Skinner Academy hits Minneapolis Fall of 2010

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

Sean Skinner is opening a hockey academy at the Super Rink in the fall of 2010. Offering grades up to grade 10, Bantam and Midget Minor. Should be an exciting addition to the local hockey scene!

http://skinnerhockeyacademy.com/

quoting site: 1 year at The SKINNER HOCKEY Academy is the equivalent to 6 years of instruction, and athletic development based on the teaching progressions, that the players would have received at their local home team.

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

FYI for anyone who's interested. Enrollment is cut off on Friday May 28th for the 2010-11 season

[HockeyDad41]

Sean Skinner is opening a hockey academy at the Super Rink in the fall of 2010. Offering grades up to grade 10, Bantam and Midget Minor. Should be an exciting addition to the local hockey scene!

http://skinnerhockeyacademy.com/

quoting site: 1 year at The SKINNER HOCKEY Academy is the equivalent to 6 years of instruction, and athletic development based on the teaching progressions, that the players would have received at their local home team.

Excellent! I was looking for a program that would make my 12 year old ready for D1 college hockey next year.

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

Your 12 year old is in grade 10?

[HockeyDad41]

Your 12 year old is in grade 10?

We home school him and he skipped a couple of grades.

Did I mention his little brother is 6'3" and 215

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

Did I mention his little brother is 6'3" and 215

The football forum is over here http://www.fbforyouth.com/

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

They are accepting grades 8 through 10 this fall

[old goalie85]

I not good at math , but, 1=6 ? Yea.... RIGHT MAYBE IN HIS NORTH CAROLINA MAKET.

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

Not including games / tournaments, it equals 1,050 hours of hockey instruction from start to finish - so his 6:1 ratio may even be a modest estimate - it's actually closer to 11:1

[MrBoDangles]

Not including games / tournaments, it equals 1,050 hours of hockey instruction from start to finish - so his 6:1 ratio may even be a modest estimate - it's actually closer to 11:1

If this Skinner feller knows what it takes.... Why is he not there? With his 5 year to 1 training he should be the best in the world!!!

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

He might have been ... his religion prevents him (practically) from being a professional athlete. He can teach on his own schedule but he's not allowed to perform ... at least not from sundown on Fridays to sundown on Saturdays ... making it impractical for Sean to continue on playing in a professional environment, despite the demand for him to do so

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

He is sought after by the best in the world for training ... Ovechkin, the Montreal Canadiens, the Russian, Canadian and Swedish Olympic Teams ... he's fallen in love with the facilities at the National Sports Center as a hub for his training ... couldn't be a better fit ... the best hockey teaching facilities in the world matched with the best hockey teacher in the world

[SuperStar]

I have heard the cost is around 28,000 for the year - Is that true..?

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

It's 31.5 and drops to 29.5 for those who pre-pay in full. That's for the full meal deal including room & board ....

I was told the room & board portion is 9K and the meal part is engrained, as students are at the campus from 9AM - 8:30 PM, so will be participating in team meals regardless of where they sleep ... however, for those close enough to Shwans who don't need the dorm, there is a discount. I'm not sure what it is ... 4K? 5K?

In any event, it appears locals who wish to take advantage and pre-pay in full will be getting a decent discount compared to out-of-state students who are paying full fare.

[HockeyDad41]

It's 31.5 and drops to 29.5 for those who pre-pay in full. That's for the full meal deal including room & board ....

I was told the room & board portion is 9K and the meal part is engrained, as students are at the campus from 9AM - 8:30 PM, so will be participating in team meals regardless of where they sleep ... however, for those close enough to Shwans who don't need the dorm, there is a discount. I'm not sure what it is ... 4K? 5K?

In any event, it appears locals who wish to take advantage and pre-pay in full will be getting a decent discount compared to out-of-state students who are paying full fare.

So what you're saying is that I could take this hockey thing to a whole new level of ridiculousness!

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

Financially, the Skinner model compares favorably against traditional academies like Shattuck and the Western Canadian equivalent, Notre Dame at Wilcox.

In the case of Shattuck & Notre Dame (Saskatchewan), kids get between 4 - 6 hours of ice every week. This is complimented with 2 dryland sessions and they are left to their own devices when it comes to the gym.

The Skinner Academy will be giving kids 10 full hours of ice each week in addition to 10 hours dryland and an additional 5 hours of classroom/theory.

Further, in the case of Shattuck, for example, hockey ends when hockey ends. After that the kids are shuffled off to LaCrosse or soccer, where the Skinner Academy continues it's emphasis on hockey through to the end of the school year.

The David Roy program, Pursuit of Excellence Academy in Kelowna BC, Canada, is closer in step to what Skinner offering BUT students in David Roy's academy are lucky to see Roy himself for just a few hours a season. Sean Skinner is committing his own time on the ice with the kids every day. He is personally invested in the success of each student and will personally guide the development of each student.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The comments I have just made above are the result of telephone calls to the Skinner Academy and conversations I have had with Mr. Skinner directly. I had similar questions and these are the answers he provided. I am not speaking from personal experience or thorough research of the above mentioned schools, nor have I have not had a child attend Shattuck, Notre Dame or the Pursuit of Excellence Academy. You should do your own due dligence if you are interested in either of these options.

Skinner Academy - Blaine, MN
http://skinnerhockeyacademy.com/
585-271-5494 wk
585-355-0935 cell

Shattuck St. Mary's - Faribeault
http://www.s-sm.org/
507-333-1500
800-421-2724

Pursuit of Excellence
http://www.pursuitofexcellence.ca/
OFFICE: 250-491-4160
FAX: 1-888-494-1424

Athol Murray College of Notre Dame at Wilcox
http://www.notredame.sk.ca/
(306) 732-2080
(306) 732-4409

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

...

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

So what you're saying is that I could take this hockey thing to a whole new level of ridiculousness!

Not sure how new it is ... Shattuck/Notre Dame/Pursuit of Excellence has been around a while and kids like Patrick Kane have always been pushing the limits of time spent on hockey ... that's nothing new ... boils down to personal choice and passion ... what works for one player/family may not work for another ... always nice to have options though ...

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

...

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

... then there is the ridiculum of money ... bringing to mind an extremely wealthy family in Cole Harbour, NS who poured dollars on top of dollars shipping their young son to hockey camp after hockey camp from a very young age ... as far away as Europe ... eventually sending young Sydney to a foreign land to attend the most expensive hockey prep school they could find ... that's nothing new either

[MrBoDangles]

Sounds like it will be a great thing for Minnesota and Blaine in particular. MN is on a fast track to become the hockey mecca of the world. Look for MN grown players, in the NHL, to quadruple in numbers the next 10 - 15 years. The more top end programs the better.

[old goalie85]

Bodangle---- Good point. Any program like that is a plus for MN.

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

Look for MN grown players, in the NHL, to quadruple in numbers the next 10 - 15 years. The more top end programs the better.

Spot on.

For all the detractors of the various programs, summer hockey, off season development programs and elite programs in Minnesota and vicinity are better than anywhere else on the planet right now.

The Velocity Center, Minnesota Made, Herb Brooks Center, Total Hockey, Acceleration Centers, Shattuck, Wisconsin Fire, Showcase, Tiger Athletics, Northern Edge, House of Speed, the different program academies (Legacy, Icemen) etc. etc. etc. Neither model may be right for everbody, but each offers something for somebody. Collectively, these programs are contributing to the development of elite hockey players - contributing the key ingredients that have been missing from the Minnesota Hockey model.

Thanks to these programs, in large part, once the 95 group begins to graduate, the quantity and quality of elite Minnesota Hockey players who go on to bigger and better things will begin to increase substantially.

The Skinner Academy is another good option that will serve another small niche rather nicely.

[O-townClown]

He's moved around an awful lot. Some people simply aren't content to stay in one place.

[WhosPuckIsItAnyways?]

Typical messenger ... like Paul Revere