Ottawa girls head south to chase hockey dreams on hefty scholarships

'Mini-universities' falling over themselves to lure Canadian talent

Ken Warren
The Ottawa Citizen

Prestigious American prep schools have lured 10 of Ottawa's top young female hockey players with huge scholarships and offers of an elite education south of the border.

Sisters Alison and Zoe Baldwin

Schools in New Hampshire and Vermont -- exclusive "mini-universities" usually reserved for the wealthiest of American high school students -- are falling all over themselves to attract something in short supply in their own backyards: skilled girls' hockey players.

Ten star players in the Ottawa area have recently received at total of about $500,000 in scholarship packages to attend the schools, where annual tuition fees are between $30,000 and $45,000.

Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, which will register five of the teenagers next fall, has an estimated annual sports budget of $1.5 million.

The demand for the players is so strong "that it can become a bidding war, unfortunately," according to Bill Newton, director of admissions at the Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, Vermont.

Fay McLaughlin, the Ottawa coach who dreamed up the idea of showcasing Ottawa's best and brightest to the U.S. schools during an exhibition-game road trip in January, is ecstatic at the response from the schools.

"It's mind-boggling, really," she says. "I kind of knew there was interest there, but originally it was met with a lot of skepticism from parents.

"They thought it was hard to believe that their kids would be paid to play high school hockey ... which is essentially what's happening."

The parents' doubts have long since disappeared.

The idea of subsidized private-school education at schools where enrolment is between 250 and 350 students and teacher-to-pupil ratios are usually 1:10 or better, wasn't a difficult sell. The schools' sports teams, which often compete against college junior varsity teams, are regularly scouted by top U.S. universities, who are also seeking the best student-athletes for scholaoes, MVP Grants, Nike Canada, CAAWS, girls body image,where to play sports, girls self-esteem, girls soccer, girls cycling, girls and nutrition, nutrition for active girls, Canadian Association for women and sport, girls@play, snowboarding, skating, boarding, girl site, sports girl, extreme girl, mountain biking, skateboards, surfboards, X Games">

The schools -- the New Hampton School and the Derryfield School are the others -- were so impressed with the talent on display that scholarships were even offered to some of the girls' younger sisters or friends who had stayed at home during the January exhibition.

In Big Demand Down South: Alyssa Ferguson, 15, above from left, Karolina Hanham, 15, Sarah Windover, 15, Andrea Dominico, 15, Heidi Boulanger, 16, and Amy Bombay, 17, have all earned hockey scholarships at exclusive American schools.

"I'm really excited about it and it's an opportunity to get a college scholarship afterwards," said Amy Bombay, 17, who will attend New Hampton School next year. "It will be tough to leave my friends, but mostly I'm just looking forward to it. I had to choose between two schools ... they were calling every day."

Long gone are the days when only teenage boys could advance their education because of their athletic skills.

Thanks to the "Title IX" legislation in the United States, which rules that all educational institutions that receive public funding must fund boys' sports and girls' sports equally, existing women's programs have expanded and new ones have started. The number of girls and women playing hockey in the U.S. has increased sixfold in the past decade.

But the prep schools readily admit the best girls' hockey players still come from Canada, and the level of competition at the prep schools isn't as high as the top levels of midget girls' hockey in Ottawa.

"If you have two or three Canadian players, it can elevate your program," said Mr. Newton of the Vermont Academy.

"A lot of the prep schools in the area are developing women's hockey programs. It's no surprise that schools like Vermont Academy are looking to recognize the value of women's sports. Particularly in hockey, we're looking to Canada."

Obviously, the more student-athletes a prep school develops, the better it looks in the eyes of the highest-profile post-secondary schools.

Despite the lucrative scholarships being offered the athletes, in many cases it still doesn't cover the full cost of tuition, which at some prep-schools is $45,000.

The process to determine who is eligible for scholarships and for how much is an intricate, complicated procedure involving a thorough examination of income tax returns.

"It's a sticky wicket," according to Mr. Newton. "I've had families come back to me and say, 'One school gave me $25,000.' They say, 'You're our first choice, but you're offering only $15,000.'

"But we may all be looking for different things. When you have an application for your school, what do you need? A quarterback for the football team, a goaltender for the women's hockey team, or a first-chair violinist? Character and academics are important factors, but beyond that, what does a student bring to the dinner table?"

Carol-Ann Ferguson, whose 15-year-old daughter Alyssa will attend New Hampton in the fall, says financial negotiations are the toughest part of the equation. It's going to cost in the area of $2,000-$3,000 after applying the scholarship for her daughter to attend the school next year.

"They have money in the budget, it just depends on how well and how long you negotiate," she says.

After some original trepidation about the idea of sending her daughter away to school, Ms. Ferguson and her husband, Hugh, were wowed by the entire prep school experience.

"It's an opportunity of a lifetime. It's like a mini-university. The academics are unbelievable. At most there are six to 10 kids per class. It's a great way to provide these kids with the best education. It was almost like the best-kept secret that nobody knew about," she said.

Alyssa Ferguson admits she was always interested in a college scholarship, but "I never thought about this."

The kicker is that Alyssa's 14-year-old sister, Ashleigh, who didn't even go on the exhibition road trip, is now being pursued by the Vermont Academy.

Rock Belanger, whose 16-year-old daughter, Heidi, was pursued by Brewster Academy for both her hockey and soccer skills, says it would have cost between $6,000 and $8,000 to play competitive hockey next season. Instead, the family will pay less than $2,000 of the school's $42,000 tuition.

"She really wanted to go there and the place is beautiful," he said. "It's like Mont Tremblant. The school is right on a lake. At 17, I went into the military and I said I would never do this to my kids. Well, this is not the military."

While the girls are receiving the financial aid packages because of their hockey abilities, education is also central to the prep school programs. Athletes receive no special academic privileges. There are even some classes on Saturday.

"It's the whole nine yards everyone talks about," says Ms. McLaughlin. "If nothing else it's a tremendous ego boost. A lot of the girls received offers from three schools. It's their first huge major life decision."

Photo 1: Wayne Cuddington, The Ottawa Citizen
Photo 2: Bruno Schlumberger, The Ottawa Citizen