Alright, let’s talk about trying to find hockey camps up in Maine. It felt like a whole project, honestly.
So, the whole thing started ’cause my sister ropes me into everything. Her kid suddenly decided hockey was life, and guess where they were vacationing? Maine. And guess who got tasked with finding a decent summer camp there while they were visiting family? Yep, me.
First Steps: The Great Google Dive
Naturally, I just started typing stuff into the search bar. “Hockey camps Maine,” “youth hockey summer Maine,” you know the drill. Seemed simple enough. Wrong. What came back was a mess. Some looked like they hadn’t updated their sites since maybe 2010? Others were super slick but gave you zero real details about, like, the actual day-to-day stuff. It was all “elite training” this and “potential unlocking” that. Buzzwords galore.
I spent a good couple of evenings just clicking around, getting more confused. Some camps were clearly for super advanced kids, travel team types. Others seemed more like glorified babysitting on ice. Trying to figure out which was which? Good luck.
Sorting Through the Noise
I started making a messy list. Had a few columns:
- Camp Name (if I could figure it out)
- Location (Needed to be near where they were staying, obviously)
- Age Group
- Skill Level (This was the hardest part to pin down)
- Price (If listed… big IF)
It was slow going. So many seemed to be run out of college rinks, which made sense. University of Maine, Bowdoin, Colby… those names kept popping up. But even then, was it the college running it, or some private group just renting the ice? Details were fuzzy.
Why Maine, Though? And Other People’s Opinions
Now, why Maine? Like I said, family vacation spot. My brother-in-law grew up playing pond hockey there, had this whole romantic idea about it. Me? I just wanted something reliable so my nephew wouldn’t be bored and my sister wouldn’t call me every five minutes. I asked a buddy whose kid plays serious hockey. He just shrugged. Said Maine was okay, but “you gotta know the right people” to find the really good coaches. Not helpful, man. Then another parent told me all camps are basically the same, just pick the closest one. Also not super helpful.
It felt like everyone had an opinion, but nobody had concrete, recent experience with a specific Maine camp that wasn’t either terrifyingly intense or suspiciously vague.
Getting Closer (Maybe?)
I narrowed it down to maybe three potentials based mostly on location and seeming to cater to intermediate kids. Had to actually pick up the phone. Imagine that! Emails felt like they went into a black hole. Talking to people helped a bit, got a slightly better vibe for two of them. One person sounded like they were running the camp from their car, the other actually knew what programs they offered for specific age groups.
We ended up picking one near Portland. Seemed like the safest bet. Not too crazy expensive, focused on skills but also having fun, according to the person I talked to. Registration was online, thankfully, but even that felt a bit clunky.
The End Result?
Look, the kid went. He had fun. Played hockey, made some friends, didn’t get injured. Success? I guess. But finding it felt way harder than it should have been. It’s like everyone assumes you’re already ‘in the know’. Websites are an afterthought, clear info is optional. You just gotta dig, ask around, and hope for the best. Maybe that’s just how youth sports stuff works sometimes. A bit of a maze.
