Caps Summer Hockey School

The Washington Capitals held a Hockey School clinic on Wednesday, July 28, for nearly 50 children who were in a day camp at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va. Through a partnership with the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department, Capitals representatives will be hosting five, one-and-a-half hour floor hockey clinics this summer. Wednesday's clinic began with an introduction to hockey and children learned how to hold the stick, proper stickhandling technique, passing and shooting. Then, the children ages seven to 12 broke into groups and rotated through four stations. They participated in relay race competitions to showcase their speed and sharpen their stickhandling and shooting skills, learned how to take face offs, played "hockey knockout" and learned how to put on hockey equipment including Nicklas Backstrom's gloves and Alex Ovechkin's helmet. To conclude the session, Air Slapshot made an appearance and put on a show that excited the children. Participants in the clinic received hockey 101 booklets, squishy pucks and Caps posters to designate them as graduates of Hockey School. Capitals representatives will return to the Wakefield High School day camp on Aug. 4 and 18 to host two more clinics.