of our program is having the kids learning and improving through a variety of drills and small games. Each participant is sure to have a special week they will remember forever.

Instructors

This camp will be headed up by the CHL's 2012 Defenseman of the Year, Riley Weselowski. Riley is a current professional hockey player with the Rapid City Rush where he helped the team win the 2012 Ray Miron Cup. Riley's background includes playing college hockey at Division 1 Bemidji State University where he earned All-CHA honors, his junior season. He also played with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. Riley has over 10 years experience as an instructor and has worked with athletes of all ages. He currently runs camps all throughout the summer in Rapid City, working with upwards of 150 skaters per year.

Other instructors will include current and former professional ice hockey players that will be flying to South Dakota from all around Canada and the United States for the Pierre camp, and the Rapid City camps that will be held the two weeks following.

Our Pierre Camp will be grouped as follows. Mites and squirts will be grouped together as group one, and PeeWee’s up to Bantam and JV will skate together as group 2. Each group will start the morning off with a 75-minute ice session, followed by an hour of off ice dryland training/games. We will then head back into the ice arena for lunch and video/lecture. The day will conclude with another 75 minute ice session. That is 12 and a half hours of on ice instruction throughout the week.

The schedule will look like this:

Registration

Registration fees received before July 1st will also include a personalized jersey with the athlete’s name and number on the back. We will be getting the jerseys from the same company that makes the Rapid City Rush jerseys.

Cost

The cost of this year’s camp is $350 for skaters and $210 for goalies. Goalies will only be accepted for the PeeWee/Bantam/JV group, and we will cap that group at 4 goalies. The Mites and Squirts groups will not have goalies on the ice. Families with 3 or more campers are eligible for a price reduction of $150 per skater for the 3rd and 4th skaters. So a family of three would pay full price for the first two skaters and only $210 for each participant after that. Both groups will be capped at 24 skaters to allow for ideal student/teacher ratio and best use of the on ice time. Participants will need to bring their own lunch daily.

I look forward to meeting each of you August 3rd through the 7th at the Black Hills Hockey Academy. Again, we will be capping the number of students for each age group to ensure an ideal student to teacher ratio; so do not put off signing up. You can sign up for the 2015 BHHA through the PAYSA website at www.skatepierre.com. Please feel free to contact either Craig Davis or myself with any of your questions or comments.

Please check out our website for more information on the hockey academy. www.bhhockeyacademy.com.

Please do not register for the Pierre camp on the web site.

Yours in hockey,

Riley Weselowski

Black Hills Hockey Academy

[email protected]

218-290-1433

www.bhhockeyacademy.com