RPM Hockey Company Ltd. owner Craig Millin and adminsitrative assistant Holly Rogers. (Ian Webster/Herald)
It’s official. Merritt Secondary School will be offering a hockey academy as an elective, beginning this September.
The formal announcement was made by MSS principal Bruce Bidney on Tuesday of this week, following the second of two public information sessions held on Feb. 4.
“It’s confirmed,” Bidney said. “We have at least 20 students now with some more coming. From what I understand, for a community of our size, to get these kinds of numbers in the first shot is quite a success.”
Bidney went on to explain the rationale for implementing a hockey academy in a high school setting.
“I just look at options for children, the students of Merritt. The more opportunities that we can offer to promote achievement — not just athletically but academically — the better. It is the way provincially that many schools are moving.”
The hockey academy will be a joint venture of Merritt Secondary School and RPM Hockey Ltd., based out of Maple Ridge.
Currently, RPM Hockey and its subsidiary, Pacific Rim Hockey Academy Ltd., operate 16 hockey academies in B.C. schools — from Prince Rupert and Chetwynd in the north to communities on the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island and throughout the Lower Mainland.
PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
“It’s a partnership between the school district and our companies,” RPM Hockey president Craig Millin told an audience of over 30 parents and students in the MSS library last Thursday night. “It is the best of the public sector and the private sector coming together to provide an in-school hockey academy.
“The academies have been put in place to provide students with a connection between academics and their sport of choice. Academics are a priority — they’re front and centre. We have very high expectations for this program.”
Millin went on to add, “The kids in the academy have to maintain their grades. If they slip academically, they may have reduced time in the academy. We don’t see much slippage. The kids want to be on the ice.
“The bottom line is we’re showing a marked level of academic improvement at every academy we have.”
Millin referenced three former Merritt Centennials who are RPM hockey academy graduates — Jordan and Regan Soquilla and Silvan Harper.
SUCCESS ELSEWHERE
In attendance at Thursday’s meeting was SD 58 assistant superintendent Dr. Christine Perkins. She is very familiar with and supportive of hockey academies in a school setting.
“It’s open to boys and girls, and creates a great sense of belonging with the students that are in it.”
“When I was principal at Howe Sound Secondary in Squamish (Sea to Sky School District), we initiated a hockey academy there, and it has run for the last three years. It’s been highly successful. It allows students to do school differently, and to focus on a passion of theirs while they attain their academics.”
Perkins went on to add that the initial success at Howe Sound has resulted in two additional hockey academies in the nearby Whistler/Pemberton area.
“It’s open to boys and girls, and creates a great sense of belonging with the students that are in it.”
FITTING IT IN
Bidney said the hockey academy would be a semester one (Sept. to Jan.) offering at MSS, because that’s when there’s ice available in local community arenas.
Securing an arena partnership is one of the things Bidney is prioritizing as things move forward, along with fitting the hockey academy into his school’s timetable and putting a teacher in place to oversee the program.
“Hockey skills are one thing, but it’s the interpersonal and communication skills that are the priorities.”
Arranging for on-ice instruction will be one of Millin’s many tasks as preparations for the academy move ahead.
“It’s really important that we line up people who philosophically fit with the program that we’re trying to run. That’s the most important part. Hockey skills are one thing, but it’s the interpersonal and communication skills that are the priorities.
“Our hope is to hire a senior person who will take the lead with the program in Merritt, somebody who is a real detail individual,” Millin said.
The hockey academy will run five days a week in the first semester, Millin said, with three on-ice and two off-ice sessions. The latter will include sport-specific activities focused on core strength, explosiveness and power, as well as classroom sessions on topics such as nutrition, personal growth and goal setting.
“We establish goals with the kids to do with school, family and the community,” Millin said. “We monitor those goals, and review them at the completion of the semester.”
THE PRICE TAG
The cost of the hockey academy is $1,220 for one semester, which can be paid in five monthly installments.
There is a discount if more than one member of a family registers. Applications must be submitted with a first-payment deposit of $244 which is fully refundable right up until June 30 of this year.
“There’s nothing to stop a family who can’t afford it from participating.”
Perkins emphasized that the hockey academy is open to anyone.
“There’s nothing to stop a family who can’t afford it from participating. School districts are bound to make sure everybody who wants access to something gains access, so we have other revenue sources that we can look at. For example, there’s our PACs and there’s the JumpStart program with Canadian Tire. It’s a board policy that we find a way for a student who wants to participate to participate.”
There is still room for a few more registrants, according to Millin. Interested individuals can reach him at (604) 476-0464 or [email protected]. More information and applications can also be found at www.rpmhockey.com. Applications are also available at MSS.
“The academy is put in place to help kids succeed academically,” Millin said. “It is probably the neatest thing a kid will ever do inside a school setting.”
