FAIRMONT — Fairmont Youth Hockey Association is wrapping up its first-ever summer skills and conditioning program.

The association’s Aaron Haycraft worked with CJ Johnson, owner and trainer at Cutting Edge Fitness in Fairmont, and Matt Hussey, former NHL player and current power skating coach with the association, to produce the two-month program. Both Johnson and Hussey provided their expertise with the aid of some dryland hockey tiles.

“This way, the kids can get a little introduction and training to the sport,” Haycraft said. “It’s really great because you’re not going to see a lot of dry land areas in small communities like this.”

Johnson explained how the program worked.

“We did an eight-week program all summer with ages 7 to 14,” he said. “Those are hour-and-a-half-long sessions, and what they’re doing is developing hockey specific skills.”

The kids worked on a skill session that included shooting, stick handling and passing with Hussey, who played with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings.

“Then they were with me for more strength conditioning and agility training,” Johnson said. “We had a total of 33 kids, and we rotated them over a three-hour span. “I helped the kids work on lateral motion to improve their skating as well as a lot of aerobic conditioning.”

Haycraft hopes the participants enjoyed their time and developed their interest.

“It was awesome because in using Cutting Edge here in Fairmont, they let us set this up because we obviously don’t have ice right now,” he said. “It’s a fun thing for the kids to do, to pick up a stick and use it in the summer time. To do hockey-specific athletic training for the kids at this young age is just a ton of fun for them.

“Hopefully, the kids all loved it, and we can continue in the future. I wish we could have had more kids in it, but it was designed to be a small group. But this way, they get individual attention and it’s really beneficial for them. Hopefully they develop a passion for it, they learn something from it and they can keep coming.”