All in the name of hockey The students take part in tournaments hosted all over the continent. “It gives them an array of experience,” says Lascelle, co-founder of the Academy.
FRANCIS RACINE francis.racine@eap.on.ca
training in their own hockey specific training facility, an extensive game schedule, and numerous scouting opportunities coupled with strong university preparatory academ- ics in an Ontario Ministry of Education credit-granting private high school. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Lascelle and his wife established the Academy seven years ago. It seems that the whole family has hockey running in their veins. “Both my oldest daughters play for university teams, while my son plays for the Colts,” explains the obvious proudman. “My youngest daughter is currently playing for the Cornwall Typhoons.” Following a brief explanation of what the OHA is all about, the director gets up from his office chair and walks out of the doorway. “Let’s take a tour of the establishment shall we,” he says. Hard work and dedication “Imagine a private high school where you live on a residential campus with all of your classmates and teachers, study in
small classes under the supervision of great professors, and spend your afternoons and weekends immersed in hockey and some social activities,” states the OHA’s website, and a short walk through the dorm halls proves it. Following the tall man, one can clearly see how close-knit the 60 girls and 80 boys are. “In the lower level we have the boys and on the main floor, we have the girls,” he explains. “They don’t cause any trouble.” How could they? The hard-working stu- dents start their day at 7:25 a.m. and are finished by 5:15 p.m. “Wemostly concentrate in math and sciences,” stresses Lascelle. “I mean we teach every subject, we just don’t have a big art program.” The man also explains that the academy focuses a great deal on academics. “A lot of our students strive to reach prestigious universities.” The director then exits the building, heading towards what he describes as be- ing a restaurant before it was bought and
repurposed. “In there we have our class- rooms and cafeteria, as well as most of our schedules.” Inside, a dozen students are sitting at cafeteria tables, eating away at knowledge, books in hand. Some are mere inches from their study material and all are silent. “If they’re in grade 12, they have study halls at this time,” explains Lascelle. A small walk leads to the classrooms, all of them sport comfortable chairs and sturdy desks. Although they are small, the director stresses that this allows the Academy to pro- vide amore “one on one” type of education. “We offer students individual learning with all the responsibility, guidance and tools they need to take control of their own education, and prepare for academic, profes- sional and personal success,” he says. But although they concentrate on their studies, hockey is still quite an important part of their day. The OHA therefore has its own work out center, where students exercise and keep in shape. “They spend
Stepping in the Ontario Hockey Academy (OHA), located on Vincent Massey Drive in Cornwall, the first thing greeting visitors are several pictures of smiling, successful athletes. Wearing either the jersey of their home countries, as they participate in theOlympics, or themarkings of famous university hockey teams, the athletes all have one thing in common: they all attended the OHA. “We are a fully accredited educational institution,” says Giles Lascelle, director of girl’s hockey and co-founder of the acad- emy. “We’re one of only three schools in the country that does what we do. We are our own school, with our own teachers.” The OHA is a high-performance aca- demic-athletic private school dedicated to providing ambitious boys and girls the very best in academics along with elite hockey. They provide on-ice hockey practices, off-ice
Le Journal, Cornwall
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Le mercredi 27 janvier 2016
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