As noted philosopher Forrest Gump once said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get." When a hockey player is enrolled in a Suburban Hockey School summer program, he or she should expect to know what they are going to get, and they should expect it will be a great experience.

"One of our goals is to try to provide the player and the parents with as much information about the program before they even register, so that they can make an educated decision," says SHS Director Lyle Phair.

That process starts with the summer hockey school brochure.

"We try to answer any question that might be asked, right in the brochure, before it is even asked," said Phair. "Each year we really take a look at the brochure to make sure that we are putting good information in there for parents to read. It might sound a little simplistic, but based on our experience over the past 30 years, we know that parents want to know what we do, how we do it, why we do it that way, who will be the instructors doing it, and where and when it will be done. And we have to present it in a manner that is easy to read and understand."

"But we also know that there will still be questions, and we welcome those questions," says SHS Director Tom Anastos. "There shouldn’t be any surprises for people. They should know what to expect. And we should exceed those expectations when we run the program."

Upon enrolling in the program, participants receive a card in the mail confirming the enrollment. Then, about two weeks prior to the start of the class, a packet of information is sent out containing the curriculum outline for each day of each class, a checklist of what to be sure to bring for on-ice and off-ice activities, and a registration letter and map indicating where to go, and when to be there.

"As coaches we know that is important to cover all of the bases before the game even starts," says Phair. "The more prepared the players and their parents are for the classes, the smoother they will run which will result in a more positive experience for everyone."

So what should parents and players expect?

"That depends on the age group," said Anastos. "Instructional hockey programs have changed considerably over the last decade or so. Not that many years ago, kids never even started attending hockey schools until they were 9 or 10 years old. Now they are starting at 5 and 6. The classes for mini mites and mites are completely different than they are for the squirts, pee wees and bantams."

Mini Mite (ages 5-6) classes run an hour and a half with half of each class devoted to skating skills, and the other half to puck skills. Skills are taught and reinforced through a series of skill games, designed to get the players to accomplish the tasks at hand, while ensuring that they are having a fun time. The Mite (ages 6-8) program features two hours of on-ice time, divided equally between age-appropriate skating and puck skills, with a healthy dose of fun mixed in as well.

"At the younger ages it is all about creating good habits, habits that are essential as a player grows and develops," says Phair. "Those kids just want to play. They have to be active. Our approach is to make sure they are involved and on the go, but at the same time that we are teaching and reinforcing those very important habits. Things like holding their stick properly, when to have one hand and when to have two hands on their stick, falling and getting up, knee bend and balance, edgework for turning and stopping, good striding mechanics, getting a feel for the puck and how to handle it, pass it and shoot it in different situations with their head up. And then doing it all a little faster each day."

All other classes for girls and boys, ages 9 through 16, feature a day that is a little longer, and are geared more toward fine-tuning individual skills and introducing new skills and concepts as players are ready to meet those challenges. Each class is divided into two on-ice sessions, with the first session of each day focusing on skating skill development, and the second session building upon those skating skills, by adding pucks, situations and competition where the players can put their skills to the test. An off-ice session between the classes varies each day and will consist of video analysis of players’ skills, lectures, written testing and hockey-oriented dryland physical training.

"Playing hockey is really a work in progress," says Anastos. "You don’t take a class and master those skills. You will improve those skills and build upon them, but you won’t master them. Occasionally, we get parents who comment that their player ‘has already done that’ in terms of the curriculum in a particular class. Ironically, some kids stop attending hockey schools when they are 10 and 12, right at the time when they are best able mentally and physically to get the most out of the experience. It is all about building upon and enhancing what you can already do, taking that next step. That’s what you should expect."

As for expectations, players attending SHS this summer should be ready to experience some skills, some smarts, some sweat and some smiles.