CHL Rapid City Rush

Inaugural Rush Camp Comes to a Close

Published on July 24, 2009 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rapid City Rush News Release


(Rapid City, SD) - The Rapid City Rush concluded their inaugural Youth Hockey Camp at the Roosevelt Park Ice Arena today. Over 60 campers took part in a final day that included a skills competition and intra-squad game.

"I know what a great experience it is for the campers when they have the opportunity to not only meet some of the Rush players, but to get the chance to learn from them," said Head Coach Joe Ferras. "The camp went very smooth and the campers were excellent on and off the ice. I'm sure it was probably the first time in a while the parents had their children falling asleep at 8 o'clock at night with how hard the kids worked during the day. We are very proud of how committed our players are in the community and they did a tremendous job all week with the kids and I know the campers really appreciated having the opportunity to learn from them and hang out with them in this type of setting."

"All in all, I thought it was a very good camp considering it was our first," said Assistant Coach Mark DeSantis. I thought all of the kids were outstanding. We were expecting beginners out there, but they were way better than we expected and got better as the week progressed. I hope the kids had fun, we tried to make as fun as possible. At the same time, this was an instructional camp, and I hope they learned from it, I hope they appreciated it, and we look forward to see them next summer. You never know, there may be a future Rush player from right here in Rapid City."

"I would like to thank all the staff at Roosevelt and all of the media that came out during the week to give these kids a thrill," continued Ferras. "Special thanks are in order for Brian Dadah from Pauly's Sub Co. for sponsoring our inaugural hockey camp and making sure the campers were very well fed all week concluding with a pizza party on the final day of camp. We're very excited from the success of camp this year and look forward to next year's with the possibility of extending it to two weeks."

Tracy Veazey had two children, Anna and Max, enrolled in the camp and thought the camp was excellent and certainly hoped this would become an annual event.

"The kids had a great time," said Tracy. "Anna was a little on fence about whether to play hockey or not, but she had so much fun and wanted to be here every day. Max, he had a great time playing with kids from North Dakota and Wyoming that he normally wouldn't see. He came home sore every night, yet couldn't wait to come the next day. Neither of them complained at all that it was an all day camp because they were entertained through the entire day. Anna asked ‘will they do this next year?' so I really hope the Rush will continue their camp for years to come."

Myron Sorestad decided to register his son, Brendan for the inaugural event.

"It was really well organized and the kids really enjoyed it," said parent Myron. "You you have a good camp when your kid gets out of bed in morning ready to go as opposed to complaining. Obviously it's a high level of instructors and what I heard from kids is that they're getting positive feedback from the Rush players which makes them work that much harder. I will definitely have Brendan signed up for next year and to be honest, I don't think I have the option not to. I would really like the Rapid City Hockey Association to embrace this great camp. The Rush have their own instructors and facilities and there's no need to go elsewhere for a quality hockey camp."

With the success of the inaugural camp, the Rush will to hold the camp next summer and look to possibly extend the camp to two full weeks.

Check out the Rapid City Rush Statistics

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Central Hockey League Stories from July 24, 2009


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