The Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy is the opportunity of a life time for any serious goaltender who wants to improve every aspect of their game while developing tremendous life skills and life values at the same time.

Each year we select a total of 14 goaltenders from various parts of North America and Europe. Six of these goaltenders are 13-14 year olds and the other eight are 15-17 year olds. These goaltenders relocate to beautiful Kelowna, British Columbia for a 10 month, 1000 hour training program. The players billet with carefully selected host families and attend school while participating in the program.


This unique training program includes a minimum of 10 hours of ice time per week from September through June with a maximum of 3-4 goaltenders on the ice at any one time. In addition to this weekly ice time, the goaltenders also have an opportunity to play on one of our Bantam AA, Bantam AAA, Midget AA or Midget AAA male or female teams. They will also have the opportunity to gain more game experience through various tournaments we participate in.


Larry Robinson, who has formerly worked as the goaltending coach for both WHL and Junior A teams, is employed full time with the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy. Larry works with each of our goaltenders almost on a daily basis. He gives them additional drills and movements to work on in between his instructional sessions. Larry is a very technical goaltending coach, who has a tremendous rapport with the players. Larry also reviews isolated video game performances with the goaltenders and gives them specialized skill sessions to work on reaction time, eye-hand coordination, as well as their shooting and stickhandling skills.


In addition to all of the off-ice training which develops the goaltender's speed, quickness, eye-hand co-ordination, shooting and puck handling skills, there any many other aspects of the program such as the VERT computerized explosive weight training equipment (not available anywhere else in Canada) which allows our goaltenders to develop cat-like reflexes and power. The Dynavision Board is another example of specialized equipment we use to improve a goaltender’s visual tracking ability, reaction time, eye-hand coordination, and peripheral vision.


"The improvement we saw in our son's goaltending ability during the last 10 months is absolutely incredible. He was not only transformed into an elite goaltender but he became a young man that we are extremely proud of. He has become stronger both physically and mentally, and carries himself with confidence. The excellent role models of the coaching staff at the Pursuit have helped him develop leadership qualities, discipline and maturity. The life lessons and experiences he gained through the program have given him a greater sense of respect and compassion for others. Supporting our child's wish to attend the Pursuit of Excellence was one of the best decisions we ever made."