High Performance Academy Sharpens Skills And Skates

As Vegas Golden Knights fans wait their way through the offseason, the action inside City National Arena has continued to intensify on and off the ice.
On July 9, the Vegas Golden Knights kicked off the High Performance Academy Camp, a three-day youth hockey camp presented by Cirque du Soleil. The camp featured a position-specific format on the ice for Under-14 and Under-12 groups, while incorporating off-ice training through video sessions, workouts and fitness testing. Participants ended each day back on the ice by integrating their new skills into an hour-long situational scrimmage.
The camp saw 40 different forwards, defenseman and goaltenders, many of whom are familiar faces with the Vegas Jr. Golden Knights. Those players are using the summer to build on the team's success at the Under-16 level which won the clubs' first national championship this past spring.

Darren Eliot, the Vice President of Hockey Programming and Facility Operations considers the integration of on-ice and off-ice training to be the primary distinction of the camp itself.
"We call it integrated training modules designed for elite training" said Eliot, "the kids responded really well."
Along with the combination of on-ice and off-ice training, camp goers benefited from the knowledge and experience of the professionals that were leading them.
"The kids really benefited from a concentration of skill development, but also a collection of really high-end coaching," said Eliot.
Joining Eliot throughout the three-day camp was a mix of instructors from the Golden Knights hockey operations department, professional scouting team, and skills coaches from the Jr. Golden Knights program.
In the future, youth hockey players in Southern Nevada can expect to see similar opportunities to improve their game throughout the year. City National Arena is hosting a Learn To Play Hockey Camp July 22-26 to benefit the entry-level player, and a Youth Hockey Camp July 29-August 2 geared towards experienced travel hockey players.
"We're just starting with this and the High Performance Academy was a great kickoff for us," Eliot said.
For more information on youth hockey camps in the future, visit citynationalarena.com.