There will be some familiar faces taking to the ice in a few weeks at the Sunshine Coast Arena.
Gibsons' native Brad Wingfield will be the lead instructor at the second annual Sunshine Coast Summer Hockey School. The school runs from Aug. 22 to 28.
Ryan Esselmont, an ace certified personal trainer and friend of Wingfield's, will also be back alongside arena programmer and camp coordinator Tom Poulton and local skating instructor Denise North.
And Poulton is hoping some former Sunshine Coast Minor Hockey Association alumni may drop in to lend a hand.
Included in this year's camp will be top-notch instruction, dryland training, power skating and additional outdoor activities such as golf, swimming, soccer and baseball.
Off ice instructors include fitness trainer Sherry Nelsen and Dean Totten, head coach of the provincial qualifying high school senior boys' golf team from Chat Secondary School.
The camp is open to beginning hockey players, tyke and novice, atom, peewee, bantam/midget and goalies, with a camp for elite players on Aug. 27 to 28.
The training/instruction for this program is to develop basic skating skills for beginners or high calibre training for house league minor hockey players or players interested in trying out for the rep hockey program.
"This year both Ryan and Brad will be here for the whole week," said Poulton. "We'll also be rotating Brad and Ryan through the off-ice activities as well. The goal this year is to build on our success from last year. We had 73 players last year and I'd like to see 100 this year."
Wingfield hasn't seen a lot of ice time lately, as he's been busy in the gym rehabbing from a serious leg injury that cut his season short with the Danbury Trashers.
Wingfield was hurt in a game against Kalamazoo last December. He suffered a broken leg as a result of a slew footing incident by Kalamazoo player Josh Elzinga.
"It's been a long road back," Wingfield said. "Right now all the strength seems to be back, but balance and stability is still a problem. I had the rod and screws removed from my leg in June. We start training camp on Sept. 1, but we don't play our first game until Oct. 21, so I'll have lots of time to get into game shape.
"I expect a full recovery. I have two years left on my contract and I expect to be with Danbury and fulfill my commitments."
Wingfield has been on the Coast since May enjoying time with his family while continuing his rehab.
Wingfield said he's looking forward to the camp.
"We had lots of fun last year," he said. "I love working with the kids and giving something back to this community. We had a lot of positive feedback about last year's camp. Hopefully we can build on that, get lots of kids out and have a great week."
For more information on the camp, fees and registration, call Poulton at 604-885-2955 or email [email protected].
