"All these posts are interesting to say the least. I am a former player and this much is true regarding the academy, they didn't do anything for me, especially when I was leaving the program. All is great until we decided to look at other options for me. Here is one more peace of info, these so called top end owners, treated the rest of the staff like shit. They were the gods and the rest of the employees were working dogs getting no credit and doing most of the work. Any other former players and parents please let the world know just how they treat us after we leave OHA. As for the hard working support staff, they are underpaid and are not treated fairly. What a shame! This program could be good if the owners knew how to take care of these major issues. I was promised alot of things, and some were realized, but most were just smoke and mirrors. This blog is great because I am done hockey now and they can't hurt me any more with threats of calling teams and telling them I was a bad actor.
Good luck to the next generation of academy students, they are going to need it!"
14 comments:
what parents don't count on is that after you spend tens of thousands of dollars these guys may deliberately spoil your son's chances of making a team.
You know..i believe some of the information on here…I really do…but then I hear something like this and it pretty much discredits the rest…to suggest that not only do they fail to develop the players..but they “spoil” their chances, is a little ridiculous. Perhaps the coaches use the ice to deliberately show them the wrong things!!!..haha..and to the boy who wrote the original post: I am sorry to hear about your bad experiences with the program, but perhaps your lack of accountability contributed to your inability to become the player you wanted? Anyway, I started reading this site as an interested and potential Okanagan Hockey Academy parent, and stopped reading it as an educated one. Although this site initially caused me concern, it also encouraged me to do more research by contacting people not named “Anonymous”, which more than ensured me that I was putting my son in the best possible situation to succeed. Maybe he will reach his goals, maybe not. But he has a great opportunity in Penticton. This will be the last time I read this site. I hope you angry people find some sort of solace in this site, but I also hope you eventually move on.
I see Alan Kerr has returned. Or is this Andy?
Oh, thanks so much for your concern for everyone on the blog who has had a bad experience with OHA. It's obvious now there are quite a number. Back to the same old line of blaming things on the player who just didn't work hard enough. It doesn't matter how hard you work if you really never had a chance and no one ever promoted you to move up. This is most often the case at OHA. If you think OHA or any organization doesn't promote a lot of players in that they want the revenue stream than you are just plain dumb. It happens all the time in hockey organizations. The above is another phoney message from OHA.
Thats funny. Looks like Alan and Andy are back on this site. A word of advice to them. Stop sending the same thing acting like a prospective or existing parent who talks about the other peoples players not working hard enough, getting in trouble and being sent home, and what a great opportunity it is for all the players at OHA. Blah Blah Blah!!!!!!!
Very, very few players have been sent home because of bad behavior, very few have come all that way and not worked hard. Have some common sense. What parent and player would come there and spend that kind of money to not give a top effort. That's ridiculous.
What it comes down to again is very poor performance. Every team in last place. Very few advancements in recent years outside the OHA organization. That is how you measure the success of the organization. These guys have done a masterful job convincing parents that coming is last is OK as long as the players are developing. Doesn't that tell you something about the organization. What championship level player ever thought it was OK to come in last. That is again ridiculous.
The sad part about this is that this blinds people to some of their players that truly did have great experiences. Read the top story of their blog. Sahir Gill is having unbelievable success, some of their alumni have gone onto great things. My son did not have a career in hockey. Anyone that thinks a program can give them a career is wrong. He got so much from their program outside of the hockey, that it was worth every penny to us.
Sahir Gill was good when he came and he was there only a short time. It's a bit deceptive to imply that his success is due to the academy.
at okanagan u17 tryouts this year, how many of the evaluators were from or had a kid at OHA? how many of the evaluators had nothing to do with OHA?
Rob McLaughlin, Jason O'Leary and Randy Jaycock all evaluators from OHA, none have kids.
To the post about players coming to OHA and not giving an effort, there are lots of them that do. A lot of times parents are looking to send there kids somewhere to help them with problems where they are.
I don't work for OHA like everyone is going to say, I know the people involved in their organization very well and know the type of people they are. I also know there kids very well. There program itself is good. The on ice development and off ice are good, no matter what you think of them. There players over the last few years have been ok. Some good who will go on and have good careers, some bad who won't have a career. Anyone that thinks that being put on a workout program for 10 months and being on the ice 5 days a week won't help you is wrong and doesn't know the game. So guys like Gill who were good before they hit OHA, yes they would have made there way either way, but the extra training they got will make a world of difference. This is an unbiased opinion about there actual program. Think what you want about there staff, when you look at what the kids can get, there is nothing wrong with it.
Nobody ever said it couldn't help the players. The question is whether its worth $40,000 when you can send your player to a equal or better program a lot less. Anybody knows that ice time and work out sessions 4 or 5 days a week will help anyone get better. The question is if OHA is worth the money. They answer is no. Why anyone would get taken in by these guys is a shame. Their program is at best average even if the cost was the same of comparable programs. All top programs offer as much or more than OHA. OHA is a poor value.
I agree. practicing every day is bound to help at some level. At OHA you play a very low level losing most games. It hurts development to practice and play with lower level players. OHA cannot draw top players anymore and when they are lucky enough to get a talented kid they don't stay usually but for a year or so. People see the writing on the wall.
No doubt. They get ice, yet so do all better programs. The real problem is they don't even teach the guys and systems to play by. This puts them way behind other programs. Players that come there year after year just learn the same thing every year. They will never have a top program until this changes. That's why good players never stay there unless they are just in it for the fun and don't expect to play for a top Jr. or NCAA team. The players love it there in that they don't have to work too hard, they are treated like Kings based on the tuition, the girls are crazy about them, and its a beautiful place. The downside is that you aren't going anywhere of subtance in the future if you waste those years in their program. If you are looking for quality development at OHA, forget it.
I see that by one of the supportive comments on here is from someone stating that they know the staff at OHA very well. For those of you that don't know the connections in Penticton, my guess is that was Alan's brother who also had his son on the AAAA team coached by Alan. Pure coincidence I am sure....yah right. Check out his stats.
I use to play for OHA. I too was promised things that never came to fruition, but that is not an issue with me.
OHA is a business and Andy operates it to make dollars. It is awful how he has changed, people that knew the old Andy can attest to this.
I don't want to bash on anyone, I am not angry, as a former player though speaking to prospective parents I have this to say...
I would not send my child to OHA because it is not a family. Their certainly is brotherhood among the teammates, but from a checkbook standpoint, each recruit is a dollar sign. The nicest Andy will ever be to you is right before he gets you to sign up for OHA, he is quite the actor, and not ashamed to make grand claims about your hockey future to get to your wallet. The all-mighty dollar has its ways of tearing down good people, and Andy certainly is not the same man he was when he brought the IDT to OHS. I am certain too that you can get more for less elsewhere too, if finances are a concern.
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