3 Things You Should Ask Your Organization Before This Season
What are the three things you should be asking your organization ahead of the season? Our hosts give us each of their top questions when...
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- Jul 30
- 1 min
Why Is Ice Hockey The Most Expensive Youth Sport?
Raising a young athlete should not have to be something you need to take a second mortgage out in order to do. This week on Our Kids Play...
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- Jul 24
- 1 min
Growing The Game With Bryan Trottier
Back in 2019 Lee had the chance to travel to Kitimat in British Columbia to help Bryan Trottier grow the game of hockey using Floor Ball....
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- Jul 16
- 1 min
Navigating a Toxic Hockey Environment
We recently received an email asking to discuss toxic hockey culture and how coaches and parents should handle them when problems arise....
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- Jul 2
- 1 min
3 Takeaways From the 2022 Cup Final
In order to be the best, you have to learn from the best. There was no shortage of takeaways from the 2022 Stanley Cup Final for coaches,...
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- Jun 25
- 1 min
Don't Send Your Kid To Hockey Camp Before You Listen To This Episode!
Getting ready to send your kid to a hockey summer camp? Make sure you tune in to this episode first!! Mike and Lee break down all the...
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- Jun 20
- 1 min
Meet The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
How much do you know about your favorite podcast hosts? Lee, Christie, Mike, and even Producer Katelynn take to the mic to discuss their...
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- Jun 11
- 1 min
A Conversation With A Midlife Rink Rat
Do you understand exactly what its like for your kids on the ice? Meagan Hesham was brand new to the world of youth hockey when she...
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- Jun 4
- 1 min
The 3 Things Organizations Should Do In The Offseason To Prepare For The Following Year
What is your organization doing to prep for the upcoming season? It may be June, but if your answer doesn't include these three things,...
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- May 28
- 1 min
What Is The Coach Developer Academy?
What is the “Coach Developer Academy?” Lee and Mike discuss how USA Hockey is helping to develop coaches by giving them the right tools...
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- May 21
- 1 min
Duzter Hockey
Our community mailbag is full of amazing stories - but this one we had to share. 14 year old Martin saw a problem when it came to the fit...
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- May 14
- 1 min
Ice Hockey Abroad
Lee recently had the opportunity to coach overseas with the Peterborough Phantoms in the UK's NIHL. For a majority of the season he did...
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- Apr 30
- 1 min
Managing Money In Youth Hockey with Larry Sprung
What exactly are you getting your family into financially when you sign your child up for hockey? Most people don’t know until they’re...
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- Apr 23
- 1 min
Retaining Your Training
How can your child keep their newly learned skill sets after they leave a camp or a clinic? Lee and Mike dive into tips and tricks on how...
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- Apr 16
- 1 min
An Interview With NHL Hockey Mom, Juliana MacEwen
What does it actually take to get your kid to the NHL? We're all hockey parents on this show, and this week we've welcomed an NHL hockey...
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- Apr 9
- 1 min
An Interview With American Special Hockey Association Director, Jen O'Brien
How much do you know about the American Special Hockey Associations? Listen up - we had their director, Jennifer O’Brien, on for a...
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- Apr 2
- 1 min
My Kid's First Year in Mite (8U) Ice Hockey: 2021-22 Season in Review
I’ve been pondering for the past few days how I wanted to share my end-of-season review for my son’s Mite team. Then I remembered that I...
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- Mar 26
- 1 min
Season Wrap-Up
Let's reflect: What did you and your child take away from this hockey season? The EARLY ACCESS copies of "When Hockey Stops" are going...
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- Mar 19
- 1 min
Evaluating Evaluations
What are your thoughts on end of season evaluations? How does your organization handle them? We deep dive and evaluate the evaluation...
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- Mar 12
- 1 min
An Interview With Mark Gilman
How can we better impact the lives of youth hockey players? Are select teams really where it's at? Mark Gilman shares his thoughts this...
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- Mar 5
- 1 min
The Car Is Not For Coaching
Do you coach your kid(s) in the car on the way to and from the game? What kind of reactions or response do you get? Is it influencing...
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- Feb 26
- 1 min
An Interview With Darryl Belfry; Part 2
Hockey's Top Performance Coach, Darryl Belfry, recently joined the Our Kids Play Hockey crew and dropped SO MUCH coaching wisdom that we...
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- Feb 19
- 1 min
An Interview With Darryl Belfry, Part 1
This week on Our Kids Play Hockey, we welcome an absolute coaching legend in Darryl Belfry. Darryl has worked with some of the top...
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- Feb 12
- 1 min
How To Build The Best Coaching Staff
Building the best coaching staff possible is no easy task, but it is an important one to keep things running smoothly on and off the ice....
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- Feb 5
- 1 min
An Interview With Frank Buonomo
Frank Buonomo, a former NHL executive, and current coach and president for the Pittsburgh Predators and the Vice President at Dollar...
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- Jan 29
- 1 min
To Yell Or Not To Yell
MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT IN ORDER TO BE AN EFFECTIVE COACH YOU NEED TO YELL AT YOUR PLAYERS...but is that true? This week on Our Kids Play...
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- Jan 22
- 1 min
A Clinic On Clinics
The Our Kids Play Hockey Team puts on a clinic for you this week when they discuss everything hockey parents should know about clinics!...
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- Jan 15
- 1 min
Youth Hockey, Goalie Skills, and BBQ with Former NHL Goalie Mike McKenna
Former NHL goaltender Mike McKenna was fresh off an 8u hockey tournament when he joined the Our Kids Play Hockey team earlier this week!...
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- Jan 8
- 1 min
A Spring Hockey Discussion
It may be January, BUT spring hockey is right around the corner...or so it would seem by how many people have already begun focusing on...
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- Dec 31, 2021
- 1 min
Stories with Lou Vairo - The Godfather of USA Hockey
Lou Vairo is considered by many to be the Godfather of USA Hockey. In this episode, which spawned from an interview in late 2019, Mike and L
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- Dec 24, 2021
- 1 min
An Interview With Coach Wendy Glover
How can we help raise our young athletes to be leaders on and off the ice and prepare them for life beyond sport? Coach Wendy Glover joins t
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- Dec 18, 2021
- 1 min
Combatting The Youth Hockey Holiday Lull
Happy Holidays!! This week our expert panel of Hockey Parents and Coaches discuss how to prepare and approach the magical time of the...
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- Dec 11, 2021
- 1 min
Development Without Destruction feat. JB Spisso
Our panel this week, joined by our culture and leadership expert, JB Spisso, discusses their viewpoints of how what we think is development
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- Dec 4, 2021
- 1 min
An Interview With Dan Blackburn
Mental fitness has become a major point of discussion in sports from the youth level to the pro levels, and is something we care deeply...
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- Nov 27, 2021
- 1 min
An Interview With Former NHL Defenseman Mike Weaver
While life after hockey isn't something we all want to think about all the time, it is a reality that all players must eventually face....
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- Nov 23, 2021
- 1 min
Introducing Our New Children's Book: "When Hockey Stops!"
Pre-Order Our New Children's Book: When Hockey Stops! Lee and Christie have been hard at work behind the scenes to bring the world a new...
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- Nov 20, 2021
- 1 min
An Interview With Scott Vargas, Executive Director of Puerto Rico Ice Hockey
Ice Hockey In Puerto Rico has recently made headlines with their participation, and victory, in the Amerigol Latam Cup. Our guest today,...
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- Nov 13, 2021
- 1 min
We're Talkin' Bout Practice
Based on an article from USA Hockey's October 2021 edition - Christie, Mike, and Lee discuss the 5 tips given to ensure the best youth...
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- Nov 3, 2021
- 1 min
Putting Perspective Back Into Youth Hockey Culture with Former NHL Captain Bryce Salvador
Former NHL Captain, Bryce Salvador, recently made the decision to forfeit a championship game in lieu of putting his 12u team's mental healt
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- Oct 30, 2021
- 1 min
What To Do After A Big Win
Everyone knows that big wins are a ton of fun, but what should coaches and teams look to do in the days following the big win? Lee raised th
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- Oct 24, 2021
- 1 min
An Interview With Nutrition Coach Mariah Fujimagari
Before you leave for your young athlete's practice or game today, take a moment to think about what they're putting in their bodies and...
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- Oct 16, 2021
- 1 min
An Interview With USA Sled Hockey Captain, Josh Pauls
This 8x Gold Medalist guest should serve as an anchor in all of our lives. From a super young age he has worked hard to be the best at...
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- Oct 9, 2021
- 1 min
Should Team Apparel Be Mandatory?
This topic raised a pretty lively debate from the panel - should youth players be expected to dress professional or wear team apparel...
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- Oct 2, 2021
- 1 min
An Interview With Franny Drummond
We often say that you don't always have to support a dream, but you should always support a person's right to have a dream. We also...
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- Sep 25, 2021
- 1 min
When It Feels Like Its Falling Apart
It's the biggest game of the season, and you were up three goals going into the third period, but the opponent is finding a way to...
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- Sep 18, 2021
- 1 min
An Interview With Kerry Fraser
As referee burnout plagues the sport of hockey, we sat down to talk with Kerry Fraser about some of the lessons he learned during his...
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- Sep 10, 2021
- 1 min
An Interview With USA Sled Hockey GM Dan Brennan
What if we told you that the competitive spirit of hockey knows no bounds? Dan Brennan began working with USA hockey in 1996 and now...
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- Sep 4, 2021
- 1 min
Balancing School And Hockey
When it comes to being a student athlete, the word student comes first. Lee, Christie, and Mike offer their advice to parents and players...
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- Aug 28, 2021
- 1 min
Fundraising Ideas
Fundraising is an important part of hockey season. It not only can help you fund your season but can offer a unique way to team bond and...
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- Aug 21, 2021
- 1 min
New Season Preparation
The season is around the corner and there's so many things to get ready!! What do you need to do before the season starts to ensure...
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MEET OUR TEAM
Lee Elias
Christie Casciano Burns is hockey mom and a television news anchor in Syracuse, New York. She has been an award winning reporter and anchor for WSYR-TV since 1986. In addition to being a columnist for USA Hockey, she is the author of three books, "My Kids Play Hockey", “The Puck Hog” and “Haunted Hockey in Lake Placid.”
Lee Elias is a serial entrepreneur, professional speaker, award-winning published author, collegiate professor and championship coach. He has been recognized for his work with team building and bonding and also runs several businesses within the hockey space.
Mike Bonelli brings 30+ years as a coach and hockey executive that works with some of the best hockey services available to bring those resources to programs, teams and players. A member of USA Hockey’s coaching education program, Bonelli also serves as the coaching director and advisor too many youth programs.
christie Casciano Burns
Mike Bonelli
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