iTrain Hockey Camp

So, like, you've seen this guy before.

His name is Sean Walker and, on Instagram, his iTrain Hockey account pumps out what I'd consider the best hockey content out there.

Sorry Jeremy...

Every reel is valuable instruction, from start to finish.

Every single one. It's crazy.

If you're like me, you may have even sent your kid an Instagram message with one of his clips attached. When it comes to hockey instruction, I'd put him at the top of the list when it comes to quality from content producers.

Is he just a social media celebrity?

Is it all phony hype?

Well, we found out first hand and I'm thrilled to report that his videos that you've seen on social media are NOT pumped up hype videos.

They're not him mugging for the camera.

They're not staged or scripted.

He IS that guy. 100%

So, in May of 2024, I signed up my oldest son, Duncan, nearly 15 years old, for one of his sessions.

It was a three hour event on a Thursday night for ages 11 thru adult and limited to 30 participants.

The advertised theme was skating agility with puck control for the first hour, passing for the second hour, and then offensive and defensive team and game tactics for the third hour.

I was a little aprehensive about the size of the group -- a one coach to 30 player ratio with that wide of an age range is generally a recipe for disaster but we've worked with a couple skills coaches in the past that have been able to bridge that gap effectively so I was willing to give it a go.

And, since I'm a hockey snob, apparently, I'm never keen on anything that advertises itself with, "All ages and levels are welcome as long as you are capable of skating forwards and backwards from one end of the ice to the other fairly quickly and have previous hockey playing experience."

I mean, we've all been there.

You know, when there's that one or two players that didn't think the prerequisites, written or unwritten, applied to them and just can't keep up and deep six an entire session for everyone.

It was a concern.

At the same time, I love hockey so much that I truly appreciate trainers at this high of a level working with players of all skill levels.

There's no reason a C-level player shouldn't have access to higher end training or the the ability to work with great coaches so, for that, thumbs up to Sean Walker and his iTH Training Camps for not being of the "invite-only" variety.

He doesn't bill these as "elite only" camps...but does warn that he's going to run it like an elite level practice.

And he did.

He didn't lower the pace for a second. He didn't stop and wait for anyone.

And he masterfully did it without making anyone on the ice noticeably uncomfortable.

As for the age range, well, I was a little anxious about that going in too.

We've worked with other trainers in small groups and there's little worse than 4-5 bantams showing up and then a mid-range squirt rolls in at the last moment.

Drill buster, right there.

Anyway, on to the experience...

So, we get there an hour or so early and Sean is out on the ice with the younger age group so we watch for bit.

Even before we pushed the door open to the rink, I could hear his familiar bark and, yeah, I was impressed.

He commands attention...and he gets it.

Like, seeing him control 30ish mite and squirt aged kids in the third hour of their session was really something. I was feeling pretty good about the choice we'd made to sign up for this thing at the last minute.

On that note, it was funny, one of his videos came up on my Instagram feed, I watched it, I forwarded it to my two oldest kids, and then thought...I know he's Toronto based and those are my stomping grounds...I wonder if we could line it up to get the kids to skate with him when we're up there anyway?

And then after three minutes of looking into it, I saw that he was going to be a little over an hour away...in 5 days.

Well, that's convenient!

So, we get to the rink, my kid gets out and heads to the locker room.

He's almost 15 so, like, I'm little more than driver and financier at this point. I sit in the lobby or the stands.

As other players are rolling in, you bet I'm sizing them up. Most seemed of the peewee age.

In my head, I'm kinda hemming and hawing, and then a few bantam aged kids walk in with bags from teams I've heard of.

Not great teams, not teams my son has played against, but at least teams I'm familiar with...

Did I mention I've openly allowed myself to drift into hockey snob territory, and accepted it too?

Then an adult came in -- and they weren't there for mens league. He Was there for this skills session and I was like, okay, this is trending the right direction.

It's all good.

Looked to be around my age -- mid to late forties.

I stroll back in to the arena, sit in the stands, and watch the younger player session wrapping up and the kids all come off the ice with the parents all crowded around like player parents of that age seem to do.

Sean comes off after moving the nets for the zamboni and is signing pucks and sticks and taking photos with anyone that wants one.

Even saw a few moms get in there for selfies with him.

Nothing felt rushed -- he was taking the time to interact with players and parents.

He is a social media celebrity.

He truly is. And he's mastered that craft.

But he also delivers the goods.

This wasn't like getting photos with Coach Chippy, Nasher, or the On the Bench guys.

They're all gimmicks -- Sean Walker is a real skills coach.

After a number of photos, he went off to the locker rooms of older group and gave them a bit of a hype speech and told them to hop on the ice, super short warm-up, and be ready to go.

And we're off!

So there were 25-ish players ranging from first year peewee up to that guy that appeared to be my age.

Sean quickly broke them up into four groups of 6 or 7 players each and my son landed in the oldest kid/adult group.

You know, like any camp hockey, there were a few groups of kids that were all clearly there from the same team and were treating it like a fun social gathering. Boy, they weren't ready the pace...and figured that out really quickly.

I was thankful my kid was at the "big kid" table...but it quickly became apparent that my kid was more accustomed to Sean's pace and style than many of the other players.

And as kids were flopping all over and falling down trying to do the drills, I think that's where Sean honed in on the kid in the light blue jersey, asked his name, and started using Duncan as a demonstrator.

It was a transition and crossover combo drill with a step where you were supposed to utilize ALL of your edges to stop.

Details, right?

Most kids hockey stop with their outside or front leg.

Kids that have been coached correctly, though, slam on the brakes with both feet -- I'm pretty sure that's what initially caught his eye. Duncan stops hard...with both feet.

I'm filled with pride in the stands over stuff like that but it's been a recurring theme with him for years. I'm not going to say he seeks a teacher's pet role when he's on the ice for practice...but he tends to land there.

Coaches notice kids that are paying attention and are capable.

It's coachablity.

Really, it's as simple as that.

So the first hour consisted of skating drills.

Real tight, small area -- blue line to center line -- acceleration, stops and starts, crossovers, and transitions with and without the puck.

Excluding the acceleration piece, those things are in Duncan's wheelhouse due to all of the outstanding coaches he's had in the past that focused on skating being the base for every hockey player.

But the video initially that got this all rolling for us, the one I forwarded to him for the umpteenth time, was one of iTH's videos about taking 5 quick strides to get going...and that just so happened to be the very FIRST drill they did.

Like, even before the slam on the brakes drill.

Music to my ears!

This is why we registered for this camp!

The three regular speed strides through the neutral zone isn't strong enough for your level -- it's gotta be five. The top players are explosive because they all take five!

And I'll tell you what -- you can send a video of Sean telling your kid to do that a million times -- I have, to three kids, and still none of them actually do it.

But put him six feet away from them in real life...and it's amazing what occurs!

I'm not going to claim that my kid accelerates through the neutral zone like a Tesla now...or that he'll even repeat what I witnessed the other night again this weekend in his games...but for a solid 35 minutes as Sean was barking out instruction and encouragement, my three-strider was making five quick ones.

That's what we were here for.

And, after that first hour of skating drills -- they did a zamboni run after each hour -- my son came back from the locker room specifically to tell me, "He's just as impressive in person as he is in the videos."

For a teenager to say something like that, well, you're making a really solid impression. That's some next level praise, right there.

Teenagers don't frequently say nice things about anyone.

The second hour started just like the first -- a 20 second warm-up and, boom, right into it.

He sent the group to separate parts of the ice and had them pair up with someone.

My son's usually pretty good with requests like that, always mindful that good partner makes a huge difference.

He paired up with the adult.

I appreciate stuff like that too -- how awkward would it have been for the lone adult out there to be the guy without a partner? My kid stepped up quick.

I don't know if it's because he didn't want to pair up with one of the teenagers or what...but I could appreciate his quick alliance. That older guy could've been me!

It was a little herky jerky with all the times Sean blew the whistle, woah, woah, woah...in some cases after a single pass between partners...but it was ALWAYS because the kids either weren't doing it correctly, weren't doing it with enough intensity, or he wanted to showcase a specific player or pair that was just nailing it.

Sean had Duncan demonstrate a bunch of the passing drills with him and I caught a few on video.

The video isn't super exciting by any stretch and almost makes it appear there's a lot of standing around -- there isn't -- but if you're on the fence on going to one of these sessions, it gives you an idea of what it'll look like mid-session.

Don't be nervous. It's super inclusive...but also high intensity.

And, while short, my terrible video -- the audio, anyway -- showcases Sean's style.

What you've seen on Instagram is exactly what you're going to get.

That's him. He's real.

And, sure, that might make it sound like you should just have your kids watch the videos on Instagram for free...but, c'mon, none of us really want our kids spending more time staring at the phone.

The energy and enthusiasm Sean brings -- along with his instruction, cadence, and clear demonstration right in front of them -- is where the value lies.

Kids will listen because they've seen him on their phones -- he's famous to them -- and he's really good at what he does and it's obvious.

I mean, I've written articles on here about how making hard passes isn't even a skill, anyone can do it, but it's still something so few players actually do.

He's the perfect vessel to deliver the message.

Confidence is everyting -- I say that all the time. Sean Walker oozes confidence and spreads it.

Third hour was offense and defense tactics.

For some kids, I've sure this was a learning experience but for a 15 year old defenseman, defending a first year bantam or a guy my age on a one-on-one was old hat.

Not much of a challenge.

Going up against opponents of that type in the o-zone wasn't exactly super valuable for him either...

But...

Sean also demonstrated a number of zone entries with puck protection and it was impossible to overlook how smooth he was.

Same deal, on the car ride home, my son was like, "Did you see that toe drag and then pull behind move and chip he used to split the D?"

Yeah, I saw it. I'm glad you saw and absorbed it too.

So smooth.

For the younger players, I appreciated how he explained where to pass the puck and in which situations.

Front leg, tape, lefty, righty, etc.

I've found with my younger kids, they make passes on the rush like it's a video game -- just throw it in that general direction.

But the correct way is to put the puck where the receiver can fire a shot or make a move immediately.

A 15 year already knows this...so that part wasn't super valuable for him...but should have been for a majority of the skaters.

This was also the portion where he went over a topic I've sent my kids the video about before.

No backhands.

Ever.

Don't pass with the backhand.

Don't receive with the backhand.

Don't shoot with the backhand.

Backhands are to be used in last ditch emergency situations only.

And then he had the kids doing zone entries as pairs and it was stunning to me how many kids were struggling, you know, when both were on their off side, trying to pass to one another without using the backhand.

Kids were falling down trying to make the adjustment.

Other kids were attempting backhand one timers cause they couldn't sync their brain with their body. It's a tough ask.

You don't see that issue in midget hockey much, kids kinda figure it out, but, wow, if squirts and peewees to wrap their heads around that, look out!

Most of the runs were sloppy and that was to be expected -- it's not easy to undo a bad habit over a dozen or so runs with a partner you don't really know -- but the instruction was there and the kids were definitely making an effort.

His main message throughout was speed and power in every aspect.

Great job -- now do it faster.

Just like his videos -- speed, speed, speed, power, power, power.

At the end of the session, like he had with the younger group, he signed items and posed for pictures.

As a professional photographer -- and I'm not sure it was a concious decision on his part, like, doing it on purpose -- but I appreciated that he always positioned himself in a way that the background of the photo would always be complimentary.

Not cluttered.

Not, like, with an obvious crowd waiting their turn in the backgroud.

There was crowd...but he made sure your memory stored on your phone would make it look like you were the only player there.

Great marketing aside, that's huge.

And it's that skillset that allows him to connect with players in a 1:30 coach/player ratio so effectively.

You matter. You're important.

When he comes around to our neck of the woods or we're up Toronto -- I'll have both of my teenagers on the ice with him.

Best $200ish USD I've put into hockey in a long time.

Check out their camp schedule here.

If there's a single complaint I have regarding the skills session...it's that he was wearing a NY Yankees hat on the night of a Maple Leafs playoff elimination game!

I get it though -- when in New York...

Go Leafs Go!

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