The Pursuit of Chanhassen: Today’s story is the second in an occasional Star Tribune series that will follow the Chanhassen Storm as they attempt to reach their first boys hockey state tournament. Tap here for the first story in the series.
Chanhassen men’s hockey coach Sean Bloomfield watches from the bench on game days and marvels at how nine of those Storm players who worship the American flag were just boys just ago not so long ago.
As “Star-Spangled Banner” plays, Bloomfield keeps his thoughts to himself. In fact, it will probably take a few weeks for him to open this emotional vein. Bloomfield’s main goal is to guide a Storm team brimming with talent to its first state tournament appearance.
While it’s unclear when or where this streak will end, whether it’s another season-ending playoff loss to Minnetonka or a spot on the frozen stage at the Xcel Energy Center, the starting point was Separatist Academy.
The private school, opened in 2013, serves 400 children in grades K-8 in Chaska and Eden Prairie and integrates sports training into the daily program. Chanhassen’s nine current varsity players are joined by a total of 38 Breakaway Academy alumni on Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Chaska, Eden Prairie, Holy Family, Minnetonka, Shakopee, Rogers and Wayzata.
If they continue to develop, these players could join the 18 NCAA Division I skaters who have attended Breakaway Academy.
All of this comes with some controversy in a state where hockey players are often concerned about anything that appears to favor other hockey players, where some high school coaches express their concerns by refusing to schedule games against a program that they consider to be advantaged.
Breakaway Academy, the school
Attending Breakaway Academy doesn’t even guarantee success in high school hockey.
“Some of our best players didn’t go to Breakaway Academy,” Bloomfield said. “We don’t necessarily promote it as a hockey school. It’s a school where athletic kids can play hockey. In the beginning there were more passionate hockey players, and now we have more of kids who love hockey but aren’t obsessed.”
Chanhassen senior forward Caden Lee, who recently signed with Minnesota State Mankato, began attending Breakaway Academy in fifth grade with the goal of becoming a high-level hockey player. By the time he finished eighth grade, he had broadened his outlook.
“I saw a big difference in my development as a person,” Lee said. “It’s a life skill. I really didn’t see it as a goal coming into Breakaway Academy; I just saw it as a hockey school.”
Chanhassen squad, schedule and statistics
Hockey may not be the only reason players choose Breakaway Academy, but that doesn’t hurt. For an annual tuition of $17,500, children benefit from a 15:1 student-teacher ratio, in-person instruction and athletic training. Specific to hockey, players can spend 75 minutes each day on the ice and an additional 60 minutes of “performance,” which includes speed and strength training.
“The goal was to create a fun environment and not sit in a chair eight hours a day,” said Andy Brink, the school’s director of admissions and athletics.
Bloomfield, a former social studies teacher at Breakaway Academy and now principal of the K-3 elementary school, said it’s not just the students who benefit.
“Everyone goes into teaching wanting to make an impact on kids,” he said. “You kind of learn that it’s like getting into politics: it’s not as easy as it seems to make change. Breakaway’s small classes allow me to build relationships with the kids.”
Eyes on the academies
Breakaway Academy is not affiliated with any youth association. Students are encouraged to use it as a complement to their local youth association’s hockey program. Yet increased interest in the local Chaska Chanhassen Youth Hockey Association was one reason for a recent Minnesota Hockey rule change.
Starting next season, statewide players will have to decide before their first year at the Squirts or 10U level whether they want to join a Minnesota Hockey Association within the boundaries of the school they attend, if this school is outside the association where they live. This change came about because concerns were raised about the transfer of players and the displacement of other long-standing members of the association.
“This rule makes no difference to Breakaway Academy,” Brink said. “People don’t come to our school to play for Chaska Chanhassen.”
On Tuesday, Chanhassen welcomed Gentry Academy to town for a game. High school coaches are wondering whether Gentry Academy, a public charter school based in Vadnais Heights, is on equal footing with the rest of the state’s public and private schools when it comes to hockey training.
Some coaches refused to enroll Gentry Academy, whose students are allowed to play hockey about an hour a day at the nearby TCO Sports Garden, as a physical education option. No formal hockey instruction is provided during the school day.
“I don’t really have a stance on them as a high school team,” Bloomfield said. “But it’s easy to tell from this part of the metro. I would probably have a little different perspective on them as a school if they were in our backyard.”
