OKANAGAN HOCKEY ACADEMY: QUALIFICATIONS

"lots of ice and trips 55 games NHL coaches , Power Skating, Yoga the program has impoved much since last year!"

ok alan (or whoever), let's go over these one by one:

1)yes lots of ice, but you shouldn't have to go on road trips to calgary every month to play hockey in canada, and you DEFINITELY shouldn't have to drive an hour to kelowna just to practice once a week from april-july.

2) nhl coaches? Dirk and Wesley are legit, but just because you were qualified to get your face punched in for 9 years does not qualify you to teach skills and systems to young players who may or may not have better skating and hands than you. I can't comment on Randy Jaycock, but it's a bit of a misnomer to call a perennial bench-warmer an nhl player.Dixon Ward? his doctor took a blood sample and it was 80 proof (and he rarely even shows up). that nhlpa card only covers a 8x5cm part of your ass. you still have to cover the rest.

3)power skating yes. if a player is a real athelete, he will benefit from this (about 20-35% of your enrolled players).

4)yoga yes. about 3-4 times during the season, more regularly in summer. but really, who cares?

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

OKANAGAN HOCKEY ACADEMY: INSULTS YOUR BOYS AT 40K A YEAR

Yes, there is absolutely a well known crack house next to the school, which on occasion security is hired by the city to stand by and direct kids away from, -but they just meet around the corner -there is only one security guard there, he can't be on all four sides of 24-7 (store) at the same time.Yes they have tutors 'so to speak', do they ever go on out of town trips to help the boys as promised -no, never.Yes the boys go on road trips during review weeks -right before exams and have no tutors on the trips to help them study or answer questions for them. POE excels in this area, tutors go on road trips and a separate study room is booked at their hotel for them to use.Yes, you can hire private tutors in Penticton -at an additional $30.00 - $35.00 per hour. Most are students or recent grads.The curfew calls almost never ever happen, and the boys are pre-warned when they will occur.The boys attend a public school, with many teachers of very poor ratings -see 'rateyourteacher.com' for specific teachers.Yes, it is true most teachers are in an uproar because they do not want the hassle of having academy boys in their classes -why, because they miss so much school, that is a very heavy burden on them to try to get them caught up. Can you blame them?Yes, the OHA 'honor role' is fixed, the academy classes are like spares with an academy teacher walking around to help them if needed. The boys get high 90's in this class, but low grades in the core courses, average it out and voila! -good marks = honor role.Yes, drugs are rampant at Penticton Secondary School and there are known dealers in the same classes with the OHA boys.Do you really want to spend $40,000 plus to have your prospective hockey son at a public school sharing a desk with known school drug dealers?Yes, there are some success stories for OHA boys - but you have to know the connections, as for Cole Manning -awesome job for him, the 'real' OHA blog didn't mention that at the banquet Alan Kerr stated "I guess this shows that miracles can happen" when referring to this boy. Typical comment from Alan.Yes, when the coaches go on road trips, a few of them spend more evening/night time in bars drinking than supervising the boys.

We regret the move to OHA.