We hear over and over from parents about team overcrowding at OHA. From the OHA website, it seems the target number for each team is 24 players, three of whom are goaltenders. Is it acceptable to have 6 boys sitting each game due to overcrowding? With school tuition approaching 40,000 a year, is it okay for your son to sit on the sidelines?How does OHA compare with similar programs in Western Canada in terms of roster size? Well, they are over full, or at least that is our assessment. The Edge School has three team and carries 19, 19 and 16, respectively. Banff Academy, also considered to be over full, carries 21 players and a whopping 5 goalies! POE, carries a more reasonable 19 boys, but they are over full with goalies at 4.
Our question is this........... Are OHA and Banff Academy really focused on development or are money grabbers? It is possible, if not probable, that OHA has a sliding scale for tuition as it has been reported by bloggers. Is it true that families of lessor players pay full tilt while the top team enjoys all the travel, hockey development and exposure all at a discounted cost? How does a perspective player score a deal like that at OHA?
We would like to learn more about the other competing programs? Are the top teams lined with coaches kids getting all the benefits? Are these programs filled with father coaches, as is the case with OHA? We've heard good things about POE, for example, but what is the downside of this program? Is it true that POE has been beating OHA's top midget team? The Edge School has enjoyed recent success against OHA's top team, trouncing them by double digits. What if anything ails the Edge? Banff Academy cannot compete with the top OHA midget team, but they easily handle OHA Midget AAA. What are the negative aspects of Banff Academy?
We welcome your opinions.
23 comments:
For the kind of money some of these programs charge, having more then two goalies on a team is not right. Ice time is also an issue when you pay this kind of money.
OHA is way too big its obvious. For the kind of $$$ we spend we sure as shit should not be sitting on the bench so Alan's kid can take our ice time
OHA are nothing but dirty money grabbers. Your funds go to the development of their kids. Period!
I am considering bringing my son to Okanagan Hockey Academy. I asked somebody who's son goes there about this large amount of players. She mentioned that 5 healthy boys sitting never actually happens, usually those spots end up going to players who are injured, etc. any thoughts on that??
OHA's priorities:
1. MONEY IN THEIR POCKETS
2. DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR OWN SONS, NEPHEWS,etc.
3. Development of players who have very wealthy parents who not only pay the exorbitant tuition, room and board, but also kick in extra.
Most players get little development, many are billeted with people who are extremely well paid but do not feed the kids properly (I'm talking about leftovers from the school cafeteria and stealing food that the kids' families purchased because they were complaining they didn't get enought to eat.
If you raise a ruckus about such things, lo and behold, reasons are "created" for dismissing your son from the program!!
To the parent considering OHA, consider talking with the parents of the kids who are sitting. It is true that injuries cause kids to sit out, but they sit healthy kids too and you sure don't see the "chosen" sons of coaches sitting on the sidelines EVER!
Don't go to OHA. We have been down that road and their level of play isn't even that good. Their top team got their clocks cleaned all year long play in the USA. My son attended there at 14 and is a high quality player now playing for a Tier 1 AAA team in the USA Super League. His team would stomp OHA's top team. Its all about the money at OHA. They are liars who always under deliver time and time again. We got out was the gitten was good.
On another note David Roy in Kelowna who runs the Pursuit of Excellence is a high integrity guy. My son has attended his power skating school in Kelowna several times. We know David personally and you can trust him. Their program is less money, better coached, and is in Kelowna which is better than Penticton. I would recommend that school which OHA always dissed, yet in recent years POE has kicked OHA's head in practically everytime they have played them. It proves the point that honest and forthright people such as David Roy sometimes actually finish first.
I could fill this entire blog with stories of unfairness and self serving behavior by OHA. How about sending your son to play at the IDT and they put him on a line with 2 other marginal players rather than playing with some better players so one of the "Kerr" boys can win the tournament scoring title. What a surprise with another Kerr behind the bench setting the lines. In spite of being behind the 8 ball my son all the way down to the championship game was within a point or 2 of winning it. He never had a chance. What a bunch of rats those guys are for not letting the boys play on a level playing field. Some example they set. We've seen it all with these clowns and got out. You'd have to be out of your mind to send your player up there for so many reasons. I hit em where it really hurt - the pocketbook.
As to the guys being sit because they are injured is baloney. They sit a lot of guys who aren't hurt. Seems at 40K a player they could field a team that the players would actually be able to play in the games. They guys are all SHOW and no GO! Look at how they have performed against middle of the road USA teams. They don't even play any of the top USA teams. It's ugly enough playing the middle of the pack teams getting spanked all the time. Serves them right. Like I said they are all talk.
To the parent concerned about team size, here is the magic formula:
Americans paying the tab
Alan's kids free, nephew free coaches kids free
Friends of Alan whose kids played with Nick since they were tots local in Penticton "Scholarships."
In order to cover their operating expenses, they blew the teams up from 19 kids to 24 per team. Kids that sit are not always the injured ones, but for sure you will not see Alan's kids sit or friends of Alan's sitting or kids of coaching staff.
They have very little actual talent at OHA, a few but not many. This is why they get their clocks cleaned every time they venture south of their boarder to the USA. Their revenge is to steal good USA dollars while screwing your kids. Where are the American players from OHA? See any of them playing in the BCHL? Guess again! They've stuffed their bank accounts and left a trail of heartbroken kids.
The comments just before these are right on the money. Most players and especially the Americans never advance to any top schools. I don't blame the players who a lot times are very good, yet OHA doesn't develop nor represent and promote them. That the worst thing of all regarding OHA's character. Those guys that come that way with a lot of courage get treated like garbage and end up burning up their time up there going nowhere and OHA knows it. They are still more than happy to take the money to fund their life style. These guys are dumb. I mean you really expect them to provide a legitate product (bad character) or run the business effectively (dumb and uneducate). This baby is blowing up based on their greed. They could have done things right that would serve people yet they were too interesting in the money. Again, the worst part speaks of their bad character in screwing players who come to be better players and be afforded an opportunity. I would never recommend to anyone they send their player to these guys. They are the scum of the earth.
List of teams OHA has played --
Boston Jr Bruins (top 5)
Dallas stars (top 10)
Cleveland Barons (top 10)
Nevada Stars (top 20)
San Jose Jr Sharks (top 30)
Little Ceasars (top 5)
Chadders (top 30)
Winnipeg Thrashers (top 3 in Canada)
Colorado Thunderbirds (top 15)
Burlington Eagles (top 5 in Canada)
note....Also beat all BC Major Midget teams they have faced (kelowna, Caribou, Kooteny)
note. also tied a 12 game series vs Edge Varisty out of Calgary(Who play in a top USA prep league and have also beaten Notre Dame hounds in a 3 game series)
Anything else you would like to say bad about the midget team? Set rotation for players who get healthy scratched also...not just kids who alan feels like sitting. Get your facts straight.
David Roy is an honest individual and definitely trust worthy. No questioning that. However his program is in the tank. No teams want to deal with them. OMAHA league banned academies to avoid having to deal with associations not showing up to play POE. So for a great program, sure, David runs a good program, you just won't find a team that wants to show up to play you.
It's nice to see someone actually standing up for the academy. I play on the AA team there and my skills have improved so much this year. Coaching on all the teams is outstanding, our facilities are top of the line, and no, the coaches do NOT pick favorites. There is not 9 local kids on the top team. Many of the kids from out of town have moved here with their families, but they are not originally from Penticton. Locals do not pay $23,000, we pay $28,000 and it the prices are rising next year because we are getting entirely new uniforms because our colors have been changed. They aren't trying to ruin your son's future, and this entire site is a sham because someone else at another academy can't handle how more people are choosing OHA then their academy. This comment probably won't even get posted because the blog owner can't handle his master plan of bad-mouthing the school slowly start to crumble as people but real facts on the boards. Oh well...
OHA is nothing but a low life money grab organization from top to bottom. They'll likely overstuff their program again next year with Americans who can't play but will bankroll the development of the Kerrs and company. What losers.
How many of the teams you list from the USA did they beat? NONE.
Your rankings are screwed up too. The only real top teams on that list are the Dallas Stars and Little Caesars who play in the Super League (MWEHL). Those guys including all the teams (top 20 in the USA)in that league would mop the floor with OHA. OHA can call themselves AAAA which people just laugh about that are in the know. Those are the facts. OHA isn't even competitive at the mid to upper ranks of the USA teams. They are "livin' the dream" in their own little world only.
sorry to burst your bubble but US midget hockey is so much different from the Canadian hockey.
1. Canada has junior leagues such as WHL, BCHL and AJHL and others, meaning the more 'elite' midget AGED players (16,17) will most likely play there making the average age of Canadian teams lower.
2. Whereas in the US, there is really no top of line junior league for young players to play in. Ya there is the USHL which has 12 teams and primarily an older league and same with the NAHL. Most of the top midget teams in the US contain 50-75% 'OVERAGED'(18 years old) players and the rest are mainly third years.
3. if you placed those top canadian midget players playing in the WHL or BCHL in a midget program they would wreck any of those teams across the border.
..so when age comes into play, yes these players and teams are better because they are older, more developed, stronger. To top it of, US hockey is a faster skating and puck moving game compared to the Canadian 'midget' hockey, once again to do with the age.
None of anything you say deals with OHA and the quality of THEIR team. You are misinformed if you believe the top Midget teams only have 18 year old players in the USA. There are a number of 16 and 17 year olds playing on those teams. You were right about one thing. The USA teams play a faster and more skill game. Sounds like the new NHL to me. As to Juniors there is no doubt the CHL is a great league. The trend in the US is for players to move to Divsion I in that they intend on having careers as Dr's, Lawyers, Jet Pilots, and the like. Most are more interested in that type career rather than playing profesionally. This means that a lot of them don't go CHL although they could if they chose.
No diss on the boys who come to learn at OHA, but the quality of their AA team is like some crappy high school league in the US. They had a goalie a couple of years ago that basically had never played goal before in his life. How fair is that to the rest of the players on the team. The quality of the team was terrible. That's no diss again on the players they come their to be better, yet they would be better served by staying home and paying a lot less and getting better their. Part of it is a bragging right that they play in Canada. The other is OHA is glad to take their 30K+ for that bragging right. Their teams are not good at all. On another note I completely agree with others that Blake Wesley is a fine person. He is about the only one that truly cares about the players and works hard to teach them all he can. The organization as a whole is poor at best.
Nevada Stars (top 20) Actual 57th
San Jose Jr Sharks (top 30) Actual 32nd
Chadders (top 30) Actual 46th
Colorado Thunderbirds (top 15)Actual 27th
Here are the actual rankings per myhockeyrankings.com. Thought Mr Facts might want the real rankings. Must work for OHA in that he's "blowing smoke". They just can't help themselves. Must be in their DNA.
All the rankings change weekly during the season, you surely know this if you follow that closely. I don't think it matters all that much on a forum like this anyways. If you look at some of these teams, San Jose Jr. Sharks, they are ranked 32nd the two teams ahead of them are one that's played 19 games and one that's well below .500. I mean how realistic are these rankings??
decide for yourselves:
just found this stats page
http://www.omaha.ca/standings.php
i think midget tier 1 is the same as midget aaa and midget tier 2 is the same as midget aa.
poe team 1 tier 1 (on stats page above) played the oha top team (major midget - not listed on the above stats page) four or five times and the two were pretty evenly mached. results were written about at oha site.
oha team 1 tier 1 on above stats page is the oha second midget team.
oha team 2 tier 2 on above stats page is the oha third midget team.
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