History & Tradition
The Dallas Stars Midget Major AAA Club was founded in 2004 to create a premier hockey development program with the objective of preparing players for Junior and Collegiate programs through on and off-ice training and education.In the first four years of the program the Stars participated in a number of tournaments and game-format weekends against many of the Midget Major AAA hockey organizations around the country.
In 2008 the Stars joined the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (see link on homepage), now the premier league for U.S. hockey players offering a schedule of weekend events at various locations around the country against other team members of the league.In addition to a competitive league format with standing and statistics tracked throughout the season the Tier 1 league provides broad exposure to Junior and College coaches and scouts and has become one of their primary sources of player recruiting.
During the season the Stars will also play exhibition games to provide a continuous development schedule preparing for the Texas State tournament, the USA Hockey Rocky Mountain Regional District and National Championship tournaments.The Stars have consistently won advanced to the regional championships and numerous appearances at the Tier 1 national championships including a Silver Medal finish in 2009 with an overtime loss in the championship game to Detroit Little Ceasers.
Structure
Through the support of local contributors the program offers one of the most cost-effective, competitive development programs of any at the Midget Major AAA level today.The home ice for the Stars is the Farmers Branch Dr. Pepper StarCenter which is centrally located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.The facility provides one of the nicest locker room and workout area options of any Midget Major program in the country (see Facilities link on the homepage).
Out of town players are provided billet and schooling options that are in close proximity to the home ice facility and the DFW airport for travel.Practice sessions are typically Monday through Thursday with off-ice training on weekends when games are not scheduled.Players also have ice time available prior to practice for personal development and the training room is open both prior to and following on-ice practice sessions.The majority of game events are airline travel and bus transportation at the event location between the hotel and event facility.
Organization
The Stars organization provides an experienced coaching staff, a team liaison providing an informational interface to parents during the season, and a player-advancement program providing information and guidance on Junior and College programs.Coach Adam Robbins took the head coach position in 2007 building and leading the program to the elite status and reputation it has achieved at the Youth, Junior, Collegiate, and Professional levels.Assistant coach Erik Adams and goalie coach Cam McDonald bring years of experience to the team to round out the coaching staff for the Stars organization today.
