OHA is definitely an unsafe environment. There is a crack house right next to the HS. It is a PUBLIC school. Want to pay 40K for a public school just because they have hockey? Think about what an insane thought that is for anyone to consider. They fix teams and do not help the kids move on to higher play, as they claim. They kids who have moved on came to OHA with very special discounts (a fraction of the 40K tuition) and those kids are so good they were going to move on anyway with or without OHA.If you are an American the story is even more bleak. In their entire history they have not moved an American player to the BCHL Jr A. They will offer to put in a word for your son to play NORPAC (bottom feeder league for kids going nowhere). A few American kids go to KIJHL, but very few and that will become the end zone. I believe they moved 1 player that was American on to a Div II or III college scholarship this year. Note that the young man left OHA to play in Wenatchee for a year to get real development which makes me question what role OHA really played in getting him to a college level, albeit Div II or III.Look at the west coast (SoCAL or NorCAL) hockey. OHA got wiped clean in every AAA US tourney they entered last year. The OMAHA league is solid but cannot compare to USA AAA level hockey. You are better off staying in the states and dealing with the politics that come your way at home.
The politics at OHA are just as bad and you end up with empty pockets at Nose bleed tuition for public HS.If you insist on looking to send your son to Canada, look at POE in Kelowna. The kids go to a private Christian school and the program is very good. They go back and forth with OHA when they play at all levels and their tuition is a fraction of the cost. The other one to consider in Notre Dame. Don't look for these guys to blow smoke up your a$$ because they won't. At Notre Dame they will place your son according to ability. At OHA is all about negotiating your son's team place BEFORE tryouts. At least at Notre Dame you know exactly where your boy stands.
OHA has some good coaches. Actually, they have some very good coaches. Unfortunately, Oakes and Kerr tie their hands and greatly limit the impact they could have on the boys if they had the freedom to do their jobs. It starts with Kerr telling them exactly who will play on their teams, again based on parent negotiation, and it goes downhill from there. OHA has two very good coaches on their coaching staff, Blake and Rob. The other very good coach they had was Steve, but he has finally broken free for greener pastures.
Good luck!
4 comments:
my son played there and it sounds like it is worse now then when he was there. I would stay very clear of Alan and Andy unless your last name is Kerr you are going to get screwd and getting nothing out of the program.
Please read this board very carefully before you decide to go there.
Easily I assent to but I dream the brief should acquire more info then it has.
huh? You can acquire all the info you need by watching their shameful results. The only players that do anything are the ones who had skill before they got there. Don't count on anyone there to advance your player to higher levels. The goal is merely to develop their own and fatten their bank accounts with your money in the process. Anyone willing to spend 40K for a marginal public school that sits next to a crack house gets what they deserve.
Anyone who spends five minutes doing their homework would never choose this drug infested school.
let's talk about legitimate grievances that any player of any skill level would have with the program:
the coaches will teach you the general structure of a typical 1-2-2 but almost always fail to inform individuals and linemates of the subtleties that make the system successful (where to position your stick, when and where to pressure, etc.)
the pervading culture of high-shcool hockey in penticton frowns upon extra-curricular team-building (linemates developing set plays, d-men talking to goalies about breakout strategy, etc.)
individual or teammate-to-teammate improvisation, planned or otherwise, are strictly and forcefully suppressed.
these should be considered more important than who's getting the lion's share of the coach's attention or who's snorting what; these are they real hindrances to your son's development as a hockey player (let's be honest: you AND the oha don't give a fuck about developing "moral values" or wtf they say they do)
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