Our Girls Play Hockey - Navigating Prep School Hockey: Advice from Brianna Decker

Lee MJ Elias [0:08 - 0:59]: Hello, hockey friends and families around the world, and welcome to another episode of our newest series, our girls play hockey. I'm Leah Lias and I'm joined by Mike Benelli and Sherry Hudspeth. And our topic today is a guide to prep school hockey, something that's been heavily requested. And our expert panelist today is someone who I'm genuinely excited to introduce to you. She is an Olympic and world champion as a forward for Team USA. She won the 2012 Patty Kazmyer Award while playing for the University of Wisconsin, recognizing the best female ice hockey player in NCAA division one. She played multiple seasons of professional hockey, participated in the 2019 NHL All Star skills competition, where she put up the best time amongst all participants, and oh, yeah, she headlines the 2024 USA Hockey hall of Fame class. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Brianna Decker to the show today. Brianna, welcome. Do our girls play hockey? 

Brianna Decker [0:59 - 1:01]: Thanks. Thanks for having me. 

Lee MJ Elias [1:01 - 1:11]: Thank you for being here. You know, first and foremost, we want to give you a huge congratulations on being inducted in the USA Hockey hall of Fame. It's such an honor. Have you had any time to process that yet? 

Brianna Decker [1:12 - 1:32]: No, not too much time. I mean, obviously I'm super busy right now getting our season started at Shattuck. But yeah, I will say the last. When it was announced last week, it was a nice couple of days, had a lot of people reach out and so grateful for all those people who supported me throughout my career and all that. And, you know, it's just nice to hear from people I haven't heard from in a long time. 

Lee MJ Elias [1:32 - 2:14]: I can hear you starting to practice the speech in that. I'm not going to lie. We were perfect timing for us recording this podcast that happened. I'm like, that was fun for us. But no, honestly, we were happy to have you for every single reason I said in the open here, and I didn't get a chance to say it in the open because your biography is so wonderful. But Brianna is also the associate head coach for the Shattuck St. Mary's girls prep team, which is one of, if not the most elite programs in the country. You're also an assistant coach for the USA U 18 women's team, so we're in good company here. When it comes to the topic today. I want to make sure that I set this up for Sherry before we dive into the next question. So, Sherry, that should set you up pretty nicely to go where we want to go here. 

Sheri Hudspeth [2:14 - 2:45]: Yeah. Brianna, thank you for being here. For those that don't know Shattuck, St. Mary's absolute hockey powerhouse. Very good school academically. A lot of our listeners are interested in prep school hockey. So if you could talk a little bit about what age should players start considering prep school? And parents like, is it they come in grade seven, grade eight, or they just come in to finish one bars a year before going off to college, talk a little bit about do we reach out to a coach? Do we reach out to admissions? How do we get in the college or the prep school pathway? 

Brianna Decker [2:46 - 4:49]: Yeah, absolutely. So basically, how the process does first start off is we have kids reach out to us, families reach out to us. We don't reach out to families during the season simply because out of respect for other programs and other, you know, teams around the nation. I think it's just, we don't coach kids from programs. It's just not how we do things around here. We obviously have style of integrity that we hold ourselves to. And so we have kids who will reach out and be where from, you know, 7th, 8th graders all the way through high school. So we'll obviously get some kids as juniors or seniors or sometimes post grads who need an extra year before they go to college. And so, really, from an age standpoint, we get a huge variety. Obviously, if we can have kids who come in as freshmen and, you know, go four years through our program, I would say that's where they get the most development, just because they see and hear from different coaches. But then also those expectations just rise higher and higher every year going through, going through our program. But we usually will go out and we'll see kids in the off season, whether it's after nationals in the spring or throughout the summer. We'll go to a few showcases here and there, and those kind of vary, whether it's east coast, west Coast, Chicago area as well. We'll go and watch kids play and get on that recruiting a little bit. But like I said, once the season starts, like, we're done with that process of recruiting. Unless kids reach out to us and say that they're interested in coming to our school or coming to visit, then, you know, once kids reach out to us, which this is, I guess, what's the one thing that a lot of people don't realize? They're, like, waiting to hear from us. And it's like, no, you need to reach out. You can inquire online to our hockey program. Once the inquiry is filled out, then we will pay connect with them via phone or email to try to set up a visit. Or if we see video and we're interested as well. That usually helped with our recruiting process quite a bit. 

Mike Bonelli [4:50 - 5:33]: Yeah. You know, we've. We've done a couple of episodes now. One of the episodes we've had is the path to college athletics. And obviously, you know, this is that step before that. And we've talked about, you know, how. What the priority is on academics, you know, majors, and how, especially in the women's game, you know, what they're looking forward to further their career. Can you just talk a little bit about, you know, how does that work for girls getting into shadow? Because maybe it's based off of what year they're coming in and what year they want to come in. But the difference between, you know, how much is that academic piece a part of the recruitment process and also how much is the academic piece a part of your ability to get them recruited for that next level? 

Brianna Decker [5:33 - 7:02]: Yeah, for sure. So, like, kids like to get into our school. It's not too challenging. You gotta obviously apply, and you have to have good grades and be a good student where you are coming from. I mean, I always joke around about, it's like, I was a hard worker in school, but I wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. And so I just made sure that I, like, it was working hard to get my good grades and I was able to get in here. But the biggest thing, like, for the reason shattuck helps out a lot of players is because it's an all in one. So it is that college feel like prep schools feel like, okay, they're a school with a hockey program. They're not a hockey program that now is attaching themselves to a school which is more of the academy lifestyle. And so that's the difference between a prep school and an academy. And so, like, this school would still exist without hockey here. I mean, obviously, we bring in a lot of kids and a lot of money and all that through our hockey program, but the school was the year before our hockey program was. And so from an academic standpoint, we've been so grateful for the families and kids that we have brought in here. I think we had five girls go to play Ivy League schools last year, and we have already a bunch committed to go on to next year and the year after. And so from an academic standpoint, they raise the bar here, but at the same time, they accept that these are athletes here and they care about their sport just as much. And so there's just a good balance here with the staff understanding all that. 

Mike Bonelli [7:02 - 7:31]: Yeah. So is that just to follow up on that really quickly. Is there like a red flag for you as a recruiter, though, if the student and the parent never talk about academics, especially on the women's side? Right. Cause I think we've had these conversations with the growth of women's hockey and professional hockey and the chances to play after minor hockey or unpaid hockey. But we're still in a place where the primary reason to go to Shattuck St. Mary's is to go to college and. 

Brianna Decker [7:33 - 8:09]: Yeah, no, I think it's not a red flag for us to have kids come in and be like, they only care about our hockey program. They don't care about school. I mean, we do emphasize that, like, school matters. You have to have good grades. I mean, our grades get posted every Friday. And if your grades aren't where they need to be, it's like you, you know, you gotta get them up. You have study hall, you have all these expectations, you know, in order to play. And so that's where it does mirror college a little bit. But from an admission standpoint, most kids will get into our school. It's a little bit easier here than it is for prep school out east as far as admission process and getting kids into school. 

Mike Bonelli [8:09 - 8:10]: Right. Okay, good. Thanks. 

Lee MJ Elias [8:10 - 9:00]: So I want to say, you mentioned not being the brightest crayon in the box. You could say you're a gold crayon, though. Okay. You could pull that off whenever you want. You know, look, I remember being, uh, kind of in that middle school age group that, you know, 6th, 7th, 8th grade and dreaming about going someplace where I could play all day right now, as you just kind of said, feeding off Mike's question, that's what you're thinking about when you're, you know, just about pre high school, pre prep school. So I want you to go into what is a day in the life for a shattuck player, from ice time, to the gym time, to the classroom, to the living arrangements. Really paint that picture because I think it's both going to surprise some people and I think it's also going to be really exciting for people. 

Brianna Decker [9:00 - 10:30]: Yeah, absolutely. So obviously, so we have eight hockey teams here and so, and we have a figure skating program. So we have touring two rinks, which means that the ice is filled literally all day. So the ice time and practice times are built into your hockey or into your school schedule. So, for example, our U 19 girls team and our girls prep team that I coach, they practice in the morning. So we have 650 practice to 08:05 and then. But school starts at eight. Well, obviously the girls have to get changed and showered and get ready for school. So our girls, two older girls programs have off first period, and then our girls U 16 program will practice period two, three, and four. And so by us practicing a little bit before school, it allows us to fit the eight teams into this daily schedule. So a lot of teams are going to school, coming to the rink for practice, lunch, and then going back to school. So it's built into your schedule every single day, which is super nice. And then on top of that, their skill development sessions all through the day. So if you are a kid who has a period off, you can head up to the rink and get on the ice for a half hour for a skill session and then get back, you know, get undressed, get back for class. And then our boys bantam team practices after school again to make sure we can fit all the teams in the schedule. 

Sheri Hudspeth [10:31 - 10:41]: Are they required to play any other sports year round? I know some prep schools out east. Like, they play a fall sport, winter sport. You know, they just play hockey there or do you require them to play additional sports? 

Brianna Decker [10:41 - 11:06]: So it used to be where we had to play a spring activity or spring sport. And so when I was here, I played lacrosse. Yeah. Like, literally just picked it up in high school. Grass hockey. That's great, basically. Yeah. So I played lacrosse and then, but no, it's no longer a requirement here. So in the springtime, we have our spring development program, which is all based on our strength conditioning off ice hockey stuff. So not required. 

Lee MJ Elias [11:06 - 11:16]: I got to say this, that, and you didn't disappoint with that. Like, 15 year old me is like, man, I would love to get a schedule where hockey's on the schedule. 

Sheri Hudspeth [11:16 - 11:17]: I'm ready. 

Lee MJ Elias [11:17 - 11:28]: But you've also given me a business idea. I'm going to start a job where it's actually mandatory that you play hockey at some point. Yeah, it will be slow, but it'll be fun and. Go ahead, sherry. 

Mike Bonelli [11:29 - 11:29]: Yeah. 

Sheri Hudspeth [11:29 - 11:41]: So do you guys play in a league or how do you guys find opponents? Like, how does your season schedule work? Like, one more question on to add on that. Do they just play for shattuck or do they play on a local travel team to go to showcases and stuff? 

Brianna Decker [11:41 - 13:14]: Yeah, no, we're, we're a tier one independent team, so it's all clubs. So we'll play any of those. Like any mission. Like Chicago mission BK selects Penn's elite, you know, Philly Fires. Like, we. So a lot of some, some of the teams are in a league they're in the JWHL is what it's called. And that will be like the Flyers are in that, Najas in that. And so we aren't a part of that simply because we're a club team in Minnesota. And the rest of Minnesota is, they all play high school hockey, girls high school hockey. But our first two months of our, of our season, September through October, we play the elite league teams in Minnesota. And so that's where you see girls high school hockey doesn't start till end of October, beginning of November, like their high school seasons doesn't start till November. But those girls will play on basically teams that are put together like some of the top two, you know, top high school players together, kind of like a fall team per se. And they're the elite, elite teams in the midwest, in Minnesota. And that's who we play against throughout those 1st, first two months or so and then that way. So that's like a before and after team for the high school teams. But we don't, we are just, we're a regular club team, but we belong to a school and so we kind of have the best of both worlds, I guess. I would say. Yeah. 

Mike Bonelli [13:15 - 13:42]: Yeah, I think you definitely touched on a lot of the, you know, how, you know, how players navigate themselves to shattuck, but can you talk a little bit about your recruiting process and what you look, you know, look for? And then, you know, how does that get passed off to admissions and then, you know, how really, how strongly is going outside and going to tournaments and showcases and like, where is the bulk of your, you know, piece of that recruitment process lie? 

Brianna Decker [13:42 - 16:01]: Yeah, so I mean, thankfully, like when we go and play in tournaments and showcases as teams, we're, I mean, they have usually they'll have sixteen s and four teens at, you know, age groups at those places. And so we'll be able to go watch kids who have inquired to come into our school. But first and foremost, when we go to showcases in the summer or in the spring, we obviously find the kids from an Oni standpoint who kind of like jump off the page a little bit, right? Skill, work ethic, iq and then we'll contact those kids. But the next biggest thing that we have found, and it's been such a success for our program, is finding the right kids and families that fit into what we call like one of us here at Shattuck. And a lot of that has to do with obviously the character of the kids and the family. Are they going to fit in from a humble standpoint? Because humility is huge here as far as we're getting kids, some of the best kids from all over the country, and you got to be able to find how are they going to fit into the puzzle piece? I get a lot of, we've had kids come here where I'll have coaches or friends reach out and be like, oh, good luck with that kid and that family. Parents are a lot there, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, this is perfect. This is the type of kids that we want here because we just seem to manage that and do a great job. Sometimes the best thing for a kid is to get to a prep school and get away from their parents. No offense, parents who are listening, but at the same time, you know, we just, we talk about, like, self advocating for yourself for kids. You know, you be the ones that come in to talk to us, don't have your parents calling. So a lot of questions I get are, do you hear from parents all the time, like, with that age group? Are they calling you? I go, I I mean, I've been here. I'm going on my third season, and I probably have, you know, I've had maybe four total phone calls from parents talking about, you know, rather it's, you know, where do you see my kid? Or ice time or anything like that? And it's, I'm like, that's not a lot. I mean, I talk to other club coaches around the country and they end up dealing with that a little bit more. So we separate that a little bit more here. Kids have to become adults really fast, and they're living on their own in the dorms. And I think that's the one thing I enjoyed about being here when I was a student. It's just being on my own and having to figure out how to live life real quick as a teenager. 

Lee MJ Elias [16:02 - 17:19]: Yeah, Brianna, you're bringing up a great point. And something we talk about actually on all the shows here, how athletes need to advocate for themselves and how communication is a skill set. And it behooves you parents to have your kids start speaking, and I mean that literally at a young age when in a time period we're surrounded by screens, which is not a bad thing, but you can get lost in those things. And if the kids only texting and some of the new slang words that we have out there today, you need to teach your kids how to advocate for themselves and communicate younger than you probably think, you know what I mean? One kind of continued follow up to that. So we talked about the type of athlete that you look, for once those athletes are in the school, it's inevitable. You have to make cuts. You have to make decisions on who's going to make the squad, whether it's the team or even game day. Right. So I want to dive into that razor sharp kind of attitude you have to have and ask you, what are the separators? Right. Everyone has talent when they get there. It might be very talent, but that's a prerequisite. You're not going to get into that program if you don't have some level of talent. So what are those little things that you look for as coaches and as a program when making cuts or making the hard decisions? 

Brianna Decker [17:19 - 18:29]: Yeah, I mean, one for one, it's like, how hard are you gonna compete and work? Right. And so I think that's the number one thing that we tell our kids, like, don't be here and don't come to this program if you're not gonna work hard, because, like, we are gonna outwork every opponent that we have. So when we're choosing teams, like, that's number one thing. Like, how hard are they competing? How hard are they working to, you know, obviously every coach has a little bit of, you know, thing that, like, they focus in on being a smarter player that I was. I really watch for, obviously, how smart kids are and are they able to make plays out of nothing? You know, things like that. The one thing that I really don't pay attention to, and I know you asked me what I do pay attention to, but I. The skill stuff, to me, you obviously have to have some skill, but a lot of these kids do. But that's like, things that they're naturally going to get better at here because of how much they're on the ice and how much opportunities they do have to work on skills. So, like, if a kid shots not that great, it's like, I'm not going to not take that kid because I'm like, I'm going to go and tell that kid, hey, you made the team for so many other reasons, but you got to get your shots. Got to get better. 

Lee MJ Elias [18:29 - 18:30]: I love. 

Brianna Decker [18:32 - 19:17]: Yeah, I mean, like, in skills is like taking over the hockey world, which is great, but then now I feel like there's been so much loss in IQ and other small details, and so, and then, but the one, the other thing besides work ethic and compete would be like, not. You're like, what deep, small details you, like, look at? And it's like, it is the small details. Are you chipping pucks out when you're supposed to chip pucks out. Are you coughing pucks up in the blue line when you're not supposed to be? And are you winning those 50 fifties in the corners? And so those small details of stick lifts and boxing out on defense and then, you know, creating opportunity in the offensive zone and moving the puck quick like, I just kind of look for that all around. But a lot of that stems from IQ and, you know, recognizing how. How kids plays away from the puck rather than with the puck. 

Lee MJ Elias [19:17 - 20:56]: I'm going to pull through a few threads on this. I love where you're going on this. First of, I love that you said what you said about skill, because it is. It is far too much. The focus, um, part of coaching is developing that skill. Right. In addition to other things. One of the things we say about, um, creativity on this show all the time, and you're far more an expert on this than I am, but we tell the kids that we coach, listen, as coaches, we have to give you some parameters, but we want you to be creative within those parameters. It's not go a to b and that's it. It's go from a to b and be creative and thoughtful and how you get there, because that's the game in a lot of ways. I don't know what's gonna happen on the way from a to b. Right. We just know we have to get there. So you talked about competitiveness, right. And I always say there's a little bit of a difference between competition and competitiveness. And when it comes to parents, and this is the question that's forming when it comes to parents. You can't make your kid competitive. You can't create that. You can cultivate it. Right. But there's a thin line between pushing those kids too far, hey, go harder, work harder. And the kid naturally getting to that point. So I'd love to get your advice as a coach right now. What happened to you as an athlete in a few minutes? How do parents even begin to approach that? They have a kid, a young girl, let's just say she's eight, loves the game, but she's not showing that maybe competitive fire yet. And a parent might listen to this and say, well, look, Brandon Decker says you got to be competitive, but really, that you can't force that on a kid. Right. So how do you cultivate competitiveness in a youth athlete? 

Brianna Decker [20:56 - 21:03]: Yeah, I mean, that's. I have. I only have one answer that I really go back to because I grew up with three brothers, and so there's. 

Lee MJ Elias [21:04 - 21:04]: The answer no, just kidding. 

Brianna Decker [21:04 - 21:09]: Thank God. So, hey, if families can create that atmosphere, that'd be helpful. 

Lee MJ Elias [21:09 - 21:11]: You're asking a lot, Brianna. 

Brianna Decker [21:11 - 21:30]: Yeah, that, that's probably too specific. But, like, for me, and I developed natural competitive competitiveness by having brothers, but it was because my brothers were better than me. And so if you're a kid, if your kid, if you're. They're lacking competitiveness, I would say put them in a situation where they're not the best player. 

Lee MJ Elias [21:30 - 21:30]: Right. 

Brianna Decker [21:30 - 22:04]: So that they have to constantly work to get the puck back or constantly work to be better than somebody else because you're at some point, like, you know, you're gonna get sick of being beat as, like, as a player, right? Like, if I'm constantly going up against somebody who's better than me and I'm like, oh, my God, I'm like, sick of getting beat. Like, then at some point I'm gonna, like, become more competitive to try to make sure I am not getting beat every single battle. So my suggestion, and, like, that is how you grow as an athlete is by putting yourself in uncomfortable positions and be surrounded by players who are better than you. 

Lee MJ Elias [22:04 - 22:48]: Well, you grow as a person that way, too. And what's amazing about what you're saying is, and again, look, I think parents are on both sides of what you said. I think one of the things we're seeing across the board is parents protecting their kids from those situations or saying, well, you've got it. You're going to be the best on this team. That's sometimes that's okay, but that's not always the scenario you want to be in. And what I love about what you're saying, and again, competitiveness versus competition, as coaches, we need to be putting, you know, it depends on the age kids in competitive environments, right. So like an eight year old team, you can make a fun competitive environment and that's going to help them when they're 18. And I think we need to do a much better job as a, as a, as a tribe. Right. As a village of helping kids do that. Mike, go ahead. 

Mike Bonelli [22:48 - 23:14]: Now, I was just going to say. Cause Brianna brings up a great point about just the competitiveness of a player and what it takes to achieve that success at a place like Shattuck St. Mary's. Right. And I think. But it's a, it's a great lesson for parents to see that if your son or daughter is in that situation and they can't, they can't ratchet up the competitiveness. That's just who they are. Like, you can't, you can't just. You can't. You know, you can. 

Lee MJ Elias [23:14 - 23:16]: There's nothing wrong with that. Right. 

Mike Bonelli [23:16 - 24:21]: Well, that's. It just is what it is. Like, I'll say you're either going to compete or you're not. And if you're not going to compete, it just tells a better story about maybe where you should place yourself in the scheme of where you want to end up. Right. Because I think we're putting our kids a lot in really disappointing places to not succeed as far as having a great experience. You know, maybe they're on a team that's really good and they're just not competitive and maybe they're happy with that, you know? But I don't think a kid like that's going to Shattuck. Like, I don't. I think a kid like that saying, okay, coach, what do I need to do to beat those three kids? And that's just a different mentality, a kid. And I'm not saying that's a good or a bad thing. That's just the reality of when you want to get to these highest levels of hockey and academics and competitiveness, that is a slope as a parent you need to prepare for. If I put my daughter into that situation and she doesn't compete, I can't manufacture that. I can put her in an environment to compete. But when she doesn't, I've got to see that. I've got to realize it and then maybe move on to it in a different direction. 

Brianna Decker [24:21 - 25:50]: Yeah, I mean, like one thing that we run into every year with this whole trial process is we'll have like some junior girls who are juniors and they're trying, we're trying to figure out, okay, they're still eligible to play U 16 hockey, but they, but they could play U 19 hockey, obviously. So then sometimes with a couple of the juniors, we're like, is it beneficial for them to make our prep team and be in that maybe fourth line role or we make, you know, give them an extra year on sixteen s and then they get that confidence of being on the first line and being used and, you know, you know, and then that. So last year that that happened and now we have that junior moved up to our prep team this year and she's like, she's lights up. Cause she gained a lot of confidence and all that. But then there's a time where it's like, no, this kid needs to be pushed or they need to know how it is to, you know, be on fourth line and work your way up the lineup but not lose confidence. And so we, we juggle that every single year. But the amount of times we have so many girls here who are like, I want to make the prep team. I want to be on the top team. I want to make the prep team that just happened this year gets make that team. And they're like, oh, man. They're like, this is so different. So, you know, we asked a couple of our leaders, like, I just asked about our leaders today. I was like, how's that? How's it going? Like, how's the locker room? And they're like, I think a lot of, there's a few girls that are adjusting from being on six teams last year, and now I'm prep, like, yeah, sometimes kids, like, want to be on that top team, but it's like, how are you going to handle when you're not the top player on the top team? 

Lee MJ Elias [25:50 - 25:50]: Right? 

Mike Bonelli [25:50 - 27:00]: Yeah, but I think that's one of the benefits from you, right? Is that you're looking at this from a thousand viewpoint where parents looking at it from a very focused lens, like, no, no, my daughter needs to play on that top team. I did it with our prep school kids. We had a sophomore that was lights out, but we said, you know what? You're going to stay on the JV team. Be the captain, be the power play lead, be the leader and get. And he became the captain his junior year anyway. Like, he just, he just blossomed into this player where I think if we would have put him in the locker room with seniors that he was better than already, he would have been just beaten down and probably physically and mentally, but just, he wouldn't have gotten a great opportunity to succeed because he never would have been able to really say what he wanted to say because even the players that he, he was better than physically, he just didn't have the maturity, right. To really step into that role. So I think it's a really cool way that you can look at each player individually, especially in your ecosystem, where you could say, okay, well, this player needs it, this player doesn't. And I'm sure there's a lot of arguments on the back end saying, well, my daughter's better than that player. You just moved up. Yeah, but, but that. It's not about being better. It's about when is there time? 

Brianna Decker [27:00 - 27:02]: Yep, exactly. 

Lee MJ Elias [27:02 - 27:21]: There's no correct path. We always say this, the development path is not preordained. And, look, I have been amazed throughout my entire time playing this, this game, how, how much a difference one season can make for someone. I mean, you can see a kid go from zero to 100 at any point. You just never know. Part of development. 

Sheri Hudspeth [27:22 - 27:36]: Just real quick, your ideal email from a family or a player. Can you just talk about, do you want to see video? Do you want to see, like, do you want to see a schedule? What, what are these girls that want to go to Shattuck St. Mary's? What do you want to see in an email? 

Brianna Decker [27:37 - 27:38]: Yeah, I would. 

Lee MJ Elias [27:38 - 27:39]: No, go ahead. 

Brianna Decker [27:39 - 29:46]: Yeah. First off, coach Decker. Yeah. Last name. But for us, it just be like, hey, I'm extremely interested in your school. Yeah. I think if you can right away have clips and video, that's, that's super helpful for us. It does help then. Otherwise, we're not. Otherwise we're going back. You send some clips. We. If that's why. It's like, if you can fill out the inquiry first on our website, that that's more helpful because then we can reach out. But typically, we'll get emails. We're interested in your school. We're interested in your program. We have a lot of, you know, we have a lot of respect for your program. We love what you see. We love what you do there as far as developing players. And I specifically like a kid who's like, I'm in an area where I know I need to go to a different spot for hockey if I'm wanting to go further in my hockey. And I know that, you know, when kids are like, I'm playing a spot, that I'm getting to a standstill because there's just not enough focus on hot women's or girls hockey here. I always like to. Those attract me because I'm like, this kid's asking, like, they know. They know where they are in their development and they need something more. So that's. That's a red, that's a green plague, I guess I would say. But it stands out to me just simply because I'm like, this kid needs this work. Perfect spot for a kid like that. And so, like I said, though, the inquiry really helps because I like to get on the phone with, with parents or kids and see what they want and why they think Shaddock is going to be a good spot for them. And then obviously, you. But from an email standpoint, give background on where you're at, where you at in your house. The thing that I can tell you, the don'ts are a lot easier for me. The don't list me your stats. I don't care what your stats are. You know, I can look up your name and go look up your stats if I want to, but we don't really care about that. But we do care about video just because we might not be able to see them play within that year. 

Sheri Hudspeth [29:46 - 29:57]: And do you want to hear from the kids? I know, like, if you're looking, you know, grade eights are looking to come for grade nine. Do you want to hear from grade eight or do you want to hear from the parents? Parents first. Do you ever have any preference who reaches out first? 

Brianna Decker [29:57 - 30:26]: It's not much preference, but, like, it's more. I like when a kid reaches out more than anything because it's, again, it's like, to me, that's the parents making the kid talk for himself. And, hey, you want, as a kid, I want the kid to come to Shattuck, not the parents having. Wanting the kids to come to Shattuck. And so if I'm a parent, I'd be like, if you want to go to Shattuck so bad, you email the coaches, we'll support you, but you email the coaches and start the process, and then we'll end up talking to the parents, obviously. 

Sheri Hudspeth [30:26 - 30:47]: So it's a big decision, obviously, to, you know, move away from home. Like, I moved away at 19 to go to school in Minnesota, and the transition was very hard at 19 years old. Just real quick student life, homesickness, anything you can talk about with dorm life. How do you support these kids, you know? And how do you reassure the parents that this is the right move? Your kids in good hands in the dorms? 

Brianna Decker [30:47 - 32:05]: Yeah, I think, one, our schedule is packed, super busy, and so kids might get homesick, but they lose sight of that pretty quick. Once, like, our seasons go in, our charts are going, you're on the ice, you're around kids, you have schoolwork, you don't have time to think about how much you're missing home kids do deal with that. The biggest thing that parents can do is just drop their kid off and leave, not stick around for two, three weeks, because then it's constant reminder for the kids that they're missing their parents. So that's rule number one, that we're like, can you just. Sometimes we're like, can you just leave, please? And then secondly, our returning students are incredible with helping kids transition and get used to it. It's like, I remember, I'm like, you're just, you're in the same boat as every other kid here. Like, we're all away from our families, but our family's here now. And then another thing too is our faculty and staff, they're so used to it and they just do a great job at supporting the kids from an academic standpoint. So a kid's not drowning in their schoolwork, you know, and as much as we are their coaches, like, we act like they're parents here and have to do what we can to support them in those things. And so we just challenge kids to come to us and come talk to us when things aren't going well. I'm like, I don't know if you're not doing well, if you don't come to me and tell me you're not doing well. 

Lee MJ Elias [32:05 - 32:11]: So it takes a village. All of it. All of it. Mike, you got anything before we close this out? 

Mike Bonelli [32:12 - 32:44]: No, it's awesome. I think I made my, my suggestion would be, you know, go look up Shattuck St. Mary's. Their website has tons of information on there. You know, get, get some inquiries, ask some, you know, take a look at the alumni list and, you know, just again, it's, and it's one of those things where it's not for everyone, but it sounds like you got a good handle on the type of player that succeeds there and what kind of student athlete is attracted to shattuck. And I think, you know, it's definitely worth a good opportunity to take a look and I don't know, maybe visit in November though. I don't know if I'd visit in January but. 

Sheri Hudspeth [32:44 - 32:47]: Or summer camp. Summer camp. 

Brianna Decker [32:47 - 32:48]: We have those all year. 

Mike Bonelli [32:48 - 32:49]: All summer. 

Lee MJ Elias [32:50 - 33:00]: Well, she is the red, white and blue and gold crayon in your crayon box. Breanna Decker joins us today. Thank you so much for your time and coming on. Our girls play hockey. 

Brianna Decker [33:00 - 33:02]: Awesome. Thanks for having me, you guys. 

Lee MJ Elias [33:02 - 33:56]: Alright, well, if you enjoyed this episode, guess what? This is only a part one of two. Part two is coming out on the next episode of our kids play hockey where we dive into Brianna's Olympic time period and the high level that she's played at. But that's gonna do it for this edition of our girls play hockey. For sherry hudspeth, Mike Benelli, Brianna Decker and me Lee Elias. We will see you in the next episode of our girls play Hockey. Thanks for listening and make sure to check out the ride of the rink. And the next our kids play hockey for more. Brianna Decker. Take care everybody. Skate on. We hope you enjoyed this edition of our kids play Hockey. Make sure to like and subscribe right now if you found value wherever you're listening, whether it's a podcast network, a social media network, or our website, ourkidsplayhockey.com. also, make sure to check out our children's book when hockey stops at when hockeystops.com. it's a book that helps children deal with adversity in the game and in life. We're very proud of it. But thanks so much for listening to this edition of our kids play hockey, and we'll see you on the next episode.