Senior executives with Hockey Canada, including BC Hockey’s Michael Butler, will be visiting Osoyoos this week to learn more about the hockey academy that has been offered at Osoyoos Elementary School for the past eight years. Founder and teacher Dean Rowland (far left) was on the ice at the Sun Bowl Arena with Grade 3 and 4 students on Tuesday afternoon.
KEITH LACEY
Officials want to learn more about success of hockey academy at Osoyoos Elementary School
The teachers and volunteers with the hockey academy at Osoyoos Elementary School are doing such an outstanding job, that they have attracted the interest of Hockey Canada officials here in British Columbia.
There are many hockey academies across B.C. and the rest of Canada at the high school level, but it’s believed the academy operating out of Osoyoos is the only one in the entire province, said founder and longtime Osoyoos Elementary School teacher Dean Rowland.
Because of the success of the program, senior brass with B.C. Hockey/Hockey Canada will be visiting Osoyoos this week to take a close look at how the academy is run and its system of success.
“Hockey Canada officials contacted me and said they wanted to take a closer look at what we’re doing right here in Osoyoos,” said Rowland. “Their top executive, Michael Butler, is making the trip to Osoyoos along with a couple of other executives and hopefully they will be impressed.”
The hockey academy out of Osoyoos Elementary School is now in its eighth year of operation.
The program was originally offered to students in Grades 4 to 7, but that has been expanded to include Grade 3 students the past couple of years.
Students in Grades 3 and 4 and a few from Grade 5 hit the ice every Tuesday afternoon during the school year at the Sun Bowl Arena. Students in Grades 6 and 7 and a few from Grade 5 take to the ice every Wednesday afternoon. On Friday afternoon, all 39 students registered in this year’s program take to the ice together.
The whole idea behind the academy is to improve hockey skills and have some fun, said Rowlands.
“The entire academy is skills based,” he said. “It’s about instilling a love for the game of hockey, which isn’t the hard part, and then working on their skills so they become better players.”
Most of the kids enrolled in the hockey academy play minor hockey and their participation in the program has certainly paid dividends for their club teams, he said.
A large percentage of students will get involved with the hockey academy at Osoyoos Secondary School once they graduate from the elementary school, he said.
Hockey Canada runs skills development camps across the country on a regular basis and they wanted to take a look at what’s being taught to young players in Osoyoos, said Rowland.
“They wanted to see what we focus on, what works and what might not work,” he said. “They also want to talk to the kids about the program and what they like the most.”
Rowland is a coach with the Okanagan Hockey School in Penticton during the summer months once school is over and says his passion for working with children and improving their hockey skills never goes away.
Having top officials from Hockey Canada visit Osoyoos to look at the program here is exciting, he said.
“We’ve been around for eight years and put an awful lot of kids through the academy, so we’re obviously doing something right,” he said. “Hockey Canada heard about our program and contacted us, so we’re excited to have them and hopefully they will be impressed with what we’re doing.”
Being able to combine his love of teaching and coaching hockey has been a labour of love for the past several years and Rowland says he’s looking forward to spending many more years heading up the hockey academy.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
