WAYLAND — Liam McArdle stood on a football and tried to catch three tennis balls at the same time, while Myles Dandeneau swayed, cut and ran away from a defender before turning around to receive a pass from the quarterback.
Ella Dlaher tossed a Frisbee through a crowd of screaming young people.
All of this hockey camp.
Clues like sticks, pucks and nets can be found on the edge of a gorgeous playing field tucked away in the woods off Route 30.
On this muggy evening, about 30 campers moved from station to station at Roker Field during an hour-long session that ended with a water fight and an impromptu cornhole competition.
The summer camp is part of the non-profit Dryland Development Project (DDP). The group is called “Roosters.”
“I like that we all come together as friends and do crazy things together,” said Draher, a 9-year-old from Needham whose favorite hockey player's name is Pasta. “It's really fun to learn new skills.”
McArdle and Dandeneau, both 12 and from Natick, spent the final minutes of camp at an agility station, where they worked on not only bundling three tennis balls together but also on a challenge in which one partner stood with their back to the other and 30 feet away tossed two balls. While the ball was in the air, the receiver had to quickly turn around and try to catch it.
McArdle, another David “Pasta” Pastrnak fan who declares he will be 13 on July 20, said he enjoys the people around him as much as the progress he has made.
“I love the community more than anything,” he said. “You can really see the change from the summer to next season. You see the improvements, but mainly the community.”
The idea for DDP is that the camp t-shirts say 80/20, meaning for every on-ice practice or game, there are four off-ice activities.
“We're trying to foster love and passion without skating,” said DDR director of operations Scott Kleekamp. “We're trying to build a practice culture and play for love, not for status. We've just turned everything upside down and it seems to be working.”
When these young people do take to the ice, it's in a Sunday night summer league called the Roosterdome, where 5th through 12th graders play on teams with their parents and high school varsity players team up with the Squirts and Pee Wees.
During hockey season, the middle school team is known as the Natick Firehawks. Because hockey is, as Kleekamp puts it, “insanely expensive,” goalies and high school players play for free and receive tuition discounts. Players come from Wayland, Wellesley, Weston, Dover, Sherborn, Sudbury, Millis and even Melrose.
“These kids' dream is to play on varsity,” Kleekamp said. “We bring the varsity team to them. The varsity kids love coming here because they get free ice. When the varsity kids come, it encourages more kids to come.”
DDR started two years ago, with practices beginning at 6 a.m., the only time ice was available, and Kleekamp said the same 20 kids showed up every week, with more than 100 families now participating in the program.
Athletes will take to the ice for practice later this summer at two major events, “Hockey Nights in Natick.” The events, which are free for middle school students to attend, will take place at Chase Arena from 6 to 8 p.m. on July 28 and Aug. 25. Todd Anguilly, who sings before Bruins games at TD Garden, will perform the national anthem before the July event.
Back at camp, the ice was the Roosters' main focus, with footballs, Frisbees and tennis balls helping to make them better hockey players.
“Those are all parts of hockey,” said Connor Bedard fan Rohan Donovan, 10, of Natick. “You have to be strong, you have to have good hand-eye coordination, you have to be open when you see the other guy open. It's a lot of fun.”
William Barry, 11, of Natick, said he's jealous of another NHL star, Connor McDavid, but enjoys the idea of scoring at camp.
“It's not just about hockey,” he says, “you're practicing skills that you don't really use on the ice.”
Added Dandeneau, a Brad Marchand fan: “They teach you things in a really fun way. They're very kind.”
Donovan echoed McArdle's sentiments about the community DDR has created — after all, it is a summer camp.
“I have a lot of friends I didn't have before and it's nice to be able to make new friends,” he says.
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. Contact him at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TimDumas.
