Usually, summer in California means warmer weather to enjoy days at the beach or heading on vacation with schools taking their annual break.

For dedicated hockey players, though, summer is a time to prepare for the next season and get ahead of everybody else. With the extra free time, summer provides the best opportunity for players to work on techniques, develop skills, and improve on their game during time not available before.

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To help these dedicated hockey players, The Rinks has announced the All-World Hockey Institute collection of 2017 camps, along with inline hockey camps for players of all ages and skills levels.

Returning for its 22nd season, the All-World Hockey Institute will be hosting a variety of camps at The Rinks – Anaheim ICE, The Rinks-Lakewood ICE and The Rinks-Westminster ICE. From camps like Sniper Shooting & Scoring to Dominant Defenseman, each camp highlights a different skill to focus on, allowing each player to choose what they want to work on.

“The Rinks summer camps are special in that they give each skater the chance to choose their own path to success,” said The Rinks marketing associate Craig Appleby. “Unlike many other options available, you do not have to go to a standard camp and work on every skill for a little bit of time. Instead, you can choose to focus something that you want to improve or work on, and solely focus on that for the entire duration. Power skating, puck handling and body contact are just some of the large variety we offer. If you have a skill you want to work on, we have a camp for you. “

Back for his 22nd season is world-renowned camp director Rick Hutchinson. With over 20 seasons of experience, Hutchinson has developed a science of running highly-successful programs, including helping The Rinks become a USA Hockey Model Association last year.

“Summer is the best time for skill development,” said Hutchinson. “Kids are out of school, the new season has not started yet, and more rink time is available. This time of year allows players enough time to work on a specific skill set at one time, accelerating the amount of learning each player gains and building their confidence resulting in better-rounded hockey players.”

And while the variety of camps within the All-World Hockey Institute feature challenging programs with professional instruction for all levels of players from Novice to AAA, the highly-acclaimed Anaheim Ducks Youth Camp is a perfect start for beginning hockey players. Designed for kids between the ages of 5-12 years old, it’s open to any skill level with only basic skating skills required. In this camp, kids will spend an unforgettable four days with professional coaches, learning all aspects of the game of ice hockey at The Rinks-Anaheim ICE, which is the official practice facility of the NHL’s Ducks. Each day of the camp consists of on- and off-ice skills, drills, scrimmages, fun and games.

On the inline side, The Rinks-Corona Inline, The Rinks-Irvine Inline and The Rinks-Huntington Beach Inline will all be hosting numerous youth summer inline hockey camps for players of all skill levels. In addition to providing players with personal coaching from The Rinks staff, the camps also include off-rink conditioning and team building exercises. A typical day includes participants starting with individual skill development before jumping into team drills. From there, players will compete in daily scrimmages and competitions before ending the day with hockey trivia and contests for prizes.

For more information on any of the camps mentioned or for more information on The Rinks, visit www.therinks.com/summercamps to find out how you can take your game to the next level.

— Tanner Privia