WAYLAND - Liam McArdle stood atop a soccer ball and attempted to catch three tennis balls simultaneously. Miles Dandeneau shimmied, cut and ran away from a defender before looking back to receive a pass – from a quarterback.
Ella Dolaher flung a Frisbee amid a jumble of hollering youngsters.
All this at a hockey camp.
Clues emerge at the far end of the plush pitch tucked into the woods along Route 30: sticks, pucks, a net.
The nearly 30 campers on this muggy evening moved from station to station at Loker Field during an hourlong session that ended with water fights and impromptu cornhole competitions.
The summer camp is part of the non-profit Dryland Development Project (DDP). This group is called the “Roosters.”
“I like how everybody gets together as friends and does all this crazy stuff together,” said Dolaher, 9, of Needham whose favorite hockey player goes by one name: Pasta. “It’s really fun to develop new skills.”
McArdle and Dandeneau, both 12 and from Natick, spent several of the camp’s final minutes at the agility station. Not only did they attempt corralling a trio of tennis balls, but another challenge included one partner standing with his back facing the other, who, standing 30 feet away, flipped two balls. While the spheres were in the air, the recipient quickly turned around to try and catch them.
McArdle, another fan of David “Pasta” Pastrnak who made a point of saying he turns 13 on July 20, said he enjoys the people around him as much as the strides he has made.
“I like the community, mostly,” he said. “You can really see the change from one summer to the next season. You can see improvement – but mostly the community.”
The idea for the DDP is worn on camp T-shirts: 80/20. In other words, four off-ice activities for every practice/game on the ice.
“We’re trying to build the love and passion without skating,” said Scott Kleekamp, DDR’s Director of Operations. “We’re trying to build a practice culture and play for the love - not for the status. We just flipped everything on its head, and it seems to be working.”
When these youngsters do hit the ice, they play in a Sunday night summer league called the RoosterDome, where grades 5-12 play on the same team as their parents and high school varsity players team up with Squirts and Pee Wees.
During the hockey season, middle school teams are known as the Natick Firehawks. Because hockey is, as Kleekamp says “other-worldly expensive,” goalies and high school players play for free and reduced tuition is available. Players hail also from Wayland, Wellesley, Weston, Dover, Sherborn, Sudbury, Millis and even Melrose.
“These kids, their dream is to play varsity,” Kleekamp said. “We’re bringing the varsity to them. The varsity kids love coming because they get free ice. Once the varsity kids come, more kids come.”
DDR debuted two years ago with practices at 6 a.m., the only time ice was available. The same 20 kids showed up each week, according to Kleekamp, who said more than 100 families are currently part of the program.
The drylanders will hit the ice for two big events later this summer: “Hockey Night in Natick,” where middle schoolers can attend for free at Chase Arena on July 28 and Aug. 25 from 6-8 p.m. Todd Angilly, who sings before Bruins games at TD Garden, will perform the national anthem before the July event.
Back at the camp, ice was the farthest thing on the minds of the Roosters. Footballs, Frisbees and tennis balls helped to make them better hockey players.
“All these things, it concludes hockey for it,” said Natick’s Rohan Donovan, 10, a Connor Bedard fan. “You have to have strength, you have to have hand-eye coordination, you have to see someone that’s open and you have to get open. It’s very fun.”
William Barry, 11, of Natick who envies another NHL star named Connor (McDavid), said he enjoys the very idea of the camp’s goal.
“That it’s not just all hockey,” he said. “You’re working on skills that you don’t really do on the ice.”
Dandeneau, a Brad Marchand fan, added: “They teach you things in very fun ways. They’re very helpful about it.”
Donovan echoed McArdle’s take on the community the DDR has created. This is a summer camp, after all.
“I like it how I have a bunch of friends that I might not have,” he said, “and I can still make new ones.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
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