ANAHEIM : Ducks Wing Their Way to Hockey Camp

Youngsters at a summer sports camp had a group of special counselors Wednesday: players from the Mighty Ducks professional hockey team.

Center Bob Corkum, left wing Todd Krygier and defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky dropped by the Mighty Ducks Summer Hockey Camp to give tips on making shots and to provide inspiration.

The weeklong program, in its second year, offers a “lot of good hands-on, one-on-one teaching,” said Charlie Simmer, camp director and a 14-year veteran of the National Hockey League who is now a radio analyst for the Ducks.

More than 100 boys and girls ranging in age from 6 to 15 are learning the basics of stick handling and shot blocking, as well as skills such as cooperation and teamwork, Simmer said.

Participants this year include eight youngsters from GOALS, Walt Disney Co.’s program for underprivileged youth. They are at camp on scholarships from the Ducks.

“As the week goes on it gets tougher,” Simmer said, culminating in an actual hockey match on Friday at Anaheim’s Glacial Garden Ice Arena.

Nine-year-old Michael Pearman of Moreno Valley, a member of the Junior Mighty Ducks team who hopes to play professional hockey, said the camp is “fun because they help you with shots and passing.”

Parents too were enthusiastic. As some moms and dads videotaped the action from the sidelines Wednesday, Jan Watt of Huntington Beach watched her 7-year-old son, Jack, block a series of pucks fired at the goal.

“This is one of the few things he’d get up at 6 in the morning for,” she said.