Today I was invited to travel to St. Cloud State University to coach the goalies who were at the Warrrior camp, a program run by the Defending the Blue Line organization for kids who have parents in the military. It’s a program I have supported in the past and am happy to help with.
The kids stayed at Camp Ripley, near Little Falls and particiated in a variety of military activities. During the day they were bused to the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center at St. Cloud State for their on-ice training.
Many of the goalies who were at this camp have been to the Carroll Goalie School, so it was good to see them again. We worked on their basic skating skills and goalie-specific crease movements. The kids worked hard at improving their skills and had fun.
The mission at Defending The Blue Line is ensuring that children of military members are afforded every opportunity to participate in the game of hockey. They accomplish this by providing free equipment for military kids, hockey camps, special events, and financial assistance for registration fees and other costs associated with hockey.
In 2013, DTBL provided more than $1 million worth of hockey equipment, game tickets, cash grants, and summer camps to military families across the United States and Canada. It’s an incredible achievement for their little organization that still has only one full time and one part time employee. They give special thanks to all of their incredible volunteers, donors, supporters, and amazing military families for making the mission possible.
