By Kari Cyr
The Hockey Range and Goal Tending Academy is now taking registrations for their summer camp programs.
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Steve Doni, head instructor of the academy, has been teaching hockey for 11 years, and has had 350 goalies graduate through the program.
"I am a goalie by nature," Doni said. "But I teach all positions."
Doni's hockey experience spans 18 years as a player and a coach, and he has taught in the U.S., Europe and across Canada.
He opened the school eight years ago because he wanted to give back to the community.
"The first time I started to play, someone had to teach me," Doni said. "I wanted to give something back to the community."
The school offers dry land training, which helps a student develop flexibility, hand-eye co-ordination, power, agility and balance.
There is also the vicking ice, which is a hard plastic surface the students would skate on.
"The advantage of vicking ice is the students have to work twice as hard," Doni said. "It's resistance training, they improve their power and speed."
The summer camps run for two weeks in August. They include an all-day camp for goalies, a half-a-day goalie camp and a summer-conditioning camp for forwards and defensemen. The range is open all year long for students to sharpen their skills.
According to Doni, the game of hockey is always changing. Players are becoming better trained and are bigger and faster; so it is important for the players and the instructors to update their skills.
All the instructors at the school are experienced players from the AAA level or above and have previous teaching experience.
Doni says he not only trains the students in the fundamentals of hockey but also nurtures their enjoyment for the game.
"If you don't enjoy the game, then why play," said Doni.
"We keep the student and instructor ratio very low and we give the students the tools to be successful in the net."
Anyone is welcome to attend the school no matter what age or experience.
"I've had kids that have never been on skates before. It's neat to see how much they improve, it's quite rewarding."
