After school club shares big hits, life lessons

Jason Chmiel, a middle school teacher at Royal Oak Middle School in Michigan, had an idea at the start of this school year to share his reignited love of card collecting with interested students at his school. He found a few students who had that interest, and took the proposal for an official sports cards club to the district, and off they went. 

Shortly into the club’s infancy, Chmiel, who teaches Adaptive Physical Education and Health and Physical Education, had the idea to build a group break for his students, made up of four 2024 Select Football blasters, with each of his six students in the club getting randomly assigned teams to determine which cards they would get from the blasters. One of his students, Lucas K., had gone home sick for the day and wasn’t present to watch the break live, but he was quickly notified about the card he’d be walking away with: A Jayden Daniels Select Turbocharged Green Rookie /5.

“Our volume was stuck pretty low so there was a delay in realizing what just happened,” said Chmiel. “Once we did, it got a little loud in there. Phones came out, pictures of the screen, texts and calls were being made. We were able to get Lucas on the phone and let him know what just happened.”

Lucas K with his Jayden Daniels rookie /5

A card of this caliber is something that would be coveted by even the most serious card collectors, and it came from Chmiel deciding to provide an experience for the students who chose to join him in his passion. Instead of being bitter about him not being able to keep a card of this value, he turned it into a lesson for his students.

“I told the kids,” said Chmiel. “Should I be upset? I put the money up, I should be bummed that I didn’t get that card, right? Wrong. I don’t even collect football cards. Watching you guys going crazy at that hit, that’s what it’s about, helping others find joy and happiness… You now have a really cool story to tell that you were a part of and that you’ll remember for the rest of your lives”. 

Chmiel himself, like a lot of kids, collected cards at a young age, and as most kids do, took a bit of a hiatus before returning to the hobby. But the year 2021 rolled around, and Chmiel, a diehard Detroit Red Wings fan, saw a great opportunity to return to card collecting, this time branching off into buying into online breaks. 

“I took about 20 years off,” said Chmiel. “My son started playing hockey in 2021. Lucas Raymond and Mo Seider were Red Wings rookies, it seemed like the perfect time to get back into the hobby.” 

“Dave and Adam’s had a great selection of exactly what I was looking for,” Chmiel continued. “I read up, learned about card breaks, watched a couple, then got into one…I was hooked.”

From there it was only a matter of time before Chmiel started to pass this passion onto his students, as well as imprint some valuable life lessons on them, including doing well by others, which is something he chose to lead by example on. 

“This was my chance to do more for others,” said Chmiel. “I asked if that was something they’d be interested in, doing our own break, and of course they said yes and that’s what led to it. They got to learn the whole process, buy-in, the randomizing and assigning of teams.” 

And in Chmiel’s desire to pass on his hobby and these life lessons, the kids have given something back to him in return: A sense of nostalgia and a reminder to step back and enjoy things through the noise adult life brings. 

“It’s a flashback to my youth, living carefree, getting to prioritize your interests over your responsibilities,” said Chmiel. “As an adult, your plate is always full. There’s a to do list that never seems to get any shorter. Having the ability to take a break from that and engage in something that I enjoy, it brings me joy and happiness.” 

Chmiel noted that he has received gratitude and appreciation from both the kids who join him at the club and the parents of those students too. While the kids like gravitating to other kids who have similar interests, the parents are happy that their children have something to look forward to after the school day ends, knowing that Chmiel is also imparting life lessons on them as well through the joy of the hobby. 

“I pass on to my students – do what makes you happy,” said Chmiel. “Make sure your priorities are in order, but you need to make sure time is allocated for you to pursue your passions. Be kind, be humble, make good decisions and do for others. When you get older you’ll run across people you haven’t seen in 10 or 20 years, they’re not going to remember how fast you were, how many touchdowns you scored, how smart you were…they’re going to remember how you treated them. So be kind and respectful to all.”

While Lucas K, and the other members of Chmiel’s after school club who participated in the break, Lucas P, Jace, Ethan, Quinn, and Ronald all got an experience they’ll remember forever, Chmiel got his own eternal experience from a different perspective. Even though he bought the blasters used in the break with his own money and could be bitter he did not open the Daniels, his own lesson rings in his mind. 

“Do for others,” said Chmiel. “Even if you’re short on money, time, and or energy, figure it out and do for others.”