Centennial Secondary School District 43
To: RPM hockey Management,
Just a quick note to let you know that my daughter (grade 9) has enjoyed this class. She has been on the ice since she was six years old playing Ringette and just starting playing Hockey one year ago. She has always been a great skater, but she definitely needed the puck handling and control practice. Watching her play her games now, not only has her puck handling improved, but I also see her skating has improved. She is hoping to be able to take this class again in grade 10. Thank-you, Diane Harris
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Hi, My son, Carson Robinson, is enrolled in the RPM Hockey Academy out of Centennial Secondary School. I think it's a great program! A very good mix of on ice and off ice activities. Best of all, he loves it!I would not hesitate to enroll him in it for his next two years left at high school. I would definitely recommend the program to anyone.
Thank you. Darcy Robinson
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October 29, 2009
I would like to take this opportunity to show my support for the RPM hockey program which my son, David, attends as one of his courses at Centennial High School.
Not only does my son love the on ice time, he is, also, very engaged in the dry land training. David had broken his leg last December during a hockey game and was out of all sports for the following six months. I have not only noticed David’s leg regaining its muscles but also his overall conditioning has greatly improved. David’s has never been one to do exercises such as push-up and sit-ups but is now found doing them at home as well. Another benefit is that the program is helping our son to work through his fear and anxiety of being hurt in hockey. And we have also noticed a steady improvement in David’s hockey skills.
David has many times commented that he doesn’t have time to wander off school ground during lunch breaks because he doesn’t have time since the hockey class is linked to his lunch break. As a parent, this is another benefit to the program.
Another benefit is that he is spending some of his spare time volunteering down at the rink helping younger kids in their skating program.
Mary Wycherley
My son Tony is involved in the hockey academy this year at Centennial. His involvement in hockey stems from a deep abiding love and respect for the game. Outside the city hockey association, Tony has never had an opportunity to develop his skills in an atmosphere where stick handling, power skating, shooting and development of hockey instinct is encompassed in one setting. The academy offers a quality program which enables each student to develop into a more confident and skilled player. I believe the instructors and teachers involved in the academy are instrumental in providing quality on-ice and off-ice programs that will help the students become better players and well-rounded individuals. Lily Vukasovic
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Pacific Rim Hockey Academy Coaches,
Just a note to thank you for developing the hockey academy at Centennial High School. Our son Adam thoroughly enjoys it, and looks forward to it each day. He goes to school with a positive attitude towards school and genuinely looks forward to the day.
The benefits to our son of proper instruction in hockey skills, dry land development and nutrition, performance motivation, team play and sports psychology has significantly improved his performance and attitude in his sport pursuits as well as life and other relationships. The volunteer component of the program is very important to developing good community citizens, and we appreciate this being included. Attending the academy also has the benefit of introducing Adam to older kids that look out for him and support him around the school. He has mentioned this several times that the kids at the school in the academy are like a team, have bonded and stick up for each around school. This is a significant benefit to us as Adam is a first year student at Centennial and had some anxiety about integrating into a new school – the academy has made this transition much easier – thanks for that as well!
We would give our support to continuing this program, and would actually like to see the program extend into an all-year program (two semesters) or at least until the ice comes out in March. Not sure what you would do for the balance of the semester – perhaps dryland or another sport (ball hockey, roller hockey). There is also Planet Ice - not sure if you have given any thought to starting the program first thing in the morning in the second semester. That way parents could drop their kids at Planet Ice and the academy would only have to bus them back. I know other academies use bussing. Just a suggestion! I have heard that you are contemplating having two groups next year – I might suggest you break them up into two levels of skills, especially if there is quite a discrepancy between skill levels. It hasn’t been a problem as kids work at their own speed in the drills but if there are two groups it might be more challenging to each kid to have peers closer to their own skill level.
In summary, we feel the program should be continued to give kids a chance to pursue a sport they enjoy, so they maximize their physical education opportunities. It also improves their outlook towards school which, especially for boys, can sometimes be a challenge to hold their attention! It also broadens the opportunities our local schools can provide and utilizes under used municipal facilities. Thanks for providing this opportunity for our son!
Paul & Jo-Anne Rockwood (parents of Adam Rockwood)
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From Natasha Panahi - Grade 10 Centennial Hockey Academy Student:
The Hockey Academy provides a high level of development.
The trainers are very good.
The program itself is better than what I was expecting it to be.
It's been great! Natasha Panahi
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Hi,
The academy is fun and seems to be improving the players. I like how on the ice sessions, every time they do something different, and focus on different things. Also, that since they only have one class, they look at everyone’s abilities as well, and help everyone improve on things they might lack on. The dry land is great, it seems to be really helping and strengthening everyone. One thing that I would improve on and change is the ice time. It seems to be difficult splitting up two blocks and doing the academy in between, having time to shower and get back to class on time. Maybe you could change the time of the ice time to later on in the day, perhaps last block.
Katherine Kovacs Centennial Secondary