By Neil Corbett – Maple Ridge News
A new hockey academy at Samuel Robertson Technical School is giving players a chance to refine their skills, and learn about the game in a way that goes beyond minor hockey.
Pitt Meadows Secondary has had a successful hockey academy for 15 years, so when the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District chose to put a new academy in the east end of the district, it was natural for them to choose the operator of that program – Craig Millen of RPM. He now has 15 hockey academies across the province.
The decision was made after parent consultation, and it meant turning away from the elite hockey programs like the ones run by Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford and the Pursuit of Excellence (POE) in Kelowna. That allows kids who have been playing house league hockey to join the program alongside those who might be bound for hockey pay cheques, said Millen.