The Breakfast Club

"Don't you, forget about me,

Don't, don't, don't, don't

Don't you forget about me."

-Simple Minds 1985

When I was growing up in Kamloops, my rep hockey team practiced twice a week. Our group (1980) practiced Tuesday evening at the Sports Centre and on Thursday morning at Brock Rec. Practices were 75 minutes and those were the 2 days a week we practiced until I left Kamloops for Tri-Cities in the WHL. One night practice and one morning practice. People in this area are so surprised we had 6:00 am practices every week. I look back and don't really see the big deal. We went from 5:45-7 am, left the rink to go home and shower and made it to school for the first bell at 8:30 am. We loved our morning practices because the rink attendant always let us use the ice if we arrived early. It was the best part about it. Going out there and dinking around with your buddies until the coaches arrived. I remember a few suspect knee on knee checks with Shane Lukinchuk in that unsupervised time that would have gotten us a suspension nowadays. We were kids being kids and living it up on the ice. 

When I got to Boise and began working in youth hockey I was shocked that ice before school wasn't utilized like we did in Kamloops. People said it was because "school started too early, or the rink was too far away, or that people just didn't want to wake up at that time." I was fascinated by those answers. Especially in this environment with limited ice availability. With players and parents looking for every opportunity to be on the ice, it's hard to believe more groups were not open to these before school opportunities. So the idea of Breakfast Club came up. We had seen there was a select group of families willing to skate early in the morning during my time with a previous program. That created optimism that these morning ice times could grow and eventually become part of our development plan to allow players to improve. Kobe Bryant had a great outlook on the compound interest of your efforts when chasing personal growth. That if we optimized the volume of time we spent on our craft that eventually our work would create a vast level of separation between us and the people we were competing against. How could we create more opportunities to grow? We needed to utilize morning ice while everyone else was asleep.

In September of 2023 we began our first Breakfast Club skates by DHHD. We skated on Monday mornings at 5:30 am at Idaho Ice World and all ages were invited. This was back before we had our website and it was me texting families to invite them. Our goal was 30 skaters each session. We felt that was a number where we could serve the most and also give them the opportunity to get the most touches on the ice. I don't believe we reached 30 players those first handful of skates but we found a very loyal group of families that were excited to wake up early and come skate. We had players from 8-18 working through skill focused practices to enhance their individual hockey aptitude. Everything we did centered around the 5 major skill areas for hockey. Skating, puck handling, passing & receiving, shooting and competitive contact were the core of our practice plans. It didn't matter if you were a second year 10U or a first year 16U- the skill development we were focusing on was aimed to make every player better. Practices followed a template of my coaching philosophy that I had learned from mentors I believed ran great practices and developed top level hockey players. The sessions were skating focused and utilized station based teaching to recreate scenarios we saw our players having to navigate multiple times during competitive play. We utilized teaching and concepts from the book "Play Practice" by Alan Launder to help layer learning through progressions and get the most out of our students. We were thrilled to see players come back every Monday talking about the success they had the previous weekend in their games. The Breakfast Club was serving those who were hungry to improve and the results were inspiring. 

 As we grew in numbers we realized the need for more coaches. We have had some incredible volunteers come out to be part of the Breakfast Club and help teach our players because of their belief in our program. Spencer McLean, Courtney Adam, Brandon Taylor, Don Jones, Brian Herbert, Duho Yi, Matt White, Justin Smith, Eric Cafferty, Craig Wood and Graham DeLaet have all been huge in helping our players grow. Many hands make light work and the right hands make the work even lighter. These people have been magnificent to work along side and to see their development as coaches has been phenomenal to witness. The Breakfast Club was helping our hockey community grow by mentoring our coaches and providing them increased reps on the ice to hone their teaching methods. Sharing strategies to take back to the teams they are responsible for and improve hockey players throughout the state. A "butterfly effect" of hockey development. Our improved coaches are pouring into players and our compounding efforts are allowing the players to achieve their goals. The beginning steps of building a culture. Reminded me of the African proverb, "if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." 

We have relocated our skate downtown to the Idaho Central Arena. The convenient location, climate controlled environment and posh seating made it desirable on all levels. We wish to thank everyone at ICA for their help in hosting our morning get togethers. The Idaho Steelheads, Sean Rhodes and the operations people who come in to open the building deserve a huge dose of gratitude. We offer two skates per week now depending on ice availability. Our 12U skates run on Tuesday mornings while our 13+ skates take place on Thursday mornings. Both sessions start promptly at 5:30 am. More information on Breakfast Club can be found right here. We are always looking for new players who are hungry to improve. We have received so many positive comments from parents on the attitudes and focus that their kids have gained by committing to these early morning wake up calls. Kids are going to bed earlier, they are accountable to setting alarms to wake up, they have their hockey gear prepared the night before and they are doing better in their schooling. All positive life skills our players gain by skating in the Breakfast Club. Not to mention their improvements on the ice. We receive rave reviews from happy parents and ecstatic players who are making continual strides in their hockey development. They are being rewarded in games for their commitment to becoming better athletes. Improved skills lead to more ice time, more opportunities, more goals, more confidence and a greater joy of playing the game. These are comments that we love to receive and we are incredibly proud to be part of every players' individual hockey journey. They want it and are out there "earning it."  

A unique bond is formed by players and parents in the wee hours of the morning at Idaho Central Arena. Similar to the bond that was formed by an unlikely group of students requested to attend detention together at Shermer High School in 1984. You create friendships, accept challenges, overcome adversities and hopefully walk out of the arena with a greater understanding of what you are capable of. You surround yourself with people of similar fundamental beliefs, principles and priorities all chasing their own individual goals in the same direction. Isn't that worth waking up at 4 am for?

Welcome to the club 🏒

About the author: In 1985 when the movie "Breakfast Club" was released, Coach Hay was starting kindergarten. He believes Emilio Estevez was better as Coach Bombay in the "Mighty Ducks" franchise than as jock Andrew Clark in the "Breakfast Club". A fan of writer John Hughes, "Breakfast Club" does not crack Darrell's top 3 Hughes films. His top 3 are:

1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 🎄🐿️

2. Home Alone 🏠😱

3. Planes, Trains and Automobiles ✈️🚂🚙

Thanks for reading. See you at the rink!