Hockey players hear one word all the time: Coachable. Coaches love coachable players. Parents want their kids to be coachable. Players are often told they need to become more coachable. But what does that actually mean? Being coachable is not …
Walk into almost any youth hockey rink and you’ll eventually hear it. “MOVE IT!” “PASS!” “SKATE!” “BACK DOOR!” “GET IT OUT!” Sometimes the coach is practically providing live play-by-play while the players are trying to make decisions at full …
Hockey teaches players how to skate, pass, shoot, compete, and think quickly. But some of the most difficult parts of the game have nothing to do with a puck. What happens when you don’t get along with a teammate? What if you join a new team and f…
Every young hockey player wants to know what they can do to become better. Skate faster. Shoot harder. Make more saves. Get stronger. Practice more. Those things matter. But former NHL goalie coach and current NCAA Division I goalie coach Steve B…
When parents think about developing a better goalie, it is easy to start with technique. Should they butterfly differently? Get deeper in the crease? Challenge more? Work with another goalie coach? Take more lessons? Train more often? Those questi…
Want to Try That Hockey Move in a Game? Put in the Reps First Every young hockey player has had this moment. You’re watching an NHL or PWHL game and one of your favorite players does something incredible. A toe drag. A spin move. A slick backha…
If you’ve been part of youth hockey long enough, you probably know the routine. Sell the chocolate. Sell the raffle tickets. Sell the coupon book. Work the concession stand. Wash some cars. Ask your relatives—again—if they would please support…
Ask young hockey players what they need to do to get better and you'll probably hear plenty about skating, shooting, stickhandling, and scoring. Those skills matter. A lot. But what if some of the qualities that ultimately separate players aren't …
Your goalie may stand in the crease by themselves, but they are never supposed to play the game alone. That’s one of the most important lessons young hockey players can learn. In a recent episode of The Ride to the Rink, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli…
Ask a hockey parent what it’s like to watch their child play, and you’ll get a hundred different answers. Ask a goalie parent, and there’s a good chance the answer includes elevated blood pressure. On an episode of Our Kids Play Goalie, we posed a…
Conflict is going to happen during a hockey season. A teammate is going to do something that frustrates you. A coach is going to make a decision you don’t understand. Your parents may have expectations that feel different from your own. And someti…
Conflict in youth hockey is almost impossible to avoid. A player doesn’t get the ice time they expected. A parent disagrees with a coach. Two teammates frustrate each other. A coach loses their temper. Someone says something in the locker room that…
Sometimes you begin telling one story and realize, somewhere along the way, that you are documenting history. That is exactly what happened with Hayley Scamurra. When Our Kids Play Hockey began following Hayley through the 2025–26 season, the idea…
Every hockey player wants more energy. More energy at practice. More energy late in games. More focus when the coach is explaining something. More jump in the third period when everybody else is starting to slow down. Players often look for tha…
There is a question almost every hockey family eventually asks. What are we doing for food? Maybe practice begins right in the middle of dinner. Maybe one child has hockey while another has a different activity. Maybe you are driving directly from…
For a young hockey player, dreaming big is part of the fun. Maybe you imagine pulling on a college jersey one day. Maybe you picture yourself playing NCAA hockey, reaching the professional level, or simply finding out how far the game can take you.…
For hockey families, college can begin to feel like the destination. Years of early mornings, practices, tournaments, hotels, equipment, showcases, and long drives can create a natural temptation to view college hockey as the payoff for everything …
🏒 Growing hockey isn't simply about convincing more kids to try it. Getting a stick into someone's hands matters. Giving a young girl her first opportunity to step onto the ice matters. Bringing professional women's hockey into a market that has ne…
A turnover happens. You miss an assignment. You have a rough shift. A coach corrects you. You make a mistake during a drill you normally execute without thinking. And suddenly, instead of focusing on the next play, your mind is still stuck on the …
Every Kid Should Be Allowed to Dream Ask enough young hockey players what they want to be when they grow up, and eventually you're going to hear it: “I want to play in the NHL.” For parents, that answer can create a complicated mix of emotions. …
Confidence is one of those words we use constantly in youth sports. “She needs more confidence.” “He lost his confidence.” “Her coach gave her confidence.” “That mistake destroyed his confidence.” But what if we’re thinking about confidence the…
Your Skates Are Talking to You. Are You Listening? Young hockey players spend plenty of time thinking about sticks, gloves, helmets, jerseys, and the latest gear. But there is one piece of equipment that literally connects everything you do to the…
A hockey player can tell you everything about their stick. They know the flex. They know the curve. They know the brand. They may even have very strong opinions about exactly how the tape needs to look. Ask that same player how t…
There’s a message young hockey players hear almost everywhere: Work harder. Get another skate in. Take more shots. Train while everyone else is resting. And beneath all of those messages is an assumption that can become dangerous if we never qu…