About Us

A word from Carlo

"At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel." (Maya Angelou) As I embark on this teaching journey, I look back at all that has brought me to where I am today. It all started as an eager 3 year old wanting to be a goalie.
"Me", me, me!" I said as my coach asked: "Who wants to be the goalie today?". My dad was reluctant to agree with me at the time but later confessed he was happy with my decision if I was happy. And so it began; My journey in goaltending. I always remember the type of experiences in hockey that made me feel good.

The drive to the arena with my dad, the smell of popcorn from the snack bars, the feel of not too dry nor too wet equipment and the final buzzer after a great team effort. It is funny how I don’t remember scores from games in minor hockey but I definitely remember calling in to the MTHL hotline to find out what the scores were. Minor hockey was great and I had the opportunity to play for some great coaches and great teams.
As a goalie, one must remember that playing for the best teams is not always the best option in terms of development. I realized this through a switch to a lower level team for my OHL draft year. It proved to be one of the best decisions we made. I had a successful year and was drafted in the 2nd round by the Kitchener Rangers.

What an experience for a 16 year old! As an underage goalie in the OHL, everything can seem a bit overwhelming but with family support, great teammates and staff the adjustment can be a positive one. So there I was, a 16 year old kid playing in the OHL. We went on to win the Memorial Cup that year and that was a great experience because it felt great to accomplish such a big goal. From Kitchener, I went on to play for the Oshawa Generals and finished up my OHL career there. I attended the team Canada U18 evaluation camp in Calgary in 2003 and was part of team Ontario in the Canada winter games where we won the bronze medal.

What I haven’t mentioned so far is the notion of the importance of education stressed by my parents daily. "Son, your education is just as important as hockey, you cannot have one and not the other!". This is what I call the cloud of good reasoning that was always floating in the background. As a kid playing hockey almost every night, it was hard to see the benefit of taking my education seriously when hockey was part of everything I did. I now understand the importance of combining both hockey and education. The well roundedness it will give you is better than you can imagine.

As my OHL career came to an end, I continued my hockey and education at York University. I finally did it! I graduated with a degree and played hockey at a high level! Success had finally showed up, if that is what you define to be successful. Never forget that success is defined by you and if getting an education and playing hockey is success to you then you have succeeded.

After university, I went over to Europe to play professionally in Italy and The Czech Republic. As I played professionally, I had decided that teaching was always a passion of mine and that teaching upcoming goalies was exactly what I wanted to do.

Upon return to Canada, I entered teacher’s college and received my degree in teaching. I now have the opportunity to teach in the classroom and on the ice. Teaching really lends itself to all different kinds of situations whether it be at school, on the ice or at home. It is about giving your students opportunities to succeed whilst mentoring them and giving them the attention and the listening ear they deserve. Remember: "At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel." (Maya Angelou). It is all about connecting with students and giving them your very best effort! Welcome to GTA Goalie Academy, our philosophy is to not only spend time teaching goalies fundamentals of goaltending but it is to develop their mental game and prepare them to be successful people on and off the ice. Your journey has just begun….