Prince George, B.C. - Goal scorers beware, Prince George goaltenders now have a secret weapon.

 

World Pro Goaltending wrapped up its goalie camp this weekend at the Elks Centre with the best turn out they have had in five years.

 

37 students took part in the five day camp that included, 3 to 3.5 hours of ice time, one hour per day of dry land training, motivational and visualizing talks and lunch. The cost of the training was $700.00 per student.

 

Do not be mislead with the term “student” however, individuals who took part in the training ranged from 6 to 40 years old. The camp was for any goalie who was interested in improving their technical skills.

 

The head instructor was Tyler Love who is a former Prince George Cougar. Love currently trains players such as Jason LaBarbera, Cory Hirsh, Chris Mason and Carey Price.

 

In order to have a goalie at each station during the camp Love brought Jason LaBarbera from the LA Kings,  Mike Brodeur from the Chicago Blackhawks, Kyle Richter from the Harvard Crimson, Alex Wright from the Prince George Cougars and Damien Ketlo from the Regina Pats to assist as instructors.   

 

Doug Skeates, who helped organize the event says his son has taken part in past World Pro Goaltending camps and recognized the need for the camp to be in Prince George, ”We used to travel out of town for these camps which would cost $2000.00 to $3000.00. It is not only a cost benefit, these camps can improve a goalie by 25 to 30 percent.”

 

The camp offers skills such as butterfly, positioning across the net, angling, how to move within in the crease and using the blocker. Skeates says learning movement is one of the most important skills, “they spent three or four mornings without using any pucks.”

 

Although the camp has traditionally taken place at the Elks Centre, organizers will be looking into the possibility of gaining access to the Coliseum or CN Centre in the future to help solve space restrictions.