Dan Donato is well aware of the dangers of complacency, which is at the root of Dexter Southfield boys hockey's latest announcement.
The program is going to a full-season model, with games played from September through March, with U13, U14 and U16 teams added. Those will be implemented this fall.
The varsity team, however, will begin playing a full season in September 2025.
"If you're doing well or winning or making lots of money, that's great," the Dexter head coach said. "But someone else is going to try to do that too. So how are you staying ahead of the curve? And I think we're just trying to stay ahead of the curve."
In recent seasons, the academy model has gained relevance around the nation with Shattuck-St. Mary's, Mount St. Charles and South Kent — just to name a few — offering an experience with hockey all season and daily practices and skills work.
But Dexter Southfield is adamant about this being different.
"I want to be crystal clear," Donato said. "It's not an academy model. We're not trying to change — we still want to be a great academic school and that's what we're trying to do. Continue that and give our kids a chance to do it all right here. We have a full-time strength and conditioning coach. We have a beautiful rink facility. And we just finished building an indoor turf center, which allows us to keep the ice down year round.
"That's going to be a game-changer for us."
How it won't be like an academy is Dexter will still follow NEPSAC rules. Dexter's fall squad will technically be separate from its main winter one and Donato won't be the coach, which is becoming a trend in prep.
Cushing's varsity team plays as the Central Mass. Penguins in the fall, while Kimball Union travels the autumn circuit as the NEFPHL Wildcats. Both of those teams play other fall club teams.
There's also Peak Performance Prep Hockey, which hosts Hotchkiss, Taft, Choate, Williston Northampton, Hoosac, Winchendon, Brewster Academy, Pomfret and Portsmouth Abbey. They play under different team names and different coaches.
"It's going to be a more consistent approach," Donato said. "If a kid needs skill development or weight room development or study hall, they can do it all right here and not have to drive everywhere."
As of now, the hockey that Dexter's varsity team will play come the fall of 2025 will be in the Beast, participating in tournaments with an emphasis on skill development in between.
"We have a year to build that out," Donato said. "To make it the most competitive schedule. We didn't want to rush into that one because we have a good thing going at the varsity level. We're excited about the kids we have here and I think there's a buzz in the market that Dexter is doing this."
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One of the other ways this won't be like an academy is Dexter isn't adding a boarding school. It will continue as a day school.
"The challenge was how do you do this without boarding?" Donato said. "I just think the market has enough good players. It's super competitive because there's so many great academic schools and great programs in the area. I think that some people will look at this model and say 'yeah, we can get both.'"
Part of the reason teams like Kimball Union and Cushing switched to hosting their own fall teams was since players were boarding at those schools, getting to club practices and games was often a hassle.
But Dexter Southfield is in Brookline. Many of its players suit up for club teams like the Boston Jr. Eagles and Neponset Valley River Rats in the fall.
Do other metro Boston prep schools like St. Sebastian's, Belmont Hill, Milton Academy, Nobles, Rivers and others follow?
"There's been a ton of interest from other schools and other people wondering how are you guys doing this?" Donato said.
Will the shift in model create blowback from other prep schools who might drop Dexter from the schedule?
"The kickback could be what are they trying to do?" Donato said. "We're not trying to be anything we're not. We fully respect all of our opponents and great academic and athletic schools in our area and we want to continue to be part of them. We just want to try to develop our kids and make it a little more convenient for our families."
Another reason for the change in models is to enhance the junior varsity program.
"It's really hard to put together a schedule that allows for kids and families to really develop to try to make the varsity," Donato said. "With this U16 model, if they're good enough to make [varsity] at U16, they'll play for [varsity] and if not, they still have a chance to play a very competitive schedule. I think we're kind of filling the void that's been missing.
"We believe in the 'Best today, better tomorrow' model. If you give your best today, you should have a chance to be better tomorrow and have a chance to make a higher team."
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There's also the middle school. Dexter Southfield views players in Classes 6-8 as prime candidates to be developed in the model with U13 and U14 teams.
"The middle school is unique because most of our competitors don't have middle schools," Donato said. "Except for Nobles, Rivers and Belmont Hill but most of the boarding schools don't. It allows us to have a U13 and U14 team and that allows us to have good levels and play in tournaments and those things."
Having players developed in middle school on campus feeds into why Dexter believes it now holds an advantage in drawing talent from around eastern Massachusetts.
"We've already seen an uptick in the quality of players," Donato said. "The coaches and the lower models will systematically be able to play and teach a lot of the same stuff. We feel that it works. We've had 16 guys that I've coached in my time in prep school make it to the NHL. I'm not taking all the credit for that. What I'm saying is we know we're a piece of it. We've got so many guys playing college hockey — so many captains.
"We're able to develop leadership in our players. We're able to develop a great hockey experience, but also going to have a great school experience."
What happens next is unknown. But it's likely Dexter's decision could lead to other prep schools — both around Boston and New England — opting for this model.
"Would I be surprised if others follow?" Donato said. "Not at all."
