The “HOCKEY CANADA SKILLS ACADEMY” is an athlete-centered program aimed at developing the whole athlete. Our goal is to enhance a player’s confidence and self-esteem while giving them opportunities beyond the secondary school system.

Our role is to provide additional training for minor aged players, male or female, beginners or advanced, competitive or recreational, who are registered with the local minor hockey association.

The partnerships that are in place at all of our Academies include Hockey Canada, BC Hockey, local minor hockey associations, District School Boards, and individual schools.

The benefits for each participant are as follows:

• Enhancement of individual technical and tactical development

• Provides a better balance for the practice to game ratio that exists currently in minor hockey.

• Enhancement of academic achievement through establishing a better balance between athletics and academics within the school system
  
   

The “N/C HOCKEY GROUP” was created after Nancy Wilson and Cam Kerr, two long-time advocates of skill development in the Province of British Columbia, observed the results of the Molson Open Ice Summit held in Toronto in June of 1999. One of the recommendations stuck out like a sore thumb.

Recommendation # 10 said “Promote cooperative efforts between school boards, local hockey associations and sponsors, to better utilize ice times and school facilities and move towards the development of sport schools”.

This was an opportunity for us to generate more skill development through the school system, rather than through the minor hockey associations.
 

Our first school, Aldergrove Community Secondary School, embraced the concept and created our first ever class in September of 2003.  The N/C Hockey Group grew from there where we had 4 Hockey Skills Academies throughout the Lower Mainland.  Along with ACSS, they included Langley Secondary, Burnaby North Secondary, and Windsor Secondary in North Vancouver.

Every year we discuss our role in each of the Academies to determine whether or not the school can become self-sufficient. Aldergrove and Burnaby North have decided to branch out on their own.  We will still be involved on a consultative basis.   Our task is to venture out into the community to see if other schools would be interested in creating a Hockey Skills Academy.