After a successful inaugural session, Frances Kelsey Secondary School's hockey academy will be expanding for 2014/15.
In partnership with the school, Pacific Rim Hockey Academy ran a midget program for Grade 10-12 students this year, and will return to conduct that program along with a bantam class for Grade 8 and 9 students next year.
Contrary to rumours he has heard, Pacific Rim owner Craig Millin assures interested students and their parents that there is still room in both age groups.
"Everybody is under the impression that the academy is filled," Millin said. "They feel like they missed the opportunity to get involved."
Pacific Rim runs 14 academies throughout the province, and the program at Kelsey was a particular success.
"It ran very well for a couple of reasons," Millin said. "One is that [Kelsey vice principal] Lori Hryniuk has been really good. The other is that we've been bringing academies on for 10 years already, so we've got a lot of the bugs worked out. It's pretty seamless now."
Kelsey and Pacific Rim have worked hard to make the academy inclusive, affordable and available to anyone interested. The response from participants, parents and staff at the school and school district has been overwhelmingly positive.
"For a lot of these kids, they can't think of a better way to spend the day than with a little bit of hockey mixed in with the academics," Millin said.
For more information, contact Lori Hryniuk through the school or email craig@rpmhockey.com