They came from all over the State of Hockey with one goal: the desire to get better.
Matching themselves against some of the most talented shooters in the country, 50 male and female goaltenders between the ages of 15 and 17 spent four days at the National Hockey Center on the campus of St. Cloud State University participating in the 16th annual Minnesota Hockey CCM High Performance Dave Peterson Goalie Camp.
To add a little spice to the goalies’ lives, they were joined by attendees of a high performance shooter camp.
Players were invited to both camps based on how they performed during the spring high performance camps, which were used to select players to compete at the USA Hockey Player Development Camps.
According to local goalie guru Steve Carroll, who ran the camps, there was no shortage of interest as the shooting camp filled all 50 slots in about 10 minutes and the goalie camp followed suit a few minutes later.
“The kids and the coaches really enjoyed the camp. It was really a fantastic learning experience with passionate coaches getting a chance to work with really talented kids,” Carroll said. “That made for a tremendous combination.”
Camps like this have had a dramatic impact on the quality of the goaltending pool in the state, Carroll said, by allowing talented youngsters to learn from some of the most passionate goalie coaches in the country.
“Our goaltending pool has risen dramatically over the last five to 10 years,” Carroll said. “There are a lot of great goaltending training programs throughout the state and a number of those coaches came to our camp. It’s a great way to share ideas and for kids to hear from a variety of great coaches. There are a lot of different perspectives and ideas to incorporate into the game, which makes for better goalies.”