Sunday, December 26, 2010

OKANAGAN HOCKEY ACADEMY'S ALAN KERR QUIETLY DISAPPEARS FROM WEBSITE

With no announcement or fanfare, Alan Kerr evaporates from the Okanagan Hockey Academy website. He is no longer presented on the OHA website as an owner, a coach, or as a staff member.

What is the shake up at OHA?

Da, da, da..... another one bites the dust.....

Why would another retired NHLer leave the ranks of OHA without explanation. Is it because his own children have moved on so he is not there to give them preferential treatment anymore?

Once upon a time, Okanagan Hockey Academy fielded a staff entirely of retired NHL players. It was their best selling feature. Now they have doubled their tuition rates and slashed their staff experience. Only two retired NHL players remain on their coaching staff.

Who is willing to pay over $50,000 a year for this nonsense? Any takers?

When will Dirk and Wesley move on to a more respectable coaching position elsewhere? Time will tell the real story here, but it is safe to assume they will not be sticking around this cracker stand for long.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe he followed Nicholas to his new team to make sure he gets more ice time. He is out of the summer camps too.

Anonymous said...

Alan retired. That was his plan from the start and it was well known that he would be done when his boys were through. Sold his shares to JP Kaumeyer and is moving to Calgary.

Anonymous said...

That is interesting. It's surprising he is not moving somewhere where he can hover over his sons.

Anonymous said...

One can only assume the departure was not friendly. No official announcements were made, no going away retirement parties, no thanks for the years of service etc.

There's a lot going on at OHA and none of it is good.

Anonymous said...

It was not a friendly departure. OHA will be better off without Alan Kerr. He had one single minded goal to take care of his own boys at the expense of the others.

Anonymous said...

Having had a son recently attend the OHA for a couple of years, the following comments might be of use to other potential OHA parents: 1. First class training facilities and ice; 2. Good quality coaching, particularly McLaughlin and Wesley; 3. Penticton High School is a very good high school, no drug issues, particularly for OHA players and the Pen High/OHA connection works very well, so don't listen to the rubbish about Pen High being a drug den; 4. Problem #1: The OHA does not play competitive hockey, rather a series of exhibition games combined with second rate tournaments. For a good to great player, ie., one who has a chance to make the WHL or BCHL at 16 or 17 the OHA is a waste of time. He will simply not be playing competitive hockey against the better players at or around his age. For a hard working player who is still a long ways from the top couple of rungs, the OHA would provide alot of training, ice time and some good coaching, which could be of a benefit for one year, no more. Problem #2: Friends and family of OHA insiders, be they owners, employees or friends (see the cases of the Kerrs, Dirks, Playfairs...) These players will be placed on the top team without competition and regardless of their skills. Further, the top team that these players are on will enjoy a disproportionate amount of travel to the US for games. Problem #3: the best interests of each player are way down the list in terms of the priorities of the OHA. Priority #1 for the OHA is filling their teams, so that if they consider that your son is a lock to play with them next year then your son will not be playing on the top team. They like to fill up the bottom teams, again with little regard for skill level, and keep the top team open for friends and the odd top prospect. The best way to deal with the OHA is to show up for your meeting with the powers that be, with your post-dated cheques in hand, along with a resume of your son's history and negotiate your son's position for the next year. A parent from Nelson did just that this year, as the OHA had previously told him that he son would have to try out for the Quad team,which generally means that he will not make the team, and by forcing the OHA to choose then and there, they guaranteed the player's spot on the Quad team. Don't pay the OHA the money before you have your son playing where you want him to play. This past year, in what seems to have been a rather desperate attempt to build a competitive dream team, and again with no regard for players who had worked hard the previous year to move up the ladder, the OHA brought in several purportedly high end players, again apparently on a free ride basis. Unfortunately, the team (the Quad team) has been a flop: can't beat the only semi-competitive two teams that they play regularly (The Edge from Alberta and Wenatchee); can't even win a AAA tournament (whipped by the second team from Notre Dame in the Kelowna final); and of course they don't even participate in the best tournament for "Quads", the Mac in Calgary. In my view, Major Midget is the only way to go for the solid 15 or 16 year old in the Province of British Columbia and it costs less than 1/3 what the OHA charges.

Anonymous said...

The best teams that have ever played for OHA where coached by AK. All you new players to OHA forget that before you came along it was only AK and Andy Oaks who coached, you even had goody as a third coach. AK might be gone, same may say for the better but as Andy use to say we where building a house (as he would remind us at OHA when we would when 5 games a year in the early years). If it wasn't for AK the OHA would be light-years behind and not half the program it is now, despite all the political rhetoric.

Anonymous said...

expectations of those that are not satisfied with there experience at OHA should look back at what they expected when they sat down and tried to tell the academy what and how good there player is, I believe when you look at the whole program, the schools, the facility and the staff and look at the whole package you will find the the successful families and players are the ones that are committed for 2-3 years, understand wat they will get out of the program and not ask for a free ride or half a free ride,last time I looked nothing is free in this world and for sure it costs money to run a program like this, people move on, its life, the problem is everyone that comments likely doesn,t know the whole story and talks about it to please themselves, free speech doesn,t mean that we all know everything about everybody, if you don,t like the rules don,t play the game.

Anonymous said...

wow are you ever drinking the kool-aid!