TPH is pleased to announce the launch of its fourteenth Center of Excellence at the Orbit Ice Arena in Palatine, IL. TPH will team up with the Windy City Storm to bring its Study, Train, Play academy-style model to all hockey players across Chicagoland, regardless of what club program they play for.

“This is an exciting day for TPH,” CEO Nathan Bowen said. “Not only is Chicago a hockey hot bed that we are thrilled to be expanding to, but today, we announce a partnership with an organization in the Windy City Storm that is committed to putting the athletic and academic needs of its players first. The Storm organization and its leaders are passionate about developing young hockey players, are progressive in their thinking and are eager to offer Chicago area hockey players an experience that will impact them on the ice, in the gym, in the classroom and most importantly, in life. We are fortunate to team up with the Storm to play a role in positively impacting the Chicago hockey landscape.”

Mark Jalcovik, minority owner and President of Business Operations for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm, the parent club of the Windy City Storm, is enthralled to be adding what he calls “an educational training program” to the Chicagoland area.

“Everyone on our team is extremely excited to be partnering with TPH,” Jalcovik said. “I think the strongest reason for our excitement is the opportunity to create a full-time, skills and details-focused hockey program for kids who are serious about their sport and are looking for a full-time development experience. On our end, it has always been the educational part of what TPH provides that makes this relationship really enticing because we’re not experts in the education field. TPH really has that missing piece, and they give us the confidence that when the kids come into the program, not only are they getting a great experience through hockey, but we also trust that a quality academic experience will be delivered. We all know this is critical to helping aspiring elite hockey players take the next step in their career.”

TPH National Advancement Numbers as of January 2020

Anthony Noreen, President of Hockey-Operations and Head Coach of the Tri-City Storm says, “We are very excited to be partnering with TPH in bringing a Center of Excellence to Chicago. Over the past year, our group has set out to change the landscape of the Chicago hockey community by putting an emphasis on player development through high end training both on and off the ice. The TPH-CoE model allows us to provide the necessary resources to cater to an elite level student-athlete. This trusted model resembles the one we have used with Tri City in the USHL over the last few years and we expect it to maximize the development of the student-athletes in the program in the same fashion.”

The “educational part” that Mark Jalcovik previously referenced centers around TPH’s unique academic learning platform provided by Edmentum. The TPH-Edmentum platform will offer 6-12 grade Chicago hockey players a private school education and is designed to meet the demands of the aspiring elite male and female hockey player who desires structure, discipline and accountability, but requires the flexibility to pursue his or her hockey and career goals without the fear of missing school. The “blended learning environment” shaped by TPH includes academics on demand, with 24/7, fully accessible NCAA courseware and full-time instructors who are dedicated to the student-athletes across all Centers of Excellence. CoE attendees have access to their instructors as well as a virtual tutoring service, in the event academic assistance is needed after-hours or right on the spot during the CoE school day. A full-time Director of Academics will be on-site daily and will ensure that all student-athletes are held accountable, are studying in a positive learning environment and are receiving an experience that is tailored to when, where and how the individual learns best.

2020 TPH Center of Excellence National Academic Outcomes

“The CoE model is the way of the future for hockey players who want to pursue the game at the highest levels and also receive a quality education that will allow them to attend any university, regardless of whether or not hockey is the catalyst,” Jalcovik added. “It’s very important that our organization stays current and offers not just our own members, but all dedicated hockey players across the Chicagoland area an opportunity to be part of a program that allows them to pursue all their goals at once.”

The dedicated hockey players who attend the TPH-Chicago Center of Excellence will have the opportunity to Study, Train and Play on a mini-college campus in Palatine that will not only include an ice arena and locker room space, but a brand new, state-of-the-art training facility that is scheduled to open by the summer. In addition, TPH-Chicago will secure academic space that will allow its Center of Excellence to offer the individualized, customized learning experience that is synonymous with the CoE model.

“We say this all the time in TPH: culture beats cosmetics. That said, when you have both, the opportunities to positively impact the lives of student-athletes are endless,” Bowen added. “That’s something we really respect about Mark Jalcovik, Anthony Noreen, Ryan Ward and all the members of the Windy City Storm leadership team. They want the student-athletes who attend the Chicago CoE to have everything they need and a lot of what they want. Their goal is to provide a first-class, holistic experience to area student-athletes, and we are so grateful that they chose TPH to help deliver that.”

• Click here to apply to the TPH-Chicago Center of Excellence, which is the first step in securing your spot for the 2021-2022 school year.
• Click here to download our Center of Excellence brochure.
• Click here to request more information on TPH-Chicago and the Study, Train, Play experience.