There's an old saying about teaching a man to fish that still surfaces from time to time with some relevance. In short, the saying means you can do a lot more for someone by teaching them how to do things for themselves then by doing things for them. It's a motto that Allan Andrews seems to live by. The 68-year-old hockey coach has been teaching men to 'fish' at his summer hockey camp, based in Charlottetown, for approximately 30 years now and has, over the course of his career, produced some of the finest hockey players in North America. His resume includes working with NHL stars Sidney Crosby and P.E.I.'s own Brad Richards, but extends to more than 2,200 students every summer. This fall, Andrews Hockey School will celebrate its 30th year in business. It's an anniversary that will mean a lot to a number of people. In fact, former students from across the Maritimes still return every summer for Andrew's camp. While most aren't coming for themselves; their children having been enrolled instead, there is still something special about the visit. For Kyle MacQuarrie, of Mabou, N.S., the lessons he learned on the ice at camp when he was a young, budding hockey player, are ones he still uses today when coaching his own children. "I still do a lot of the drills I learned back then, when I'm coaching," MacQuarrie, now 37, said, adding the camp holds a special place in his heart. "A lot of the friends you meet," he explained. "That's a really big part of it. You get to meet people from all over Atlantic Canada and beyond." Others who had attended the camp as children said, like with any camp, the friendships formed on those hot summer days, are different than other friendships. "We met a lot of great people here," said Blaise MacDonnell, of Creignish, N.S. "Even to this day I meet people I met there." Both men said the camp was something they enjoyed being part of every summer, and not just for the hockey, although that was a major component. "It was something that we looked forward to on our summer vacation," said MacDonnell. "They taught you a lot then. You might not have had the fancy campus you have here now, but you were taught a lot about self control and a lot of lessons you could apply to adulthood." On the wall in the training rink at the CARI Complex where the camp is held Andrews has the words 'Children are a gift from the Lord,' painted in bold letters. They're there for inspiration, but mostly they're there because that's really how Andrews feels about the whole thing. Starting the camp 30 years ago wasn't any picnic and keeping it going over three decades took a lot of work and sacrifice. Andrews Hockey School pumps $300,000 annually into CARI coffers to rent ice-time for the camp, but Andrews maintains every penny and hour spent on the camp over the years has paid itself back in dividends. "There was lots of times where we had to find the money to keep going," Andrews said. "But any money I invested to keep it going was well worth it and I'd do it again if I had to." The way he sees it, money doesn't even come close to the satisfaction of seeing a young, eager hockey player grow up to become the next NHL team captain to raise the Stanley Cup. "It's about telling them they can do something great with their lives," he said. "That's what it's all about. You see kids getting scholarships, you see kids overcoming obstacles like handicaps. That's why I do it." Andrews is reminded of that every time he hears from one of his former students. Whether it's someone who has left hockey and gone on to pursue a career in medicine or Crosby dropping an email to thank him for all the work he did with him while he attended the camp as a kid, it means the same to Andrews. Of course, being credited for helping Crosby perfect his skating technique is one of the highlights of his coaching career. Crosby was the centre of attention in the hockey world on Friday with a parade in Cole Harbour where the Pittsburgh Penguins's captain brought the Stanley Cup to his hometown. It was also Crosby's 22nd birthday. Tens of thousands of fans jammed the parade route in the area for a glimpse of hockey's Holy Grail. In the camp's earlier years, Andrews had approached scientists to help him develop the most effective skating technique. It took a lot of work and research, but eventually he came up with a model that he would use on all of his future students, some of whom still return every summer to practice with Andrews. In fact, Crosby was recently quoted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette praising Andrews for helping him with his stride and even sent an email to The Guardian about how appreciative he is of his years spent at camp. " I am not surprised of the success of Allan and the hockey school," Crosby wrote. "When you get to know Allan you realize what a strong ethic he has and he looks for that quality in people he is surrounded by. If you combine a strong work ethic and you see the way he cares about people it is very clear to see why he has success." Crosby explained how he started at the school when he was five and learned many of his most important hockey lessons from Andrews. "The people that worked at the camp took pride in being good role models and really made the effort to help people," he wrote. "I am still friends to this day with instructors I had there and it really was a such a great experience and opportunity to learn important qualities, not just hockey related, but things that are important in life in general." Andrews has a wall of Crosby memorabilia at the school filled with photos, old emails and signed jerseys. The walls stands out amidst what seems like dozens of other photos of former students, of which Andrews proudly points out to anyone visiting the camp for the first time. He explains the history of each of the students as if they were his own kids, making sure to update where they are now and what they're doing. But the students he exports aren't the only benefit of the camp. Economically speaking, the camp brings in upwards of $6 million in tourist dollars annually, with families renting hotels, staying at cottages, buying food and just being on the Island. And with more and more hockey federations from around the world beginning to work with the camp every year, Andrews is showing no signs of slowing down. "It's going great," Andrews said. "We have 10 (former students) playing in the NHL now and more moving in that direction."
