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The CCM High Performance Girls 14 and 15 Development Camps concluded this week in St. Cloud, MN. Over 220 of the top girls’ hockey players in Minnesota participated in the week-long camps, which provided on- and off-ice training with high school and college coaches.

The camp serves as the final evaluation opportunity for the Girls 15 players before selections are made for USA Hockey’s National Player Development Camps, but if you ask the camp leaders, the true focus of the camp is providing high level training to help players reach their potential down the road.

“We’re a development camp, and we really have that focus,” said Girls 15 Development Director, Amber Fryklund. “We believe in what the ADM represents and the mission of the ADM and developing players in Minnesota.”

“Not only the kids that move onto National Camp, but everyone in the HP process.  Our goal is to make sure kids are developing and learning new skills and continuing to get better.”

Whether it’s learning how to properly strength train during dryland sessions, a new technique or concept on the ice, a guest speaker at dinner or special appearances by high profile players like Hannah Brandt who have been through camp before, everything is designed to inspire, motivate and guide the development of players once they leave.

“Development is a process,” said Fryklund, who is also an assistant coach at Bemidji State University. “It’s not a destination. We’re really driving that message home with kids and keeping it simple. It’s not complicated. Shooting pucks and working on their game off the ice in the summer time. All of those things they can do on their own.”

One of the key ways the camp delivers that message is by having each team’s coaching staff host individual evaluation sessions with each player.

“Each staff meets with the players individually on the Wednesday before camp ends to talk to the players about their week,” said Fryklund. “The coaches are able to give them feedback on things they can continue improving on and things they did well at camp during the week. The players are able to kind of reflect on their week with the coaches as well.”

The feedback sessions, which are designed to be more of a positive, back-and-forth conversation than a report card, span topics from coachability and attitude to hockey sense, puck handling and shooting.

The coaches also encourage team counselors to join in on the sessions. Since all of the counselors are current college players who have been through the HP process recently, they serve as great mentors for the young players and often provide additional insight on the experiences the players will go through in the coming years.

“These players at camp are 14 and 15 year olds so everyone at camp can get better at everything as a hockey player,” said Fryklund. “Really, we just want to make sure the kids have a great experience at camp; that they learn new things and can leave here being a better player, a better teammate and know how to continue working on their game.”