Chapter 2
At Hasek’s Heroes we do not just develop hockey players. We develop student athletes.
That word — student — comes first on purpose.
We believe that a child who is engaged in school, who reads, who challenges themselves academically, and who takes their education seriously will also be a better teammate, a more coachable player, and a more successful person. The skills required to be a great student and the skills required to be a great athlete are the same skills: discipline, focus, consistency, and the willingness to keep working even when it is hard.
This highlights everything we do to make education a celebrated, rewarded, and central part of the Hasek’s Heroes experience.
The Hero Bucks Academic Connection
Hero Bucks are not just for what happens on the ice. At Hasek’s Heroes, academic effort and achievement are recognized and rewarded the same way great sportsmanship and hard work.
Here is how players earn Hero Bucks through education:
Report Card Review — Monthly Hero Bucks Every month, players who bring in their most recent report card to a coach or program staff member earn Hero Bucks on Team Store Days. We are not looking for perfection. We are looking for effort, progress, and honesty. A player who shows improvement from last month has earned recognition just as much as a player on the honor roll. Show us where you are. We will celebrate it.
Honor Roll Bonus Players who achieve honor roll receive a Hero Bucks bonus at the time of their report card review. This is announced and celebrated within the team — because academic achievement deserves the same recognition as a great game.
Grade Improvement Bonus
The Hasek’s Heroes Book Challenge
Reading is one of the most powerful habits we can build in a young person. It builds vocabulary, focus, empathy, and imagination. It also makes better hockey players — because reading about great athletes, great coaches, and great teams teaches kids how to think about the game and about life.
The Book Challenge is open to all players throughout the season. Here is how it works:
Step 1 — Choose a Book Players select a book of their choice. It can be a hockey book, a biography of an athlete, a novel, an adventure story — anything that challenges and engages them.
Step 2 — Read It Players read the book on their own time — at home, during Study Hours in the Gold Room, or wherever they read best.
Step 3 — Write a Short Book Report When finished, players write a short book report. We are looking for a few things:
what the book was about
what they liked or found interesting
One thing they learned or will remember
One thing they would tell a friend about the book.
Step 4 — Submit & Earn Players submit their book report to a coach or program staff member and earn Hero Bucks for completion. Every completed book report earns bucks.
End of Season Student Athlete Awards
At the end of every season, Hasek’s Heroes hosts the Student Athlete Awards — one of the most meaningful events we hold all year.
These awards exist to make a statement: that academic effort is worth celebrating just as loudly as goals scored and games won. Every player who engaged with the academic side of this program throughout the season deserves to be recognized in front of their team, their coaches, and their families.
KEVIN DURAWA MEMORIAL AWARD
This award honors the player who best demonstrates leadership and sportsmanship on the ice, while also excelling in academics and community involvement off the ice. These qualities reflect the character and values Kevin embodied and the example we strive to set for our players every day.
All award recipients are recognized publicly at the end of season celebration, featured on the program website and social channels, and presented with a physical award and a significant Hero Bucks bonus to close out the season in style.