One of the most prestigious female hockey programs in Alberta is shutting its doors for the year. The Warner Hockey School will not have a team this season, after receiving just eight verbal commitments prior to the season.
“We made efforts to recruit players for the upcoming season, and we weren’t able to recruit enough to field a team for this year,” Warner School Principal David LeGrandeur said.
The Warner Hockey School was the first of its kind when it came to the community in 2001. But as years have gone by, the school says recruiting has become more difficult.
“Now, there are a number of programs in western Canada,” LeGranduer said. “So there’s more competition. There aren’t a lot of girls – Grade 10, 11 and 12 – in the pool.”
The school also believes an economic downturn is making it more challenging for parents to pay the $33,000 annual tuition.
“There is just fewer girls and fewer who are available to be a part of a program where there’s a tuition fee,” LeGrandeur said.
The hockey school dropped the fee to $20,000 this year, but were still unable to get the numbers they needed to ice a team.
The school says it had several players with eligibility left, and who could have returned to the program, but chose not to.
“There were a number of changes that we went through as a program last year,” LeGrandeur said. “There was a transition in staff – that would certainly have played a part in it.”
That transition in staff included Bruce Bell replacing longtime bench boss Mikko Makela as head coach and director of the program.
The school is now aiming to get back on the ice in 2017.
“We’re evaluating what is going to be the best fit for us in terms of the hockey market that is out there right now,” LeGrandeur said. “We’re entertaining the idea of potentially looking at a boys program as we revision for the future.”
The battle is to get back to what they were and they’re hoping to embody the same resilience as another local hockey club.
“You look at the Hurricanes and they went through some troubles. They brought in new culture, new beliefs, new systems, and now everything is on the up and up,” Bruce Bell said. “I don’t know if I’m capable of getting it to that point to where they are now. But that is my focus, and the school’s, focus to create a new culture and promote these athletes.”
Comments