An epic week of female hockey took place last week with the first All Girls Hockey Camp. The event was also a collaboration of female entrepreneurs in the community.
Meg Leblanc, a co-creator of the event, said that it was a successful first year.
“It was our first year, and honestly, I thought it ran really smoothly. Everyone was happy. I was very proud of what we created, but I will definitely take all the feedback, and I’m always open to more feedback on the camp for future years.”
“We had so many girls come out, and just the entire community, everyone coming together. There were so many events and so many parts to the camp, and it took so many people to make it a success, and everything went smoothly, and it was a great week.”
LeBlanc, an avid hockey player, taught skills to kids on the ice and focused on off-ice development work.
She said a highlight for her was seeing the progress the athletes made during the sessions.
“That’s always my favourite part of hockey camp. And then on day one after the summer off-season and then getting to see where all the progress are done.”
For LeBlanc, bringing a female-focused camp was important as it wasn’t something that was available to her. She noted that it was still great to take part in co-ed events, but it wasn’t the same environment as having everyone get ready in the dressing room and get pumped up.
“It was fun, and everyone is on the same page, and you’ll get to compete against competition that’s fair, and what you would do during a normal hockey season.”
With that in mind, Meg LeBlanc Fitness, along with Lemon Wedge Marketing Group, put together a program that would benefit female athletes in a variety of ways. She added that it was also inspiring to work with various independent entrepreneurs in the community.
“Hockey development is very important at hockey camp. That’s one of our main goals here, but our camp is more than just a hockey camp. It’s also about this thing as a person as well and becoming and growing into a young lady, who’s respectful and has all the components of a good athlete and a good person,” said LeBlanc. “So it’s important, you know, to have a coaching there, that high-level coaching there to provide good products on the ice, but then to add in all the other women that bring that extra component to the camp.”
Overall, she said she was happy with how the event turned out.
“Just to have that opportunity to provide young ladies with the same experience that most little boys would get out of hockey camp was. That was a really cool moment for me, is to see them all actually enjoying it and having fun and laughing and not feeling uncomfortable ever.”