Rebelles Wrap: Louis-Riel’s high-performance hockey skills training program during school is bringing ‘AA’ & ‘AAA’ players to the next level

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By Ottawa Sports Pages, for Louis-Riel Rebelles

Dan Sauvé knows all about “bag skates”. He experienced a few of the punishing sprint repetitions during his playing career as a high-scoring defenceman for the Cumberland Grads and Gatineau Olympiques, and later as a coach in the CCHL for the Rockland Nationals and Ottawa Jr. Senators.

But it’s not a weapon he whips out now that he’s the director of the Sports-Study hockey program at Louis-Riel high school. The rink is really his classroom, and the ‘AA’ and ‘AAA’ players in the school’s high-performance program are there to work on their skills to compliment the training they already do with their club teams.

“Their workload is already pretty high. It’s pretty much every day,” notes Sauvé, who also previously coached Team Canada at the World Jr. ‘A’ Challenge. “Here, our objective isn’t to pile more on them. Our on-ice sessions focus on technical skill development, we don’t do bag skates and exhaust them. We give them rest.

“When they’re in the weightroom, there’s the option to modify their training. For example, if it’s a game-day, we reduce their volume and work more on mobility and on activating their muscles so that they’re ready for the game that night. It’s a very individualized approach.”

Like they do it in the pros with a morning skate, members of the Louis-Riel hockey program complete training during school hours, for which they receive a physical education academic credit as part of its innovative Sports-Study program.

Video analysis is also part of the formula, alongside on-ice sessions twice per week, featuring position-specific skill development under coaches with past high-level hockey playing experience. For the other three days, it’s strength and conditioning under the direction of Louis-Riel’s personal trainer, Jean-Robert Léger, who’s worked with piles of the top players from Eastern Ontario right up to the NHL level.

“With homework in the evening, I found it hard to workout, so now I get to do it during the school day,” signals Grade 10 student Hugo Boisclair, who led the Eastern Ontario Wild U16 ‘AAA’ team’s defencemen in scoring this season, and has his sights set on the upcoming OHL and CCHL drafts and possibly a future athletic scholarship.

“The coaches here are really passionate about helping us get to the next level, and they know what it takes because they’ve lived it themselves,” he adds. “I can see my performance is improving a lot thanks to the program and I think it’s really what I need to get to the next level.”

Alongside Sauvé, participants receive expert instruction from a number of other quality coaches, including University of Ottawa exercise sciences and education grad Laurence Morissette, and her fellow former Gee-Gee Pat White, a Louis-Riel grad himself who played in the OHL for the Sarnia Sting and was the Ottawa 67’s MVP in 2017.

“I think that the quality of the players and the teaching we receive in the program have helped me get where I am in my hockey and school journey,” highlights Mariève Roussel, an OWHL U22 Elite player for Ottawa 67’s ‘AA’ who will join the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks next season.

“At school, we work on specific skills in more detail. With my club, it’s more of a team focus, and here it’s more individual, so I’m getting better as a player to be more of a force for my team.”

On top of the high-performance stream generally reserved for players competing at the top competitive level, Louis-Riel’s Sports-Study hockey program features several more groups made up of players with similar abilities.

Though it’s not a principal focus, there are opportunities to play for the Rebelles’ school teams as well.

The girls’ team recently finished an undefeated season with a national capital league title to earn a trip to the March 19-21 OFSAA provincial high school championships.

That squad strikes the right balance between fun and dedication, which matches a chief program philosophy, indicates Sauvé.

Working with athletes striving for elite levels continues to fuel Sauvé’s passion for coaching, and even with the bag skate gone from his playbook, he says the need for discipline and punishment rarely surfaces at Louis-Riel regardless.

“All our students are really motivated to get to the next level in hockey and they want to put in as much extra work as they can,” explains Sauvé, who also serves as Louis-Riel’s interim Sports-Study coordinator on the heels of long-time leader Ken Levesque’s retirement.

“We have very high expectations for behaviour, attitude and work ethic, and over the years, we’ve really looked to find great students like that,” he adds. “It has a really positive influence on the rest of the Sports-Study group. It’s contagious and it creates an environment where everyone wants to push themselves and get better.

“We have an awesome culture in the program, and we’re always looking forward to welcoming other student-athletes who share that same passion.”

Find out more by downloading the Louis-Riel Sports-Study Hockey Program brochure below.