Cyclone hockey coach Al Murdoch and three of his players traveled to China in early 2009 to participate in the World University Games and represent the United States.

There, Murdoch had the opportunity to meet with some of China’s best coaches, promote his camp and offer them an opportunity to come visit America to take part in the Cyclone Hockey Schools.

“I told them if the kids wanted to get a little different exposure, they should come visit us,” Murdoch said. “It ended up being 17 kids who came with two of their coaches and six parents. It ended up being an excellent experience, they were absolutely thrilled to be here.”

The kids were also dedicated to learning more and becoming better hockey players, Murdoch said.

One pleasant surprise for the coaching staff that worked with the kids was not only how they were able to hold their own against American kids, but how well they were trained.

Because this camp was for the youth, all the players were children as young as 8 and as old as 12.

“If it weren’t for the black snow leopard jerseys they wore or the way they looked underneath their masks, you really would not have been able to tell they were any different from American kids,” said assistant coach Brian Wierson. “I would say at the age [the Chinese players] were at, they were better at things like passing, but I think that’s something they develop quicker than other kids.”

All of the kids participating in the camp were so dedicated they never once complained about the all-day schedule from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

“We would cover skating skills in the morning and individual hockey skills during the second session,” Murdoch said. “During the third session they wanted to play a lot of games so we had a lot of games for them. Most of the time they would go out on the ice for a fourth time in the evening maybe three or four times a week.”

Throughout the camp, the kids were given the opportunity to learn from not only Murdoch, but current and former players and some of his coaching staff.

Among those helping out with the camp were Brian Wierson, senior forward Cort Bulloch and former forward Glenn Detulleo.

For the staff, the opportunity to work with these international players was one they could not pass up.

“It was a chance of a lifetime for me,” Wierson said. “I’ve never been a part of something like that before, so the experience to work with kids and adults from a different culture was one I hope I can have again but may never present itself again.”

Bulloch enjoyed the experience as well. With the upcoming season being his last year as a member of the team, he said the opportunity to work with these kids gave him new insight on his role as team captain.

“What comes with being a leader is you also have to give back,” Bulloch said. “I had a very strong foundation by having a lot of great coaches and so if I can help out these kids now they might get the chance to be where I’m at now; a team captain.”

After spending some time with the international players, Bulloch was surprised to find out there was not much of a language barrier, making his job as an instructor easier.

“I was able to communicate with the kids and adults pretty easily,” Bulloch said. “Without even learning the language, I found it easy to communicate just by mannerisms and body language. Them having an easy time understanding me definitely made my job easier.”

Now that the camp is over, Murdoch hopes its success will lead to bigger opportunities with international relations.

He said he would not be surprised if this camp had 30 or 40 international players next year, and is hoping this kind of success could lead to an international Youth Hockey Tournament in Ames.

“There is definitely some interest in hosting an international tournament,” Murdoch said. “I coached a player named Anfu Wang 20 years ago who was honored as one of the top 10 athletes in all of China the last year he played hockey over there. He’s an excellent liaison and has helped out with international relations and has opened up talks with some of the coaches about a tournament like a Youth Hockey Tournament.”

According to Wierson, the addition of an international youth hockey expo to an already packed summer lineup of events in Iowa such as RAGBRAI, the Iowa Shrine Bowl and the Iowa Summer Games would be an honor.

“It would be a huge accomplishment for us,” Wierson said. “Events such as those are not only things that are known in the state of Iowa but possibly all along the Midwest. It might help open some eyes to the hockey community not only in Ames but in the whole state and maybe in the entire Midwest.”