“The vision I had for this program several years ago has become a reality……kid’s lives are being changed. If parents are willing to share their son or daughter with us for 10 months, we know and we have seen, and parents consistently tell us, that this one decision will make the difference for a lifetime. If you are committed to having your son/daughter here, we are committed to finding a way with you, of getting them here.” Dave Roy

PLEASE INVEST 5 MINUTES MORE IN YOUR SON/DAUGHTER’S LIFE BY READING THE EXCERPTS FROM EMAILS WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM PARENTS THAT FOLLOW THIS OUTLINE. IN SHORT, EACH ONE IS SAYING THAT THIS PROGRAM IS LIFE CHANGING. AFTER A 10 MONTH, ONCE IN A LIFE TIME EXPERIENCE, YOUR CHILD WILL NOT ONLY COME HOME WITH ASTONISHING HOCKEY SKILLS, AND A MUCH DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF AND PASSION FOR THE GAME, BUT HE/SHE WILL RETURN TO YOUR HOME A MUCH MORE MATURE, RESPONSIBLE, ORGANIZED, RESPECTFUL, ACADEMICALLY MOTIVATED, LOVING AND COMPASSIONATE PERSON.

DATES: September 2007 through June 2008

LOCATION: Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

AGE ELIGIBILITY: 12-17 years of age; male and female qualified applicants accepted.

LEVEL OF HOCKEY: Triple A, Double A, or equivalent; some exceptions may be made for players who are late developers and show strong potential and a commitment to improve.

NATIONALITY: Players from anywhere in Canada, the USA, Europe and other parts of the world are welcome to apply.

SCHOOLS: Players should be going into grade 8, although some exceptions may be made for players going into Grade 7. Players in Grades 7-12 will be attending the Kelowna Christian Open School. We are pleased to work with KCS which has the highest academic record in the Okanagan Valley.

COACHING STAFF: David Roy and coaching staff will be conducting on-ice, off-ice, skills sessions and classroom sessions. David will bring in guest instructors in the field of sports psychology, speed training, and, periodically, other high level hockey coaches to add to the variety and overall development of the players.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: For the 2007-2008 school year, 3 groups of 29 players each will be selected and will reside in Kelowna, BC. The first and second group will be made up primarily of players 13-14 years of age. The third group will be made up of primarily players aged 15-17. All groups will attend a very specialized and intense skating and skill development program.

The players will live with carefully selected families. Players will have their class schedules arranged so they will attend school half days to take their core academic subject, but they will miss Physical Education and some other elective courses in order to attend the Pursuit of Excellence program. The players will receive additional school credits for their successful completion of the Pursuit program.

The daily program schedule Monday to Friday will consist of:

2 hours on-ice
1 hour of off-ice training
1 hour of skill development
1 hour of Pursuit Class (hockey concepts/systems, life skills and life values)

There will be little or no skating on weekends but the players will be involved in some activities during Saturday and Sunday including shooting pucks, a weekend team building retreat, hikes etc.  Players will be encouraged to attend a church of their choice on the weekends.  Often players will attend the same church as some of the coaches.

Although there currently exists a number of hockey academies, most, if not all other schools have the players participating on teams in organized leagues during the school year so that the focus and energy of the players tends to be on game play, travel to tournaments etc.  In the Pursuit of Excellence Program, players will be playing a minimum of 45 games, but they will be against other players in the program in a structured teaching environment.  These games will be video taped and analyzed through our Game Breaker software in class each Monday.  The games are extremely competitive, and as one rep player in the program said, “These are the fastest games I have ever played in.”  In addition to these games, the players will participate in some spring tournaments in April and May.

Players are free to join and play minor hockey while they participate in the Pursuit program.  However, the daily demands of the Pursuit program are so great that players wishing to do so will need to talk to Dave Roy about this option.  Parents have to keep in mind that their son or daughter will be getting over 925 hours of training and instruction in 10 months.

IF A REP HOCKEY PLAYER PRACTICES 2 HOURS A WEEK AND PARTICIPATES IN 2 GAMES A WEEK WITH HIS ACTUAL GAME PLAYING TIME BEING 1 HOUR, IT WOULD TAKE THIS PLAYER JUST UNDER 5 YEARS OF MINOR HOCKEY TO EQUAL THE 370 HOURS OF ICE TIME THAT A PLAYER IN THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE WILL GET IN 1 YEAR.  THIS DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE MORE SPECIALIZED LEVEL OF ON-ICE INSTRUCTION DURING THESE HOURS, NOR DOES IT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE 555 HOURS COMBINED OF ADVANCED OFF-ICE TRAINING, SKILL DEVELOPMENT, AND CLASS ROOM INSTRUCTION GIVEN TO PURSUIT PARTICIPANTS.

Players will return home at Christmas and during Spring Break.  Parents are welcome to come to Kelowna at any time to visit their child and observe the program.  Three times during the school year, the players will individually go through a series of on and off-ice tests.  An analysis of these test results along with a videotape will be sent home with each player at least twice a year.  The videotape will show an analysis of their skating, game footage, individual progress of their children, and perhaps a few other surprises!

The test results are used for each player to set goals throughout the year.  They receive a PLAYER’S SMART PLANNER, which is a 327 page goal setting, planning, tracking and evaluation system, designed specifically for the players in this program.  The planner is used by the players on a daily basis to achieve goals during the year in their personal/family life (eg making their beds and cleaning their rooms), their academics, health/fitness, and in hockey (eg increase slapshot speed by 20 mph).

All players will attend the weight room on a regular basis, and even for the younger players, resistance training with appropriate weights and supervision will be part of their weekly program.

Over $70,000 was spent on 3 pieces of specialized explosive weight training equipment, which allows athletes to train for strength and power, explosively, at ten times the speed they would train with free weights.  Traditionally, because of the effects of inertia and gravity, players had to do their strength training slowly and methodically.  This equipment, the first of its kind anywhere in Canada, is able, through computerization, to make 16,000 changes through each range of motion, which varies the resistance but most importantly, enables even 12 year olds to recruit all their muscle strength rapidly without fear of injury.  In hockey, during a split second race for the puck, it is not necessarily the strongest legs that get a player to the puck first, but it is the player who can recruit his maximum muscle strength the quickest.

Lenny Krayzelburg, who won three gold medals in the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, said this about VERT equipment, "It gives me a distinct edge I never had before.”  Comparing VERT to the use of free weights, he said, “You just never are able to start and stop (free) weights quickly enough to really work the fast twitch muscles so necessary in explosive strength sports.  My improvements since the Olympics have been far beyond what I expected, and I'm using VERT to help me stay as far in front as I can.”

In Men’s Fitness Magazine, Shaquel O’Neil, LA Lakers, NBA, MVP, when asked about this equipment, said, “I refuse to talk to anyone about VERT, because it is my personal training secret.”

Awesome home and away jerseys and matching socks have been made specifically for the program.  Players get to keep these jerseys at the end of the school year with their name and numbers on them.  Players also receive Pursuit t-shirts and tracksuits.

A weekend retreat in remote cabin country, at the beginning of the school year always proves to be an excellent team building experience and this retreat is also included in the overall cost.

Academic success and teaching players life values and life skills will be the first priority. (See the Class Schedule for a sample of the topics covered.)

COST: For the approximately 925 hours of training and instruction over 10 months (370 on-ice; 185 off-ice; 185 class room/ video sessions including guest lecturers, and 185 skill development), the cost is $12,000 Canadian.  Government sales tax (GST) of 6% would be added as well to this amount.  For players requiring room and board there is an added cost of $7,000 in Canadian funds (approximately $25 a day).  There is no additional schooling cost for players who are Canadian residents. For players residing outside of Canada there is an additional schooling cost of $5500.00 ( Canadian) payable to Kelowna Christian School. BC Medicare now requires that any player whose permanent resisidence is outside of BC, must have BC Medical coverage ( $700) for the 10 months while attending the Pursuit program.

GOALTENDERS:  Nine goaltenders will be accepted into the program; three goaltenders for each of the 2 groups of 13-14 year olds, and three goaltenders for the 15-17 age group.  The program for the goaltenders is exactly the same as for the players, but in addition, the goaltenders will receive specific goaltending instruction every week.  The goaltending instruction will be from our professional goaltending coach, Kim Dillabaugh.  Kim has been a goalie consultant to NHL teams, the NCAA, and major junior teams.  He is currently the goaltending coach for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League.  The cost for the goaltenders is reduced as well, by $2,000.  So the goaltender fee for the program is $10,000 plus GST.

APPLICATION PROCESS: Being accepted into the program is a three-step process.

1. The first step is to receive your fully completed application along with a $1,000 deposit (Canadian funds).  The said deposit will be refunded immediately if the player is not accepted into the program.

2. All applicants will be contacted and advised whether they are being considered further in the application process.  If they are, they will be asked to obtain three letters of reference, which must include a letter from a recent hockey coach, and current teacher. (This condition may be waived by the Pursuit.)

3. After reviewing the above-mentioned references, if the player is still being considered, then an interview with David Roy, the player and a parent, either in person or by phone will be held.  In some cases, a video tape demonstrating the player’s skating abilities and hockey skills, may be requested.

METHOD OF PAYMENT: Payment of the balance must be made by installments in the following manner:

A) Players not requiring room and board;

1. June 1, 2007 $2,930 Canadian funds (includes 6% GST)
2. Aug 1, 2007 $2,930
3. Oct 1, 2007 $2,930
4. Dec 1, 2007 $2,930

B) Players requiring room and board must pay $4,680 CDN funds per installment (includes 6% GST on program fee only) on the dates specified above.  Monthly or other periodic payments may be made, if more convenient, as long as the total of those payments equals the total of the above amounts by the dates specified.

C) Players who are non-residents of Canada would pay as in B above, plus would pay the Kelowna Christian School $5,500.

D) Goaltenders not requiring room and board would have equal payments of $2,400 on the dates stated in A.  Goaltenders requiring room and board would make equal payments of $4,150 due on the dates stated in A.

For a comprehensive look at the program curriculum, outline of classroom sessions, and feedback received from parents and players participating in the program, please click on the above headings. You can also obtain a copy of the application form by clicking on the tab above. TO ENSURE THAT YOUR APPLICATION IS CONSIDERED FOR THE UP COMING SCHOOL YEAR, PLEASE PRINT AND SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If you have questions, please contact our office at 250-979-7440.