Wednesday, December 23, 2009

OKANAGAN HOCKEY ACADEMY: UNSAFE ENVIRONMENT

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!