Part 4: Camp Meier | SUMMER IN HERISAU

On Tuesday morning, Timo Meier parked his car outside of the Sportzentrum in Herisau, Switzerland. He opened the trunk and grabbed a stick and hockey bag.

Meier, with the bag slung over his shoulder, walked through the same entrance doors he did 25 years ago. Meier, who stepped foot in this facility for the first time at age 4, followed the same path that leads to the locker room. He found the door with the SC Herisau logo, a red and silver bear holding a stick with blue tape, the Swiss Alps behind him and “HERISAU” written below. Meier pushed through the door to enter the locker room.

Meier sat down at a locker stall, just as he did a quarter century before. He laced up his skates, put on his gloves, picked up his stick, walked out of the locker room and headed down the hallway to the sheet of ice. Meier opened the door and stepped down, his blade cutting through the hard ice surface.

The first time Meier ever skated in his life was on this same ice surface. He spent most of his childhood and early life skating, practicing and playing at this rink. It all started here and it all continues here.

Meier skated a lap around the ice, the screeching of his blades on the ice echoing through the rafters of the empty 3,000-seat venue. As he turned a corner, he picked up a loose puck, stick handled and then fired it against the boards, the thud reverberating.

As he returned to the bench, a line of youth hockey players was walking down the runway. They’re all wearing blue, red and green No. 28 jerseys with “TIMO MEIER CAMP” written on the back.

Meier stood at the door and gave each mite a fist bump as they stepped onto the ice and words of encouragement. The kids all hovered around Meier, trying to shout the loudest to garner his attention. One of the camp coaches blew a whistle and the players dispersed.

What followed was about an hour of the kids learning various hockey skills with well-designed drills. They broken up into different groupings while Meier skated around, dropping into each group at times offering advice and support.

It was Day 2 of Timo Meier’s annual summer youth hockey camp. Over 100 kids descended upon Meier’s hometown – Herisau – to his boyhood rink – Sportzentrum – to learn important lessons both on and off the ice. This was the same rink that raised Meier to become an NHL player and Olympian.

At one point in time, Meier was one of those kids. During his youth, he attended summer hockey camps on this same ice, learning these same skills and drills. In fact, one of the camp instructors is Christian Rüegg, who coached Meier in his youth.

“I was able to learn a lot on the ice and develop my hockey skill, but also, a lot of fun memories on this ice,” Meier said. “So that's the thing that we try to implement, the fun part of the game, which is really important at this age, but it's also important once you get to the pro level. I think, things go easier with a smile on your face, and those are the things that we really try to preach and implement, and all the things that we do on the ice at the end of the day, they should be having fun.”

“He always says, ‘Hey kids, listen, have fun.’ I think that’s very important,” said Rüegg, who participates every year at Meier’s youth camp. “You must love what you do. I think that with Timo, when I work with him, it’s fun and he's happy when he can be on the ice.”

This was the seventh year that Meier has held his hockey school. Every year it’s taken place at Herisau’s Sportzentrum, with Meier’s friends and former coaches serving as on-ice instructors and mentors. A total of 108 kids attended the camp this summer, some traveling as far as California. And many kids return year after year after year to take part.  

“It means a lot to me to be able to make a camp like this and have so many kids come from all over the world,” Meier said. “Credit to all the coaches that do an unbelievable job, and obviously the kids that want to come back. So that shows you the people are doing a good job. So, for me, it definitely wouldn't be possible without all the people that help to organize this camp, that are here all week, the coaches, staff, everybody.”

It takes a village to put together a youth hockey camp. And, in a literal fashion, Herisau is a village. Everyone involved in the process have known Meier for a longtime, some his entire life.

“All these people, all my friends here, they know me since I was a little kid,” Meier said. “For them, I’m still little Timo. Still the same person that started playing hockey at 4 and lived my childhood here.”

“Timo loves kids and wants to give something back to them,” said Gian Kaufmann, who grew up in a house next to Meier’s and has known him since they were 3 years old playing ball hockey in the streets. “I think what makes Timo special is because when he was young, I think he remembers, ‘Hey, I was that kid.’ And now he wants to bring it back to the kids. And with this camp, he brings a lot of joy to them and seeing a professional player.”

For Roman Popp, a professional hockey player for SC Herisau who has known Meier for nearly two decades, what stands out about the camp is that many players talk the talk, but with putting together the camp, Meier walked the walk.

“So many players in (soccer), hockey, they talk, just talk. But Timo make,” said Popp, a Herisau native. “He talked about a camp and now he has a camp. That’s so cool. Not just talk, but he make.”

 The talk really began from Meier’s father, Charly, who believed it would be a good way for his son to give back since the younger Meier had taken part in many youth camps during the summer while growing up.

“My dad always liked the idea as well of doing a camp since my parents always made it possible for me to go in a hockey camp during the summer break,” Meier said. “It was always a fantastic time that I had. Always met some players that I was playing against all season and was skating with them during those camps, and we just had an unbelievable time.

“I'm thankful that my parents made it possible for me, to attend those and they really helped me.”

Meier is hoping the children that attend his camp will come away with the same feelings he did, in terms of learned skills, fun and friendships.

“That's the big reason why I do this camp is because I know how much it brought to me, and my friends, my teammates at the time,” he said. “It’s a great way for me to come and spend time with the kids and also feel that joy. That gives me a lot of energy. This is a huge boost and highlight of my summer. Those smiles you see on the ice; it really gives me joy.”

Meier is the living embodiment that it doesn’t matter where you come from – whether from a large city or a small village like Herisau – you can make it to the NHL and/or the Olympics. Meier is the example and he takes that responsibility seriously.

“I try to be a role model for all these kids that have huge goals,” he said. “They want to play professional, and they want to play in the NHL one day. So, I think you’ve got to lead by example the way I try to prepare myself for the season and the way I behave myself. I really try to be my true self when I come here. That you have kids looking up to you, you really want to take advantage and lead the right way.”

It is no accident that Meier has succeeded in hockey. He embodies many of the qualities that are necessary to thrive in the meritocracy of professional sports. It all starts with his work ethic and inner drive. Add to that his attitude, character and professionalism. But perhaps his biggest asset is that he is humble – a testament to his roots and upbringing.

“I don’t know the word in English, but we say bodenständig. That means he stands with both feet on the ground,” Rüegg said. “That's very important to see also for the kids, his character, his mentality. You can go to the NHL when you work hard every day, when you have this goal, you can do it.”

Meier is aware of the impact his presence has on the young kids at the camp. Though he took part in summer youth hockey camps, none of the camps the young Meier attended had NHL or professional players present. But he sees the impact on the kids.

“We didn’t have pros at those camps, I obviously would’ve loved that as a kid,” Meier said of meeting a professional hockey player. “I think the best part for me as an athlete is that you come in and make their faces light up. It’s something that I don’t take for granted and try to really do it as much as I can. It means a lot to me.”

Meier isn’t the only NHL player attending his camp either. Fellow Swiss native Philipp Kurashev, who most recently played for the San Jose Sharks, also takes part every year. At three years younger, Kurashev followed Meier’s career as Timo was breaking into the NHL.

“In Switzerland you always look up to the Swiss guys. He was someone I looked up to growing up,” Kurashev said. “I think it's awesome what he does for not only just this camp, but with his charity and all that stuff. I think he's really almost like a hero for the kids and the people here. So, I'm happy I can be a part of it and help out a little bit.”

On the fifth and final day of camp, Meier parked his car outside of the Sportzentrum. He opened the trunk and grabbed a stick and a hockey bag. Just as he did at 4 years old, he walked through the same doors, down the same hallway to the same locker room and stepped onto the same ice.

Meier grew up in Herisau and in Herisau he remains. When he decided to do a youth hockey camp, there was never a doubt where it would be held.

“This is my home. This is where I spent most of my childhood, in this rink,” Meier said. “And so, to have other kids being here, also having that joy in their face that I had when I was a little boy skating around here, it just kind of brings me back to those beautiful days of my childhood. It really makes all these memories come back of just standing by the rink, watching other kids skate or watching teams play. It was a fantastic time.”

As camp closed out, Meier met with every single one of the 108 kids. He posed for photos, signed autographs, answered questions. One kid even baked him cookies, a parting gift.

“To feel that appreciation from the kids means the world to me,” he smiled.

It was just two decades ago that Meier was one of those kids. A young boy skating on the Sportzentrum ice in a summer camp with a dream to one day play hockey at the highest level. Now, he’s an NHL veteran and an Olympian. A young kid from the village of Herisau achieved it all through pure will. And now, he wants to instill that same mindset in the next generation of Timo Meiers.

“(I want to) show the kids that it doesn't matter where you're from, if you really put your mind to something, you want to achieve something, that you can get there with hard work and determination,” Meier said. “And I think looking at the coaches that I've had in my youth career and the coach (Rüegg) that I work with now doing my camp, those are the things that he always preached to us. To have respect, discipline and work hard. Work harder than the other people to get what you want. And same thing for my parents. They preached that to me at an early age, and I'm thankful for that.”

Meier delivers those same messages to all the kids at his camp. Most importantly, Meier practices what he preaches. He lives up to the values that he advocates.

In other words, Meier doesn’t just talk. He make.

“I try to continue to live that and also show the kids that you have to have fun and really love what you're doing,” Meier said. “I think we're so privileged to play hockey professionally, and to bring the joy into that.

“I enjoy every second of the dream I get to live.”