The Hockey academy is a program that’s been around Riverside for a decade. The program is designed to train hockey players to reaching their full potential when it comes to their skill set.

“Over the years the program has become a place where there are a wide variety of players that play. There are guys that play rep, house, and all levels of hockey,” said Mr. Jeremy Neufeld, a teacher that has been involved in Hockey Academy for four years.

This year the program has also brought in extra personnel for players to develop. Coaches from the RPM academy have come to Riverside to help hockey players, whether that would be one on one work with the player or helping them master their stick handling, shooting, and many other essential skills. Riverside has also brought in a goalie coach to help some of the goalies as well.
“Our older guys (Grade 12’s) stand out, they’re much stronger than the other guys, but they’re also mentors to the younger players. Guys like Josh James, Evan Greentree, Josh Wright are our real key players”.

A player that is currently in Hockey Academy playing right wing, Lateen Kumar, also talked about how hockey academy changed his game.

“Hockey Academy has definitely improved my game, I have more time to put in work on my game. The staff there definitely helped me with mastering the fundamentals of the game and the overall team is good to be around,” said Kumar. Kumar has been apart of Hockey Academy for the past three years.