I am looking for real advice here and not just from people who are angry at the school. Thanks!"
Monday, April 6, 2009
OKANAGAN HOCKEY ACADEMY SEARCH FOR TRUTH
I am looking for real advice here and not just from people who are angry at the school. Thanks!"
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17 comments:
Now that Alan & Andy have their own blog, anything positive about OHA will cease showing up on the REAL, REAL, OHA BLOG. This blog.
No doubt now they are getting their heads kicked in based them launching another marketing site for OHA filled full of bull. Typical OHA. People interested in the truth rather than their marketing will find it on this site. I think its great they launched their own site. Proof this one is really making a difference. Kudos to the blog master or whoever started this blog up. It's about time OHA was exposed for the frauds they are.
With my personal experience with OHA, I'd say a very high percentage of this site is bang on. Some is false naturally but for the most part its real. My son went to OHA with high hopes and dreams like most kids and families that make the commitment. Nothing turned out as they said it would and they are all about promoting their own kids and friends. The turnover is extremely high and their motto of "Once OHA alumni always part of OHA" or whatever is pretty much a load of crap.
They do have a few great guys coaching there but the teams are absolutely awful beyond awful.
the crack house is still there. Yellow two story right behind 24/7 next to campus. It's a 30 second walk from the new campus. It's pretty safe though because they have a rent a cop there during school hours most days.
I just posted a comment on another topic about their blog. If you want to post a comment to them anonymously..they still have to read what you have to say. Nothing stopping anyone from doing that.
The bottom line is that OHA needs to raise their standards. It used to be a good place to send your son. It was small and personal. Everything has changed. They have turned into a money making machine. Plus Mr. Kerr should not be coaching his kids, nephews and friends. They have enough coaches to make that happen yet Kerr places himself each year in position to coach his own kids. It's never a good idea to have these guys coach their own. It's not good for the parent coach and it is almost always terrible for the kid. There are a few exceptions but Kerr has a big reputation of being very harsh on his kids and berating them in front of their teammates which is not good for team morale.
I agree OHA was relatively good a few years ago. Since they over expanded their program they have really gone to the dogs. Hey if you make a mistake, at least own up to it and work to make the program better. That is the most irritating part is these guys don't accept any responsibility for everything running off the tracks. They still keep telling you what a great program it is. They are either stupid or not honest. Possibly both.
all these posts are interesting to say the least, I am a former player and this much is true regarding the academy, they didnt 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 and 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 know and they cant 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
Those comments are right on. Another player who fell for their promises and ending up using up all his time and not being promoted by the academy. Time and time again players who played there a long time have NEVER been promoted to higher organizations unless it paying 40K to play for the last place Summerland Sting. This is the whole purpose of why you would attend OHA. Moving up. If you break out of their organization like we did for a better one, they treat you like you got the plague. They are a bunch of hypocrites saying they want players to advance. It just doesn't happen. They are terrible at making contact with other teams and sure aren't connected with any of the top organizations in the USA. I know for fact in talking with some of the guys I know in the top organizations in the USA they think Alan Kerr is a clown. OHA is not respected in the very least in the USA. Alan tried to recruit some of the top talent form the USA and they laughed at him. Only in Alans mind is OHA a real player.
You are also right on in that the owners treat the rest of the people like trash, but in Penticton where are you going to get another job? Kevin, Barb, Robin, Blake, Robert, are all good people, but are just hired help. They have to just sit there and take it. Its an integrity issue with the ownership. They don't have any in the leadeship of OHA. Its all about the money. They seldom if ever deliver on any of their promises. I think it is great to hear from people like the last post who have lived it and are familiar with OHA like us. I wouldn't send my son there for free much less $40,000 dollars. Forget it.
parents who spend that kind of dough to educate their hockey players at OHA deserve full disclosure. Did OHA tell any of the readers that the high school sits beside the biggest crack house in Penticton and that the city won't shut it down? Their solution is to have a guard stand in the parking lot which is shared between the school and the crack house during school hours. The OHA boys sit at lunch and watch the drug deals go down as the crack heads pass the goods through a ripped screen on the bottom floor of the crack house. How many parents who can afford 40 grand would think that is a fine arrangement for their sons?
they definitely did not tell us during our site visit that OHA was next to a crack house. I remember the 24/7 next to the school but I don't remember seeing the yellow house. This is important information for parents sending their kids away to school.
they have torn down the old part of the school and it is not as close as before. But they still do have a rent a cop there it is not just OHA kids that go there as it is a public school.
I was going to send my kid to OHA until I heard about this peeping tom they have in penticton. He hangs around the 7-11. Does anyone have anymore info on this?
There is absolutely a crack house next door to the school and the 24-7. On occasion 1 security guard is hired by the city to pace the area, it is one man, but there are 4 corners to that 24-7 he can't be in all places.
As for semi-private school. What a joke. Not at all, it is a public school -public classes, and yes drug dealers sit next to the OHA boys in class. Some conselation is that the OHA boys miss so much class time for poorly scheduled ice times during the school day that their contact with their fellow drug dealing classmates is a bit limited.
Academy classes are like spares where the boys sit in a classroom, most do nothing, it is supervised by an academy teacher who helps some and doesn;t help others depending on their subject of preference and expertise. The boys all get very high grades in the catch up class (academy block) so it brings up their average because their core courses often suffer due to so much time lost because of poorly scheduled ice time during the schools weekdays.
The OHA block is in lieu of PE.
It allows the kids to catch up on any missed work. If the kids do nothing in this block whos fault is that? 1 block out of 8 and it brings there marks up? Not much, I am sure you can see that one.
You discredit the kids that work their butts off to get on the honor roll by hinting there is some kind of fix in. There is not.
If your darling didnt do well or did nothing in OHA block please dont judge the rest by your example.
As for the drugs issue, they are everywhere. Yes, even in the states. If your boy cant say no to drugs please dont send him to OHA.
The rest of the kids are there to be athletes and we dont need your kid screwing it up for everyone.
how much does it cost to play on major midget teams that are not apart of academys say in edmonton or calgary or kamloops.is it free or does a bus pick you up out side of your house and drive you to your games and pay the rooms, my son has play aaa and it adds up. even playing on an c team cost a bunch of money. These kids have to make the right choices when they are sent away to play and live.If your all so sure that oha is such a bad place to go where were you when you started looking. If your sons are so great they wouldnt need oha they would have aaa teams close to them bending over backwards for them to come play for them. So your sons probley werent good enough to make it there. or there minor hockey systems are just as messed as you guys claim the oha is and your son could be the best around but its who you know.and why dont people post there names on this blog if its all about helping people from being taken.what you got to hide?
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