The Belleville Bulls and Education

Philosophy:

As a member of the Ontario Hockey League, the Belleville Bulls organization believes that receiving a quality education while playing for the Bulls is an integral part of the junior hockey development experience for young players. It is the Bulls goal not only to prepare players for further levels of hockey but also to help provide other opportunities beyond hockey. It is our belief that by providing strong education options to all players, it will help better prepare them for life after hockey. The Bulls organization believes that success off the ice will help build success on the ice.

Education Guidance:

Through the guidance of Bulls educational consultant Peggy Burris, educational programs are developed to help meet the needs and goals of each individual player. The Bulls organization and coaching staff works closely with teachers, parents along with the player to ensure that the player is maximizing their potential in the classroom.

School visits are made on a regular basis by the Bulls coaching staff and educational consultant to meet with educators to ensure that each player is performing to their capabilities. The Bulls organization has vast experience dealing with students from extremely diverse educational backgrounds and abilities and will use this knowledge to help each player meet their academic goals.

The OHL Advantage:

Over 95% of OHL Players were enrolled in either high school, college or university during the 2009-10 playing season.

All educational costs including tuition, room and board and books are paid for by the OHL Member Teams while players are playing in the OHL.

The OHL recognizes the importance of education and does it's best through scheduling to ensure that as little class time as possible is missed due to hockey. 90% of regular season games are played between Thursday and Sunday, making the OHL primarily a weekend League.

Because of the Bulls close proximity to most of the teams in the OHL, players miss only a few days of school each year due to hockey. During the 09-10 regular season, the Bulls did not play one road game that did not occur from Thursday-Sunday. Team practices are also scheduled to avoid any academic conflicts.

Each OHL player receives an Educational Allowance for each year he plays in the OHL. This money is received at the end of a player's OHL career if the player chooses to pursue their education.

Education Options:

Players in high school will attend Quinte Secondary School while those who have graduated high school have a multitude of post secondary options including Loyalist College and Queen's University along with numerous correspondence courses. The Bulls organization will work with each individual player to ensure that the best education path is taken to meet the specific needs of each student.

Belleville Bulls Education: A History of Success

* OHL Scholastic Player of the Year

Education After the OHL:

Many players choose go to school after their OHL career at Canadian Universities and play CIS Hockey. Recently, Bulls graduates have had extraordinary results in the CIS with three Canadian player of the year awards in the past seven seasons. In 2003-2004 Chris Stanley won CIS Player of the Year while playing for Dalhousie while Kevin Baker won the same award in 2005-2006 while playing for Acadia. Both Stanley and Baker have go onto successful professional hockey careers.

In 2008-2009, former Bulls Captain Marc Rancourt was named CIS Player of the Year while attending St. Mary's University while another former Captain, Andrew Brown won the Dr. Randy Gregg Award as the most outstanding student-athlete.  Rancourt was also a member of Team Canada's entry at the World University Games held in Torin, Italy in 2006.  Rancourt helped Team Canada win a gold medal in the event.   

This season, Bulls graduates Marc Rancourt, Cody Thornton, Ryan Rorabeck, and Cory Tanaka helped lead St. Mary's University to a National Mens Hockey Championship at the 2010 University Cup. 

The following Bulls played hockey in the CIS this season while getting their university education.

• Ryan Berard (Carleton)
• Chris Mifflen (Carleton)
• Andew Self (Carleton)
• Brock McPherson (Lakehead)
• Robert Stellick (Queens)
• Nick Pageau (St. Francis Xavier) AUS All Rookie Team
• Marc Rancourt (St. Mary's) AUS First Team All-Star
• Ryan Rorabeck (St. Mary's)
• Cody Thornton (St. Mary's) AUS Second Team All-Star, 2010 University Cup First Team All-Star
• Cory Tanaka (St. Mary's)
• Steve Spade (UOIT)
• Scott Baker (UOIT)
• Connor Cameron (University of Prince Edward Island)
• Aaron Lewicki  (University of Waterloo)
• Kyle Sonnenburg (University of Waterloo) OUA Defenceman of the Year, OUA First Team All-Star
• Steven Whitely (University of Waterloo) OUA Second Team All-Star
• Geoff Killing (University of Western Ontario) OUA First Team All-Star
• Keaton Turkiewicz (University of Western Ontario) OUA First Team All-Star
• Aaron Snow (University of Western Ontario) OUA Second Team All-Star
• Kyle Tront (University of Windsor)

Billeting:

Players that live out of area are placed in local homes where they are billeted for the year. Billets feed players, as well as making sure that players adhere to the curfew requirements made by the Bulls coaching staff. Potential Belleville Bulls billets go through an intensive screening process by the Bulls organization to ensure that they are suitable for the role.