Acadia Prep Camp a big hit for campers & instructors!
(Left) Campers being instructed by Notre Dame’s Jeremy Mylymok; (Centre) Campers working on off-ice strength & conditioning with Acadia University’s Elliott Richardson; (Right) Halifax Mooseheads Assistant Coach, Jim Midgley running campers through drills.
Our Acadia Hockey Development Prep Camp kicked off this week with a great group of campers from all over Atlantic Canada for ’05 to ’01 age groups! The campers were treated to top notch instruction from the likes of Athol Murray College of Notre Dame’s coach and hockey coordinator, Jeremy Mylymok; Memorial Cup winning assistant coach of the Halifax Mooseheads, Jim Midgley; Nelson Ayotte, DSc, Strength and Conditioning coach for the past 10 seasons with the St. Louis Blues hockey team. Acadia’s own Elliott Richardson was also on hand to train players on strength and conditioning.
We caught up with camper Alex Power, who came in from St. John’s Newfoundland for the camp, about the competition and his experience at the camp.
Alex Power, of St. John’s, NFLD
“I felt that the level of competition at the camp is very elite. Everyone at the camp is a very skilled and dedicated player which makes up for a very good learning and improving environment. It really makes me want to develop as much as i can to keep up with the players there. It also makes me learn a lot as a person as well, besides from the hockey aspect.
My favorite part of the camp is for sure the practices and drills. I felt every drill required me to focus on the little details of them and make you more alert as a player. I also loved how most of the drills focused on the speed of anything you do, whether is was my passing, skating, or my thinking. Having such a highly skilled group of players with you really helps getting your speed up as well.”
Power concluded saying, “Thanks for having me at the camp this week. Very fun and great hockey.”
For Notre Dame’s Mylymok, he also owns and operates hockey camps throughout Idaho, after a playing career that included 4 yrs in the NCAA Division 1, and 11 season playing professionally in the AHL, ECHL, and IHL.
On top of winning a Memorial Cup with Halifax, Jim Midgley also coached as an assistant coach with the Acadia Axemen from 03-07, before taking on the assistant role with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs from 07-09, prior to joining the Mooseheads. Jim has coached within the Team Canada and Team Nova Scotia programs throughout the past number of years.
Coach Midgley expressed his positive thoughts on the camp saying, “It’s always great to get back to Acadia University to work with coach Burns, his players and the rest of his staff. The skill level, dedication and work ethic of the staff is reflected in the effort the players put in during the camp, and the knowledge they take away. I look forward to working with staff and athletes next summer.”
Ayotte is recognized as one of the top sports performance training coaches in the world and is a level five of the National Coaching Certification Program which is the highest level. Out of one million coaches, only 76 have finished the program since 1974.
Brent Levy of Wolfville, NS
Acadia Axemen head coach Darren Burns wrapped up the camp saying, “It was a fantastic two day camp which brought some of the top kids from the 05 to 01 age group in Atlantic Canada. To be able to host an event like this at Acadia is very exciting to our Hockey Program. It was great to see how excited these young hockey players were to be here.”
