Ex-NHL players to share skills, faith

By SHARI L. BERG Eagle Staff Writer

June 03, 2004 Last Updated: January 06, 2005 12:14 PM Religion

WARRENDALE - The opportunity to learn hockey tricks from Laurie Boschman, John Vanbiesbrouck and Troy Loney may draw them to the program, but they'll be learning about more than how to improve their slap shots and block goals.

That's the hope of Joe Pajer, one of the planners for the first Christian Hockey Camp in the Pittsburgh area.

The camp is endorsed by Hockey Ministries International, a program that uses hockey to teach Christian values and beliefs.

The camp is for players ages 6 to 13, regardless of their skill level. The camp is open to both girls and boys.

"We are very excited about being able to incorporate our Christianity into the world of hockey," Pajer said.

Volunteers, including former professional hockey players like Loney, Vanbiesbrouck and Boschman, will help campers learn both hockey skills and Christian values and beliefs.

Some of the skills taught at camp include power skating, individual skills, team skills, dryland training, sports recreation and Christian training.

Each camp also has a goaltending instructor. For the Warrendale camp, that will be Vanbiesbrouck.

Loney, who was a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins during their 1992 Stanley Cup win, said he is excited to participate in the camp.

"Joe (Pajer) asked me to do it," Loney said. "He got the idea to do it and it's really turned into a great group."

Loney said he has participated in other Christian hockey programs and is eager to share both his hockey expertise and his Christian faith with campers.

Loney said he knows some participants will be drawn to the camp by the famous NHL names associated with it, but he will use that interest to further the true meaning of the camp.

"The hockey is kind of secondary," Loney said. "It's a way to attract kids to teach them Christian values and beliefs."

Pajer said while it's great the camp has the three ex-pros to help, children were signing up for the camp before their involvement was announced.

"We're pretty clear about it being a Christian camp," Pajer said. "We had 95 kids signed up prior to the NHL players being announced."

In addition to the hockey portion of the camp, participants also will have the chance to do other camp-related activities like biking and hiking. Live bands and speakers also will be part of the daily events.

To date, the program has raised more than $10,000 through corporate and private sponsors and has the support of 10 churches.

Volunteers still are needed for the camp, Pajer said.

Four more counselors are needed for the non-hockey portions of the program. Counselors must be between age 18 and 35, male and Christian, Pajer said. They would have to be available for all five days of the camp.

Anyone willing to volunteer should e-mail Pajer at Joe.Pajer@marconi.com.

Youth bands also are needed for the camp as entertainment. Pajer hopes to feature a different band each day.

The camp is being held July 26 to 30 at Bladerunners Ice Complex in Warrendale.

Cost is $299 for the camp, which runs from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, with one sleepover. Scholarships are available to those who would like to participate but are financially unable to do so, Pajer said.

Only 130 participants will be accepted into the program. To date, 100 already have signed up.

For information on the camp or scholarships, or to register, call 724-444-4427.

Information also can be found at www.hockeyministries.org.