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Breakaway Academy Opens Fall 2013

By Tony Scott, 05/10/13, 7:30AM CDT

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New School Approach

When I was growing up there were two kinds of school: Public and Private.  Attending public school was the standard for most of the kids in my neighborhood.  You went to school based on where you lived.  Some kids went to private school.  Mostly Catholic schools, but some went to high dollar outfits like Blake, Breck, or St. Paul Academy (those kids were usually headed to the Ivy League).

As have most things in life, there has been an evolution in the education system today.  There are still public schools, and private schools…but now there are neighborhood schools, charter schools, spanish immersion schools, home schools, on-line schools, and montessori schools (just to name a few).  At the rate they are adding school types, there will some day be a school for every kid, literally.

Old Pros

Enter Breakaway Academy.  A new private school lead by former Gopher Hockey players Dave Snuggerud and Andy Brink.  Dave played his youth and high school hockey in Hopkins and Andy grew up and played his hockey in Bemidji.  Dave went on to play for the 1988 US Olympic Hockey team and a career in the NHL and Andy, a two sport star in both hockey and golf, went on to a short career as professional golfer. After his hockey career was over, Dave went on to teach school and coach hockey and train kids in the off season.

Dave and Andy met when Andy and his wife Holly built a house in Dave’s neighborhood.  At the time, both were training players.  Having the same philosophy about the game and life, Andy and Dave formed Breakaway Hockey.  Breakaway has trained and continues to train local athletes in-season and off from ages 7-18 years old. Breakaway has been successful because Dave and Andy have always focused on hockey training being fun.  They’ve paid specific attention to individual skills and have encouraged their families/kids to play other sports, to become athletes not hockey players.  Andy said, “we have always thought it was important to have a long term approach with our kids, after all it’s not a race to become the best 11 year old hockey player.”

The school will offer a traditional education model offering four core classes - Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies that will be instructed by experienced certified teachers.  A typical day will look like this (third through fifth grade:


7:30-8:00am – Welcome


8:00-9:00am – Math

9:00-10:00am – Language Arts

10:00-10:15am – Nutrition Break

10:15-11:15am – Social Studies/Tech.

11:15-12:00pm – Science

12:00-12:30pm – Training Table (Lunch)

12:45-3:00pm – Hockey Training

The education model appears to be “traditional” but after further review, it is very progressive.  First of all, the school will be based in the Chaska Community Center which houses every walk of life throughout the day: seniors, toddlers, people working out, and yes a hockey rink.  The students will be required to interact with these people as part of their curriculum. Besides some of the basics of education, Dave wants to challenge their students to understand the “why” versus the “how much”. Snuggerud said, “every student who leaves our school after eighth grade will be prepared academically for any school in the country.”

Love the game

The Breakaway Academy is not for every player, but it makes sense for lots of players who really love hockey. Field trips may include going to Excel Energy Center to see the Minnesota Wild locker room and learn how it was built in the way it is was. Coach Brink said, “there is a purpose to everything we do, both on the rink and in the classroom.” What struck me most about these two leaders was their passion for hockey and their passion for teaching kids the way to play it. Brink said, “from a hockey perspective we want to help each player get better both mentally and physically…but most of all we want them to love the game.”

Tony Says: I really enjoyed my time with Dave and Andy. They represent everything that is good about Minnesota and Hockey.  They have a sincere appreciation for the game of hockey and have a true passion for helping kids get better at sports, school or life. I’ve had a chance to watch Andy’s teams play the past two seasons and they are very well coached and they improve from week to week.  Dave Snuggerud is a class act and has a great perspective on how to teach and motivate kids.  I’m looking forward to seeing how well the school does in the coming years.

The Breakaway Academy is hosting an open house on May 23 at the Chaska Community Center from 7:00 to 8:30.  Form more information on the school visit their website at www.breakawayacademy.net.

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