During the hottest week of the summer, hanging around a ice hockey rink seems like a cool idea.

But for the 44 youth hockey players spending Monday through Friday at the Steel Ice Center in Bethlehem, it's about much more than staying out of the sun.

They're learning some of the finer points of hockey and even more lessons about life from Riley Cote, the former Philadelphia Flyers left winger and current Lehigh Valley Phantoms assistant coach.

Cote's High Performance Hockey Skate and Skill Camp, featuring Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov, offers plenty of on-the-ice instruction and video follow-up. However, it's outside the rink where Cote really wants to deliver messages that resonate with the kids, who range in age from 8 to 15.

"We try to teach them life lessons through hockey," Cote said Wednesday. "I'm an optimist, but I'm also a realist and I realize that not everyone is going to make the NHL. It's really a very small percentage of guys who ever do. So, we talk about a lot things away from hockey. … giving respect, taking care of your body, preparation and being a pro when it comes to attitude and character. All of those things translate to every facet of life, no matter what you do for a living or what school you're in. There's always going to be a certain expectation from coaches, teachers and bosses.

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"We always talk about acting like a pro. You don't have to be a pro to carry yourself like one. It's how you go about doing things. It's about never complaining, working through adversity, all of those elements come into play during the week at our camp in addition to trying to make them better hockey players. There's a bigger picture here. We want to generate high-quality people who have a purpose and are going to do the right things every single day of their lives regardless of what their God-given abilities are."

This is Cote's fourth camp at the Steel Ice Center and he runs others at Clifton Park, N.Y., and Newark, Del.

Most of the kids are from the Lehigh Valley, although there are participants from outside the immediate area and even Europe. He sees the interest in ice hockey growing here, thanks in large part to the Phantoms, who have completed two seasons at the PPL Center in Allentown.

"I really do see the excitement here," he said. "The PPL Center is the best building in the league by far. The training facility in the building is the best in the league by far. So there's an attraction for veteran players to come, but the support from the people of the Lehigh Valley has been awesome. I think we've sold out all but two games in our two years here. It's just a good place to be. I've put my roots here and bought a house before the season started last year in the west Allentown/Salisbury Township area. So I really love it here and the reception of the fans has been great. A lot of the fans are Flyers fans and they have the same passion as the people in Philly."

Riley said it's an exciting time for the region with the Flyers stockpiling lots of young talent.

"Seeing all of the young prospects coming through has got to add an exciting element for the fans," he said. "The team has gone through a rebuilding period and the fans have been patient with that. But now it's becoming crunch time and playoffs and championships are the goal every single year. I don't think the players can say anything bad about this area. It's been positive all the way around."

Larry Fortunato, formerly a secretary with the Lehigh Valley Flames and Phantoms Youth programs, brought Cote to the Lehigh Valley five years ago, before the Phantoms arrived. He appreciates the impact the 34-year-old Winnipeg, Manitoba, native is having on area youth hockey.

"As far as I'm concerned he runs one of the best camps that involve kids in the Lehigh Valley," Fortunato said. "It's more than just hockey with him. He teaches the kids a lot of life lessons and we just hope that the camp continues for a long time because Riley does such a great job."

For more information about the camp, go online to: www.highperformancehockeycamps.com.

Many of the great players in Stroudsburg High basketball history will reunite for a pair of alumni games on Saturday at the high school at 3 and 5 p.m. … Mike Mittman, the golden-voiced local TV commentator and Larry Holmes' sidekick on Service Electric's "What the Heck Were They Thinking?," will be seen and heard on a boxing card at 7 p.m. Saturday on Philly's Comcast SportsNet. It's the Peltz Boxing card featuring seven bouts with the star attraction being a middleweight fight featuring Dashon Johnson of Escondido, Calif., and DeCarlo Perez of Atlantic City. They meet in the scheduled eight-round main event. Mittman, who also co-hosts "The Peak" TV show, a 30-minute health and wellness program, with Ashley Russo on WFMZ-Channel 69, recently signed a lengthy contract with Comcast to serve as a blow-by-blow commentator. Mike's son, Steve, Channel 69's morning traffic reporter, is also part of the boxing broadcasts. … Former Parkland and current Penn State women's volleyball star Taylor Krause was recently recognized as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. Krause was one of 81 Penn State student-athletes recognized for having recorded a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher during the previous academic year. Krause, who will be a senior this fall, has been named a team co-captain along with Haleigh Washington, another Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recipient.

The high school season is long over for former Catasauqua High softball star Hannah Edwards, but the accolades continue to come her way. She was recently named to the MaxPreps All-American team, her 14th All-American honor. Edwards, The Morning Call's two-time player of the year, hit .680 this spring with 51 hits, 45 runs and 52 steals. She ended her career as Pennsylvania's career leader in hits (207), runs (158) and steals (192).

Pitt-bound Edwards can be seen at 10:30 p.m. Friday on ESPNU playing in the Premier Girls Fastpitch High School All-American Game at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, Calif. The game features 36 of the of the best 2016 high school graduates. Edwards is one of only two players selected from Pennsylvania.