Frequently Asked Questions:
My school does not offer Hockey Academy. Can I still enroll?
Yes, our program has had a number of students cross-enroll to a school that offers Hockey Academy. Students that attend any of the High Schools can take other courses, including Hockey Academy, as timetables are consistent throughout the district. Unfortunately, we cannot have Middle Schools students cross-enroll for Hockey Academy.
Is your program quite competitive?
Yes, our program is competitive in the sense that we push the players to work hard and develop their individual skills. Players will only improve if they want to. We do have a different ability levels of players as the program is designed to be accessible to all players. It is up to the individual to challenge themselves to become better hockey players and our on ice coaches will encourage players to compete within themselves and against others of similar abilities.
Do you only work on skills or do you have the occasional scrimmage to make it fun for the kids?
Fun is an important aspect of our program. We may not always have full ice five on five scrimmage but will play a variety of small area games allowing the players to practice the skills they learned during the drills.
Do you do any type of dry land or off ice fitness?
Each school differs in how they deliver their off-ice program. For example, at OKM dry land days or off ice days are usually Fridays and there are only 7 or 8 of these days in a semester. Normally we do something fun with the students away from the game of hockey. We will play minor games, go swimming and bowling as examples of off-ice activities.
How long does your program run? September to March, or all the way to June?
Again each school differs. OKM runs a semester timetable and the hockey academy students are on the ice Monday, Wednesday and off ice Friday for a week and the next week they are on ice Tuesday and Thursday. Hockey Academy students typically get 50 hours of ice time per semester.
Some schools offer a full year program that runs all year with 100 hours.