Monday, August 17, 2009

OKANAGAN HOCKEY ACADEMY: DRUG PROBLEMS

No, they do not perform drug testing - they should. You sign that it is okay to do, but when the coaches son is one of them using drugs and/or alcohol no kidding they won't do them.Yes they promote your son -if you are personal friends.Yes the boys do get some exposure on road trips which results in letters for spring/main camps for Junior A and B teams, but don't ever voice a concern about the program because when the teams contact Alan for a previous years referral watch out. My wife and I know of some families that have fallen misfortune to this. Many know to see through it and don't bother making the referral call to Alan at all.Yes the OHA has connections with the NCAA, but after you enrol with OHA, and a few months pass and the scout from the NCAA won't recognize you, your wife, or your son in an empty room.Yes the boys miss many many classes for ice time or on or off ice training. Time that they can't make up especially with resentful teachers.Yes they have an absolutely beautiful new office with decorative brick walls and waterfalls. Simply stunning.Yes they have kicked some academy boys out of the program for misbehaving and not following rules and of course kept all the money.Yes they had dismissed an academy staff member for issues non disclosed but related to certain 'deals'.No they do not support your son, it is a 'gonna watch you till we get you' approach.Yes they have problems getting billet families due to past bad experiences, many have backed out and said enough.Yes sometimes there are up to 4 academy boys in one billet house.No the billet coordinator does not go and check out the homes prior to billeting the boys, some live in basement rooms with no windows, or closets -just 4 walls.Yes, the boys develop their skills on ice but not as much as they should for the amount of time they spend on the ice with ex NHL'ers.Yes the boys mature but mainly because of the morals, values, goals that they come with and strong support from their families at a distance.Yes most of the players from last season have decided not to return because of their personal disappointment with the program.Yes global is not what it is promoted as, there are not many scouts present. Vegas is better than Burnaby. Yes letters do come from some scouts that do attend, it is a big recruitment tactic, but also every other money making camp as well that your e-mail is shared with. Every player at OHA summer camps receives a global invite which recognizes them as an elite player, even if they are house league level.Yes the boys are kept busy with their schedule, but we can not stress enough how many classes they miss, school is definitely second in the OHA program. If they fall behind because OHA schedules most of their practises etc during certain class time, the boys are blamed for falling behind.Yes we understand they are making some adjustments for this coming season -wonder why?We regret moving our son to OHA

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

very accurate report. i specifically second the "gonna watch you 'til we get you" policy. politics is a dirty game in any form, but even more so when your opponent is 15 years old and doesn't know he's playing

Anonymous said...

Should be drug testing for the parents. That way the lunitic behind all these false acusations and half truths would not even have made it in to the academy. Let alone be kicked out....

Anonymous said...

well while we're talking about who should be drug tested, how about adding team trainers to the list. there was an incident a few years ago where a trainer was driving on the freeway high on opioids, and was nodding in and out of consciousness behind the wheel. said trainer is no longer with the program (for unrelated reasons), but that doesn't change the fact that around 10 students were almost driven off the road.

there is nothing false about this accusation and has not been exaggerated at all. anyone who can verify this story back me up if you see this.

Anonymous said...

As for the idiot that wrote about drug testing for parents.. and the so called false accusations and half truths....let me tell you pal, you are the idiot, Take off your blind fold! Do you have any clue why one of the trainers was fired around Christmas of 2008? Not because he moved onto bigger and better things, the prescription med mess he was in with the clinic and one of the OHA boys (who got booted out too) caught up with him. Before you comment...get the facts. And if you don't think the kids in OHA needthose drug tests, check your kids text messages! Did you know that for $25.00 the boys can locally purchase a detox that they can drink an hour before any drug testing to clear their system. Bet your kid had one or two bottles in his bag! Let me guess -you didn't know that one either. Any more stupid comments? Get a bit more into the know pal.

Anonymous said...

Oh hey, I have an even better idea! Do drug and alcohol testing on the billet families! Oh would you be surprised!

Anonymous said...

Obviously you are off your meds....
As for my kid he is an athlete and knows the score with drugs. If people teach there children then perhaps they would know better....
Or you could wait until something bad happens and blame the academy.
Seems like the best way to me....
I checked his bag and there was some stuff in there. A couple of junior A main camp invites... No drugs.
I am sure there are troublmakers that do drugs at OHA. They are everywhere. I would suggest it is up to the parents to teach your children. Not to whine that OHA caught them. If you think your kid needs drug testing you shouldnt send him to the academy!

Anonymous said...

Who are you, the # 1 parent in the world? Hey NIM_ROD your kid is the one selling the drugs. All we real parents wanted was for OHA to test for drug use. Like they said they would, and get RID of any one using them. Is that so hard to understand? MY GUESS IS THAT YOU ARE ALAN. If not, you need to get on MEDS.

Anonymous said...

Hey Nim_ROD??? Good one.
My point was and is the academy should not have to check these boys. They should know better if they are trying to be athletes.
If you want a babysitter you are looking to the wrong place. By the way the wording was they could drug test your kid not will drug test them and keep them drug free.
I am sure there is a rehab clinic in the states cheaper and shorter than the academy, perhaps you should look into it? One last thing not everyone that thinks you are wrong is Alan.
If it helps you sleep at night you can call me Alan.

Anonymous said...

Ok Alan the Nim-Rod. By the the way there is a ,,,,, after kid and before not. What makes you think i live in the States. Good night i am going to get a good nights sleep.

Anonymous said...

It's been over a month and we have not heard from NIM-ROD. My guess is that he was looking in his kids hockey bag and found more then "A" invites. Now he must have trouble sleeping at nite. Hello ALAN are you there. Guess not.

Anonymous said...

You might hear from me more often if you stopped blocking my posts...
I sleep very well at night have no fear. I still stand by all my comments. Drugs and partying distractions will always be there and in the end it is up to the kid
to make the choice. If he wants to be a high end athlete he will stay away from drugs. If not he should not be at the academy, period.
Do you not think the kids at the other prep schools all deal with the same issues? Is this an OHA thing or just a fact of life now days. I would say no matter which school you look at they all have the same issues. One of the highest users of drugs is the US armed forces and they do the drug testing as you suggest.
The only true deterent is knowledge. You might want to find someone to give some of it to your son...

Anonymous said...

I will not try to talk sense to you anymore after the Armed Forces bit. I wish the Blog Master would block your posts. By the way i don't have a Son. Good nite.

Anonymous said...

FYI, The used furniture store across from the school (used to be the old YMCA building) that some of you didn't believe was making home or anywhere deliveries of at least alcohol to the OHA minors has been shut down and the building is for sale. But if you have been listening to the news, drug dealers have now moved to the library right beside and directly across from the school.

Anonymous said...

OHA VANS IN BAR PARKING LOTS
I just want to say the following...
Recently I had friends in from out of town and decided we would head over to the Barley Mill for some food, brewskies and some good old karaoke...WELL...our plans changed when we drove into the parking lot and saw a couple of the Okanagan Hockey Academy Vans parked there. Guess they either stopped in for a brewskie themselves or this is the new place to park vans late at night on weekends for advertising purposes...lol...
We should have went in with a video camera!