Summer Hockey Skills Camp

Overview

The program is modeled on proven elements of the Greg Carter European Hockey School summer programs in Massachusetts, adapted to fit our community, our facility, and a pilot-scale schedule of two sessions per week.

The program will run Mondays and Wednesdays for five weeks, beginning the week of July 20 and concluding the week of August 17. Sessions run from 12:00 PM to approximately 2:30 PM, with scheduled breaks.

The goal is simple: keep local players on the ice through the summer, deliver structured individual skill development that is otherwise only available hours away, and build a foundation for a larger annual summer program in future years.

Program Philosophy & Training Model

The curriculum borrows its structure from the individual skill development (ISD) approach used by the Greg Carter summer hockey schools, which have operated successfully for over three decades. Their model centers on six trainable pillars, often called the CARTER Method:

• Control — Players develop command of their skates, stick, and the puck in all situations.

• Agility — Quickness, balance, and the ability to change speed and direction.

• Reflex — Reading and reacting to pucks, players, and pressure.

• Technique — Correct mechanics for skating, stickhandling, passing, and shooting.

• Edge — Edge work as the foundation of all skating, taught every single session.

• Retention — Repetition that builds muscle memory so skills hold up at game speed.

Program Structure

• Duration — Five weeks (10 total sessions), beginning the week of July 20, 2026 and ending the week of August 17, 2026. Final session: Wednesday, August 19.

• Program days — Mondays and Wednesdays.

• Session time — 12:00 PM to approximately 2:30 PM, including two scheduled breaks. Check-in opens at 11:45 AM.

• Participants — Youth players ages 7–18 in the MCHC program area, grouped on the ice by age and ability. Players must have sufficient skating ability to perform the drills. Capacity: a maximum of 40 players.

• Registration fee — Club members register for $300. There is no drop-in rate.

• Skating ability (honor system) — Registration works on an honor system: parents confirm that their player has the skating ability to perform the drills without constant assistance from a coach, junior counselor, or program director.

• Selection & wait list — Registration is limited to 40 players, selected on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once the 40-player maximum is reached, registration remains open, but additional players are placed on a wait list.

• Out-of-town registration — Depending on registration numbers, the McKenzie County Hockey Club may open registration to out-of-town club members who wish to register, provided those players have sufficient skating ability to perform the drills on the ice.

• Facility — McKenzie County hockey facility, Watford City, ND. Ice time and all on-ice training equipment provided by MCHC.