Charlotte Swanton is no stranger to training.
As one of the top scorers in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, she knows that success comes with hard work.
That’s why she’s creating a dryland hockey camp in Greater Victoria. She wants to coach young girls and help them become high-level athletes— just like her. The camp takes place on July 7 and is for six-to-12-year-olds.
“When I was little, I really wanted to get serious about hockey … and there wasn’t really any program specifically for girls,” she said.
“I want to give back to the girls what I wish I could have (had) when I was their age.”
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For training, the girls are split into two groups, based on age. Group one, for ages six to nine, starts at 3:30 p.m. Group two, for ages 10 to 12, starts at 4:30 p.m.
The sessions are an hour long, and have two types of training: dryland exercise and puck skills. Both are 30 minutes each.
Swanton said that she’s coached plenty of hockey in the past, but this will be the first time that she has complete control over the drills and exercises. Her coaching plan with the kids is to be laid back and go with the flow.
“I feel keeping it a bit chill and knowing that they’re younger so they’re not going to get it right away, and … trying to just work with them when they don’t get something right off the get go.”
After the camp, Swanton is heading to New Brunswick to play university hockey for Mount Allison. She’s excited to be progressing along her hockey career, as she has big plans for her future.
“I’m super excited to play there. And I’m hoping I can make Team Canada at one point in my hockey career, and play professional women’s hockey.”
The summer hockey program is eight weeks long, and is located behind Willway Elementary School on Mount Wells Drive in Victoria. It costs $105 per person.
People interested in the camp can sign up on Swanton’s website. It also holds more details about equipment needed and specific exercises: charkyhockeyperformance.godaddysites.com/programs .
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