Our Girls Play Hockey - Building Girls' Youth Hockey Programs with Kristen Bowness

Lee MJ Elias [0:08 - 0:53]: Hello, hockey friends and families around the world. And welcome back to another episode of our best series, Our Girls Play Hockey. I'm Lee Elias and I'm joined by Mike Benelli and Sherry Hudspet. It's hockey season, so that also means it's tournament season and that's going to be the focus of our show today. Our expert for this episode is someone who has worked professionally in the NHL for multiple teams included, but not limited to a community hockey manager with the Tampa Bay Lightning, director of amateur hockey and fan development for the Nashville Predators, and she has just been named the youth program director for the Utah Hockey Club. And yes, we will make sure to ask some questions about that today. She comes from a hockey family and is living a hockey life, maybe her best hockey life. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Kristin Bonas to the show today. Kristen, welcome to our Girls Play Hockey. 

Kristen Bowness [0:53 - 0:57]: I don't know anything about the team names. I'm just going to take that off the table right away. 

Lee MJ Elias [0:57 - 1:10]: We weren't going to interrogate you on that. I'm, I'm willing to wait and be patient for that. I don't think that that's something that needs to be rushed. But, but since you brought it up, let's start with the question everyone is wondering, which is not the team name? 

Mike Bonelli [1:10 - 1:13]: We all know it's the, we all know it's the Yeti. So let's, let's just. 

Lee MJ Elias [1:13 - 1:39]: I'm not going to comment on that. Mike can jump on that. You know, they can make it at the last second. I watched the Washington commanders go through this. We're not going to get you on that. The question, though, that I do have. You just started a new job in a new NHL market with a new NHL team, the Utah hockey team. Talk to us a little bit about a, the excitement of that situation and what is the early days like of diving into youth hockey into a new market? 

Kristen Bowness [1:39 - 2:08]: Like, honestly, it's been an unreal experience. It really, truly has been a dream come true. It's kind of crazy. So you mentioned from a hockey family. I was born in Winnipeg when the with jets 1.0. And then I was an intern for the Coyotes and then now I'm here. So it's really cool to have all three different touch points. But it's been electric around here. It really has. The excitement's really growing. The fan base is huge. Like Monday for our preseason game was incredible. 

Lee MJ Elias [2:08 - 2:09]: That's awesome. Here. 

Kristen Bowness [2:09 - 2:27]: Mike's on ice. Intermission. So the kids were thrilled. I think the parents were Even more excited. But you can tell that hockey's really going to grow here. The Jazz has the number one youth program in the NBA, so I'm excited to emulate that. Sorry, Sherry. And the best youth hockey program in the league right here in Utah. 

Lee MJ Elias [2:27 - 2:32]: Sherry is a very competitive person, and I'm not gonna lie to you. I love that you just said that. 

Sheri Hudspeth [2:32 - 2:37]: Because that's gonna make us even better now. So it's. I'm gonna creep up to that border with my ball hockey. 

Lee MJ Elias [2:37 - 2:43]: It's about the kids, friends. It's all about the children. Go ahead, Phoebe. 

Kristen Bowness [2:43 - 2:44]: You go out of it. 

Sheri Hudspeth [2:44 - 3:10]: Yeah. Good morning, Kristen. Thank you for being here and welcome back to the West. So that's awesome that you're here. I'm excited that you're here and above us in Utah. So prior to Utah, you're with Nashville for multiple seasons, where you oversaw growth of youth and girls hockey in Tennessee. Can you talk a little bit about growing the girls hockey in that market and tell us what were some of, like, the challenges and opportunities that you had like in Nashville and then how it kind of compares to what you're going to do now in Utah? 

Kristen Bowness [3:10 - 5:18]: Yeah. So I started in Nashville kind of at an interesting time because it was right after Covid, and so we were trying to build back our programs. Obviously, youth sports were one of the first things to go when Covid first hit. So building everything back up was the main priority. We did have a Girls program in 2019, but we hadn't had anything since. So that was a big priority for me just to jump right in and start just providing as many opportunities as we can. And I think that is kind of the best part about working with girls and their families is they're just thankful, like, they want any opportunity they can get. They want to be together. The families especially want to be together. So we kind of tested the market a little bit with what we could do. Obviously, did some learn to play some ball hockey. Did a lot of try it for freeze. We built an 8U 10U team, which was only a six, six or eight week season. So it was really quick, but it was really well received and the parents loved it. The kids loved it because they were in youth league before. So it was just nice to be in a locker room full of girls. And then a big project of mine was we started a middle school hockey league, which was really fun. And so I was pushed really hard to put a high school girls team in there, which we did bend the rules a little bit, but it provided the Girls an opportunity to play and to play together. So I called them the Elle woods of hockey because they just woke up one day and was like, I want to play. So they're all in high school. And they just jumped right in. They had to borrow a lot of gear. We used rental skates, but they loved it. And I told them every day that they were what everything is right about hockey. Like, they loved it. They tried hard. They came with full effort. The parents were a dream, which you never really hear in youth programs. They were an absolute dream. And obviously the coaching staff was incredible, too. I learned a lot from them. And so that just really built up the passion again. And then that's moving on to build preds girls classic and obviously working with the junior preds. I was their president for my tenure there too, so doing whatever I can to support the girls and their families was my main priority. 

Mike Bonelli [5:20 - 5:40]: Yeah, so you've been in some great locations, and, you know, today we're really trying to talk a little bit about tournaments, and I think, you know, could you just really talk a little bit about, you know, diving into those tournaments, what coaches and managers and, you know, we're looking for destination tournaments. You know, what makes a good girls tournament, in your opinion? 

Kristen Bowness [5:42 - 7:32]: I think a lot of it is the execution, right? The scheduling, the planning, but also the communication when it comes to not only the ranked staff, but also the coaches, the management, across the board. Just so everyone's on the same page and there's no, like, no surprises. Fred's girls classic was a baby of mine, and I wanted to make it something unique and something that wasn't really done before. So we added in a Saturday night skills competition, which was a lot of fun because so in that arena, there's 5,000 seats, and, you know, we're telling the girls, hey, be ready for this time. Line up. We're going to hit the ice. The coaches were falling behind, and when we walked in, it was like Miley Cyrus, Blair, and like thousands of girls were screaming. It was just an incredible environment and I think really got the crowd going. Obviously, the girls were excited on the ice, and Sherry can speak to it because she was there for it. It was just a lot of fun. And I think that is a big part, too, of what I want to accomplish with girls with our programs is include that social side too, which is really important not only for the girls, but also for the families, too, so that they can get together, they can speak to one another, talk about, you know, what works in their market, what doesn't work what they can use some help with. So during the skills competition we also had a dinner so the parents could have dinner, kind of mingle with one another while the girls competed. The second year we brought in. Her name is Harper Grace and she has like an online bullying campaign. So she spoke with the girls, she sang the national anthem and she kind of stuck around. So obviously the girls were excited to have a country music star there as well. But also to have that platform that's so important for girls that age from 12 to 16 is, you know, the online bullying and just how to catch it and also stay away from it. 

Sheri Hudspeth [7:32 - 8:14]: The Pred's Classic, like that's. I've played girls hockey. I coach girls hockey. I've gone to like hundreds and hundreds of girls tournaments and that was by far one of the most organized, best well run tournaments I've ever been to. A lot, a lot of thought went into, you know, the prizes, the social a lot of the stuff that you guys did. Like I'm just a fan. It's like something I wanted to take back here of how we can, you know, make girls hockey better. I know you had like the junior pre. You have both very good boys and had or like you and you were there girls, girls and boys hockey for the junior Preds like girls tournament. Is there stuff that you had like you can talk about, you know, the social aspect. Is that stuff that you do on the boy side too or do you find it's more important in the girls tournament side? 

Kristen Bowness [8:14 - 8:59]: We're trying to add it in. What's hard too is finding the time and being able to block out that part of the section when they're already so jam packed. So if we can we try to. Now we have what's called our. Well there I forget that Friends and pretzels trailer. So it's a gaming trailer that they'll set outside. They'll have street hockey playing like a slap shot radar gun EA game sports. So again it kind of incorporates that social side but they don't exactly need to take time away from the schedule which was the hardest part with Fred's Girls Classic. But we made it work and everybody was really flexible for it because it was so important to have. Yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [8:59 - 10:17]: You know, one of the common themes and we're talking about it here within girls hockey that we've heard across the our Girls Play Hockey episode is is that camaraderie side. Right. In fact, Chris, we did on several of the episodes where we discuss when may be the right time to separate from Kind of co ed hockey to girls hockey. That's one of the defining characteristics of that decision is that camaraderie. And I think that tournaments play probably a pretty large role in that when you think about it. And again, I'm coming at this from kind of the male perspective here, right, of we've always had tournaments, right. I've only seen tournaments when I was playing growing up. So we're in an interesting time right now for just women's sports in general. Right. I mean, it's more popular than it's ever been. It's growing, it's, it's wonderful. How important now are these girls tournaments to growing the women's game long term? When again, and we said this in several episodes, there are professional women's teams now, right now. It used to be college was the goal, maybe making an Olympic team. Now there's pro teams. So what is the kind of a two part question, what is the role of tournaments now for girls hockey on a broad sense? And then the other question is just how important are they for growing the game for women? 

Kristen Bowness [10:18 - 12:25]: I think they're very important. You know, building that camaraderie and building that community is really the biggest part. You know, I was one of those girls that I was only going to play with girls. Like there are girls that will play co ed. Like, I'm sure, Sherry, you were an excellent hockey player. Like you would have played with boys, with girls no matter what. I was on the other side, so I needed to have that opportunity. And so I always think about that too is like, if girls want to play hockey, they're going to play hockey no matter what. But there are the ones that, you know, we need to have that girls only specific side for. So that's where I do feel as though the tournaments and the community events really come into play so that you can meet more people that you can, you know, just discuss again what like works, what doesn't work, what you would rather see. And that's kind of where I also try to insert myself with a lot of different conversations so that I can learn, right? So I'd rather be the boots on the ground and fix what needs to because everything's going to try to be bigger and better every year. So I think, you know, learning from our mistakes or maybe our shortcomings is the best part when running these kind of events. And then I think as much exposure as you can provide as well for, you know, where you can play. So, you know, the big thing for Brad's Girls Classic for me was I wanted to provide single A girls that opportunity because there's a lot of tournaments that are always AA or triple A, but not necessarily the single A girl. So that was a big part for me. But then also this year we invited the University of Tennessee. They have a girls club team, so they're going to come and play during the schools competition on the other rink so that girls can see like, okay, maybe I'm not going to be a D1, D3 player, but they're still club. And again, that's what I played. That's what I played in University was just club because, you know, I wanted that social side. I tried the sorority route. It did not work for me. I quit the week before initiation and joined the hockey team instead. So again, I think just having those different levels and different various levels of commitment is also important to provide more opportunities for the girls. 

Lee MJ Elias [12:25 - 14:07]: It's really funny you mentioned that. College. I remember when I was playing college hockey, we used to have this saying which was a little harsh, but we used to say, if you can't take it pledge. Like if you can't take the hockey, go pledge a fraternity. Because this isn't for you. Kind of the. Kind of the opposite of that. But yeah, let's be honest. Yeah, college hockey is a, is a Ferrari sorority, however you want to look at it, right? I mean, it's a brotherhood, a sisterhood of people coming together towards something common. Maybe with a little less drinking big maybe. But you know, that's the point of that for the kids listening. You'll get there, don't worry about that right now. We're talking about the juice packs at tournaments right now. But I think it's a great answer. And like you're bringing up a great point too that we should probably discuss too, that, you know, women's girls hockey is growing across the board. And I think that we talk a lot about the PWHL and Division 1 college and the Olympics. But the truth is this, and you bring up a good point. There's a lot of different ways to play hockey here. Outside that path, club hockey is a very viable option. And there are more club teams than Division 1 teams. Right. We. We kind of push past that. I think another point too is that this is a question actually for you and Sherry and Mike, you too, right? In. In the, in the co. In the boys game. I'll just say that there's just. There's so much hockey. Right. There's always a way to play, right. Some play in the girls game. I'm wondering if there's a more rigid view of having to make it because there's less women playing. And there's this path that we always talk about. Is, is that a stigma across the board that if you play girls hockey, if you don't make it to the ncaa, not that you're a failure, but, like, do you understand what I'm trying to ask? Because there's less people playing and it's an honest question. 

Sheri Hudspeth [14:07 - 14:58]: I don't think that. I think more with girls hockey, there is like, kind of what Christian said, there's like a very strong segment of girls that just want to play girls H. And then there's girls that want to be super elite and take that path. And I think, you know, markets that we are in, like, kind of new markets, you have to accommodate both people. And sometimes they're on the same team where it's like, for our team, for example, we only had enough kids come out for tryouts to make a team. So then you're kind of split with having, you know, kids that want to play girls hockey and kids that, like, really want to be. Go down the elite path and they're on the same team, and there's a big skill divide. So, um, I don't think everyone's trying to play pro at all. I think some girls just want to play with girls, and some parents only want their girls playing with girls. So that's a big factor too. But then you do have the girls that want to do the Pacific camps and go on and go on and go on and play college. Right. So that's what I've seen from my experience. 

Kristen Bowness [14:59 - 15:13]: Well, and even like, on my side. So, you know, I grew up in a hockey family. My brothers played, my dad played. I was not allowed to play, I think, because I grew up in Ottawa where there were no girl specific programs. And until there was, my mom was like, nope. You are figuring. 

Lee MJ Elias [15:15 - 15:24]: Do you think that that is a. I get kind of a personal question, but do you think that that is a driving force of why you're doing what you're doing now? Because it was not an opportunity for you. 

Kristen Bowness [15:24 - 15:31]: It was not an opportunity for me. I didn't understand, like, why if my brothers could do something, why I couldn't do something. 

Lee MJ Elias [15:31 - 15:31]: You know what I mean? 

Kristen Bowness [15:31 - 16:08]: That makes sense to me. And I think that's probably where my feminist side took off. But also, too, I think I do have a better understanding now of where parents are coming because, like, that education piece. So, you know, we didn't know that girls had to wear cages, that there was no fighting, that there was no hitting. You know, I think my parents just saw my brothers were sometimes a target on the ice, and so they were just nervous that that was going to happen with me, too. So, you know, I think, yeah, I do look at it a little bit differently, and that's kind of probably where a lot of my passion comes from, is being able to provide girls the same opportunities as boys. 

Lee MJ Elias [16:08 - 17:08]: Yeah, I bring that up just because I think that's important to discuss as well, that the people, especially all the women trailblazers we've interviewed on the show all have a reason. Right. And there's a driving force there for many different reasons. Right. And it's inspiring because again, I think on the. On the boys side of the game, it's been around for so long, you know, we don't. I don't want to say we don't see that passion, but the reasons for doing it are a little bit different. And I think it's really inspiring as. As a guy. Right. To see this. And you want to help, you want to get involved, you want to do your part, even. Even if sometimes your part is not being in the way and not being the person in charge. You know what I mean? So I think that's pretty awesome. And I just. I just wanted to clarify too, that. And maybe the way I said that question. I don't think all girls have to go pro or anything like that. I just. I wonder if there's undue pressure on young girls to do that and share. If you're telling me no, that's. That's great. I got a daughter in the game. Right. I think about this kind of stuff. Not. Not pro, but just. Just conversations we may have. 

Sheri Hudspeth [17:08 - 18:05]: Yeah, I think there's still challenges like. Like for the boys hockey here on the west, there's tons of tournaments, you know, in our arena, there's tons of tournaments. They can play at home. They don't have to travel. But for girls, you know, 10U12, you. There's not a lot of stuff for them to play. You know, it's like. It's hard. I think just the challenges of getting them the games and having opponents is harder than. Than anything for the travel hockey that kind of, you know, segues into sort of what I wanted to ask Kristen is. Kristen obviously is a leader in growing the girls hockey, but we have a lot of listeners that are not in an NHL market that don't have, you know, ambassadors or access to different stuff that we have to help Grow the game. If could you speak to some of the successful, you know, growth events and stuff that you found along your way that. That have helped grow girls hockey in any market that you've been in. Like, girls try hockey for free, girls weekends hosting tournaments. What have you found to be successful and helpful? 

Kristen Bowness [18:07 - 19:49]: Yeah, I think a lot of it does come from the try it for Freeze. Especially when, like, I love it when there's. Girl hockey. Players are kind of like the mentors to new girls and so they can kind of help and coach. And I think that also creates more of a comfort level with the newer girls, too. And so when there's a try it for free, you know, like, bring your friend, you know, there's pizza party afterwards, maybe they're watching a movie. But I will say some of the most passionate hockey people that I've ever met are the ones in the smaller markets that know that they have to fight for their kids, that they have to fight for their programs, and they are willing to do whatever they can to be able to provide the same opportunities for not just girls, but boys as well. And even, you know, in the adopted space too, I think. Yeah, they just definitely want to be viewed at the same and as they should. So I would say the most successful definitely are the Try it for Freeze. And I loved hosting ball hockey, especially, you know, obviously in schools and everything like that. And I've always found that from my teaching background that whenever you bring a new sport into the mix, girls kind of take off with it because, you know, it's not the basketball or the soccer, the football that boys traditionally grow up with. So when it, like, hockey is a new sport for everyone, girls take it and run with it. And I love it because they just can see that it's an even playing field at the start, you know. So, yeah, I would say as many ball hockey clinics that you could run and try it for Freeze, at least get people excited about the game. You know, you might not make a new hockey player, but, you know, you might not make a new fan. Maybe there's someone who wants to help out on the bencheeper. You know, there's different avenues that they can take to still stay engaged. 

Mike Bonelli [19:49 - 20:11]: A lot of that stuff is just so fundamental, you know, to growing the sport and obviously growing the women's side. Would you. Would you say that it's more challenging or what are the challenges? I guess, you know, being in Utah and starting a thing from scratch or inheriting, you know, programs that are already in place. I mean, can you. Can you compare and contrast, you know, kind of what you're in for. 

Kristen Bowness [20:13 - 21:17]: Yeah, I think I'm still in the new phase of that, so I'm still learning. But, you know, our big stance right now is we don't want to step on any toes. And so there are already 11 rinks that are around, so we want to support them. I want to do whatever we can and not be viewed as the competition, because, again, like, having the Utah umbrella, it all falls under. Under us. But we want to be able to provide that sport, so. Or that support. But, yeah, I think we've talked about even, you know, trying to support what Arizona has tried to build and bring it up here. You know, we'll probably. You know, it's not recreating the wheel. A lot of it is doing the same kind of events. But I think the biggest thing that we have to remember on our side is not about the numbers. Like, you don't have to hit 40 kids on the ice in order to be a successful program. Like, if there's four or five girls, great. Like, they're going to have fun. They have open ice, they're going to still love the game. And so if you don't have that number limit, I think that also is really important because no matter what, someone's going to fall in love with it. So it's not a numbers game at all. 

Sheri Hudspeth [21:17 - 21:32]: They're a passionate market up there. I know we. We taken our VGK road trip through Utah, and I've done work with. Learned to play in Utah before you guys arrived. And, like, it's a passionate, educated fan base. There's a lot of associations and a lot of players there. So just looking forward to watching you guys. 

Kristen Bowness [21:33 - 21:48]: Yeah. Thank you. No, that's what I'm really excited for. And everyone that I've met with or spoke with yet just can't wait to get something going. We are at a little bit of a, you know, a handicap because we don't have any gear. We just. We became a team, like, in April. 

Sheri Hudspeth [21:48 - 21:49]: Right. 

Kristen Bowness [21:49 - 22:05]: So nothing's really ready yet for us to distribute. You know, we don't even have jerseys yet to sell, so we're gonna be creative with what we can do for the first couple of months, but, you know, I thrive in chaos, so I'm pumped for it and can't wait to get. Get it all going. 

Lee MJ Elias [22:05 - 22:29]: You know, when I look to the future here, and I know that you are entrenched in everything being new, but I do want to try and look ahead a little bit. The Young women and boys right now that are starting. Right. Like the learn to Play programs. And you know, the first time they were in Utah hockey, it's not going to be long before they're not little kids anymore. Right. They're adults. And they're going to be this foundational point for this new hockey team. 

Kristen Bowness [22:30 - 22:30]: Yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [22:30 - 23:01]: You think about that as a legacy at all from, I guess, your position that you're creating? We always talk about lifetime value of a fan. Well, this is different for you. Right. The lifetime value of the fan starts today. Right. And again, we know the team has a history and I'm not negating that history in any way by saying this, but you're in a new area and there's locals there that were not in another state. Right. So can you talk to me about that a little bit? If I'm not mistaken, the Olympics are coming there. What about. Is it just eight years? 10? 

Kristen Bowness [23:01 - 23:03]: 20, 34. 

Lee MJ Elias [23:03 - 23:20]: Right. So now you have. And again, I know this is far away, but now you have this roadmap to the Olympic teams playing there again. Right. In some time. Does any thought go into the macro here? Do you think about that legacy? Do you think about those Olympics and what this may look like at that point? 

Kristen Bowness [23:21 - 23:22]: No. But now I will. 

Lee MJ Elias [23:23 - 23:26]: That's it. We're making you work here. I know. Yeah. 

Kristen Bowness [23:26 - 24:51]: I'm gonna start writing some notes. Honestly, I. Obviously, yeah, we can rely on the excitement of everything, but we still want to build the hockey fans, still want to build a knowledgeable hockey fan and the educated side, like Jerry just said, there are. There is already really strong base here. And thankfully, like the Jazz has such a good imprint already on the community that I know that, you know, Ryan Smith and the company is going to just catapult hockey as well. So I'm really excited for that. And again, on the adult side side too, like you had brought up. Another passion project of mine in Nashville was we did a women's Learn to Play. And it was so fun because it was just like again, everyone on the same playing field, everyone was supportive of one another. You know, they were all cheering each other on. We had so much success with the Learn to Play. We were able to build a four team league right from the Learn to Play as well. And so I think as much as we talk about girls and the youth, like, I want to be able to provide the same opportunities for adults, few, you know, and that's men and women being able to, you know, like put on some skates and go try and, you know, we have the support on our side and the coaching, too. So I'm excited to just grow all aspects of the game. And thankfully, even before I started, Nate and the team has, you know, already gotten everything off to a great start and then just working closer with the different communities and the different organizations. 

Sheri Hudspeth [24:51 - 24:58]: I guess I have rivalry series coming up there, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll be up for that with our little. Our girls teams coming up. 

Kristen Bowness [24:58 - 24:59]: Oh, good, Good, good, good. 

Lee MJ Elias [24:59 - 25:26]: Well, Sherry, since you spoke, I'm going to bring this up for the. For those of you listening to this episode. You're not seeing what I'm seeing, but what I'm seeing on the screen right now is someone wearing a Vegas Golden Knights jacket and then someone wearing a Utah hockey club jacket. Are we seeing the birth of a new rivalry here? Because. Because this one kind of makes sense to me. I mean, look, I'll say we play tonight, too. All right? 

Sheri Hudspeth [25:26 - 25:29]: I mean, I don't know if it's a rivalry. I think. 

Lee MJ Elias [25:29 - 26:04]: I think it's got to become one at some point, right? I mean, you know, look, I'll say this real quick. Seattle, Vegas and Utah have done tremendous jobs with the branding. And even though there's not an official team that name yet, the colors are fantastic. I love Utah on the jerseys. And, you know, everybody complains about. It's great. It's great. You're representing a state. It's exactly what that represents. And of these kind of three new clubs, I could see you two going at it. I think that that kind of needs to happen on the ice professionally and maybe. Maybe even some tournaments in the future for the kids on the ice. 

Kristen Bowness [26:04 - 26:05]: My money's on Cherry. 

Lee MJ Elias [26:07 - 26:51]: Well, they do have something that everybody wants from a couple seasons ago now, so just moving on this, too. You brought up a good point. We don't talk enough on this show about women playing hockey for the first time. It's obviously our girls play hockey, but one of the things I do try and encourage of even the moms of the young kids is, hey, look, I'd love for you to get on the ice. Well, I've never skated before. That's okay. Can we talk for a minute about. I know that's. That's easier said than done. Okay. But can we talk for a minute just about the maybe encouragement of if you have the means to get on the ice, even if it's just once, just to get a feel for it. We encourage all parents to do this if they're youth hockey parents, just so you can get an idea. You Know, especially the parent who's by the glass. Mike, this will make you laugh. Screaming and yelling at their kid to skate harder, and that person's never skated in their life. 

Kristen Bowness [26:51 - 26:52]: Right. 

Lee MJ Elias [26:52 - 26:58]: It's like, you know, your kid's seven and is learning. Can you kind of. Right. Can we talk about that? 

Sheri Hudspeth [26:58 - 27:08]: Must be, like, a mandatory thing, like on first day orientation for parents. They have to get on the ice and see how hard this is when you're yelling skate. And it's like, well, you skate. 

Lee MJ Elias [27:08 - 27:08]: Yeah. 

Kristen Bowness [27:08 - 27:16]: So funny. I remember after our first practice, one of the moms was like, I'm never gonna yell at my kid for taking his time in the locker room ever again. 

Lee MJ Elias [27:19 - 27:21]: It's one of those things. Go ahead, Mike. 

Mike Bonelli [27:21 - 27:33]: No, no, it's absolutely true. I mean, it's almost, you know, you have to, you know, be in that situation and understand that the. The. How hard it is on your muscles, how hard it is on your, you know, balance your ego, all of that stuff. 

Kristen Bowness [27:33 - 27:34]: Right. 

Mike Bonelli [27:34 - 27:46]: So there's. There's all of that that falls into play, and it's awesome that you're doing these learn to play opportunities for parents because it helps them become part of the game as well, which is huge. 

Kristen Bowness [27:46 - 28:15]: Yeah. Oh, yeah. And it was really cute. The last day, we had a scrimmage between the two groups, and, like, kids were coming out with fatheads. They had signs. They had noisemakers. Like, it was just really cute to see the story flipped and the kids were cheering on their moms, just trying. And they were just so proud of them and appreciated that they wanted to be part of their world, you know? And that's what I also noticed, too, is that, yeah, the kids were just thankful that they now had something else that they could bond with their parents on. 

Lee MJ Elias [28:15 - 28:54]: We might have to have a new show. Our parents play hockey or something like that in the future. Kristen, I do want to ask you this. Let's talk to the kids that listen to the show for a minute. We do have a lot of young kids that listen to the show, and I want you to talk directly to them. And again, it's young boys and girls. But I really loved your story about not being able to play and then how that passion drove you. Could you talk to the kids a little bit who are playing this game about the importance of passion and maybe buying into that passion and that being used as a part of the journey. Right. To getting set, Whatever you want to do professionally in the future. Right. To the children. 

Kristen Bowness [28:54 - 30:33]: Well, honestly, I think you just started me off on a good Foot there it is to truly find your passion. You know, I changed my major four times in university. I was a teacher in my past life for six years. You know, needed a break from that. So that's when I turned to hockey, you know, So I think it's finding your passion and not being afraid to reinvent yourself. You know, here I am, 38 years old, starting brand new in a new city with a new team, with not knowing anybody, but, you know, just really excited for this opportunity. And, you know, Sherry can attest to this too. Like, when we met the guys from Utah at our meetings in May, like, I was jealous. Like, I was so jealous that someone else had this role that I was like, oh, what a great opportunity that would be to start something from scratch. So, yeah, you know, it is find your passion. And that is something that my dad really drilled home with me is, you know, he always said the day that he doesn't look forward to the going to the rink is the day that he'll retire. And, you know, he's the longest tenure coach in the NHL, so, you know, you do have to find what you're passionate about because otherwise you will be burnt out. And that's what I try to tell a lot of people too, when they say, oh, I just want to work in sports. I don't care what I do. I just want to work in sports. And I'm like, you won't last a week because it is, it's a. It's a grind. It's a rough schedule, you know, and you're kind of thrown different ways that you're just not expecting. But if you love the game and you love what you do, it doesn't. You don't think twice about it, so. And it is hard to find your passion. It is hard to see, to find what you want to do to when you wake up in the morning. But once you do, you really got to hold onto it and just try to grow and just try to, to find as many opportunities as you can to continue to develop that passion so that you don't stagnant either. 

Sheri Hudspeth [30:33 - 31:02]: I think a lot of stuff, too, comes out of past personal experiences, right? It's like I was a little girl, I played girls hockey, played with boys. It's like you can take what you went through and make it better. And now we're in a position where we can make it better. And it's, it's a lot, A lot of the programs and stuff that I create here with Vegas is just based on my past and Stuff like either I could do, I couldn't do. I liked someone else did it that I liked. And it's, it's, yeah, just giving back to the game and just making stuff better for other people. 

Lee MJ Elias [31:03 - 33:06]: So, yeah, I think a big part of this too. And you're both bringing it up. And Chris and I love that you said, hey, I did another life. I was a teacher. Right. We'll dive into that in a second. But I do want to say that you moved majors. You tried different things. I think for the kids listening. Look, if you're listening to the show, you love hockey, right? You're not listening to a hockey podcast as a young kid because you don't love the game. But the only way you're going to find passions and you, and believe it or not, you can have more than one. It happens. Finding that passion, you've got to explore and you've got to make sure. And this is a hockey program and a hockey person saying this, you are not just a hockey player. That is not the only thing that you are. And you need to explore other interests and other things to learn what you do like and don't like. I've always loved the metaphor of if you only eat vanilla ice cream your whole life, how do you know you don't like chocolate? How do you know that's not going to be a great flavor if you don't ever try it? So, Kristen, back to your point. And Sherry, yours too. You've got to try different things and there'll be points of your life that you were very passionate about something and then suddenly you won't be. That's absolutely okay. But when you find it, and I mean the thing you are really passionate about, and Sherry, Kristen and Mike and myself are all living examples of this, you will easily put the work in. Kristen is right. Working in pro sports is a major grind, but the passion is what pushes you through. And even when you hear us on this show sometimes complaining, it's because we love it so much, right? You can't pursue something if you don't love it. There's nothing against day to day jobs. There's Nothing against working 9 to 5 to make a living. But if you find your passion, you should pursue it. I think Kristen, you, Sherry again, Mike, you're all living examples of that, right? And I think that again, to the kids listening, Kristen, I'll bring it back to you. It's important. You said it. You did another job and you still found your way back to the game. Right? So just echoing again the need to try different things at a young age. You are not just a hockey player. 

Kristen Bowness [33:07 - 33:13]: Yeah, no, it's true. Absolutely. And that's where, you know, it is important to continue just to keep moving forward. 

Sheri Hudspeth [33:13 - 33:14]: Right. 

Kristen Bowness [33:14 - 33:20]: And I think that's also why we are in sports, why we love our job being in sports is because it should never be the same the next day. 

Lee MJ Elias [33:20 - 33:20]: Right. 

Kristen Bowness [33:20 - 33:22]: You know, you got to keep moving forward. 

Lee MJ Elias [33:22 - 33:22]: Never is. 

Kristen Bowness [33:23 - 33:42]: Yeah. You got to keep progressing. You know, when you get stuck and stagnant is when you fail. So continuing to move forward and then also, you know, being able to experiment, you know, if you try something, you don't like it, you're not stuck there forever. You know, it's also having that courage to be able to move on. And again. Yeah. Just try something new. 

Lee MJ Elias [33:43 - 34:05]: Now, here's an interesting question that you spawned. You were a teacher for many years. What aspects did you learn as a teacher that you wish you could shout to every coach, every parent, from an educational standpoint of it's really this easy? Well, I did this for seven years, and we just don't know this in the hockey world. 

Kristen Bowness [34:07 - 34:08]: Chaos is. Okay. 

Lee MJ Elias [34:09 - 34:10]: That's a good answer. 

Kristen Bowness [34:10 - 35:11]: And. And I think, actually I just watched an interview with Wayne Gretzky where he talked about, you know, the game's kind of dying a little bit with just the overflow academies and camps and structured practice where, like, you don't necessarily go out in the street anymore to play with your friends, or you don't go on the pond anymore and just, you know, pick up a stick and make up plays, and you're the announcer in your own head, you know, And I think it's. We need to bring back that creativity and also encouraging that with kids, too, so that it's not so drilled in. You know, your whole day is planned from time you wake up to the time you go to bed. You know, I think there is a time when that can come into play. Absolutely. But when you're a kid, you got to enjoy being a kid, and you got to, you know, play multiple sports. Maybe don't even play a sport for a little bit. You know, take up piano or chess or whatever it is. To also get that creative mind going, you know, is so important. And so just, I feel like, skipped over right now. And we need to bring it back. 

Lee MJ Elias [35:12 - 35:51]: Yeah. I think we've said it before in the show. We know exactly the clip you're talking about. The creativity is a skill set, and we're not developing it like we used to. And when we coach Our kids, we say we're giving you parameters for this drill or for this system or whatever it is that we're teaching. But you have to be creative in that system. Right. And I imagine just kind of closing this episode out as a tournament person, you have to be very creative because that is just pure chaos. Tournaments or just pure chaos from the drive to the hotel to the games to the standings, to the rule break violations in the seventh tiebreaker that no parent believes should be the seventh tiebreaker. Right. There's just a lot of chaos on that. But that's how you navigate those waters. 

Kristen Bowness [35:52 - 36:14]: Yeah, no, absolutely. And I think. Yeah. When you're able to find that place to be creative, that's I think also too, where you have the most fun. Like you brought up tournaments like, you know, pred Girls Classic. Our trophies were records, you know, so we tried to really buy into the Nashville theme. Like the prizes for the skills competition were mini guitars that were ukulele's on Amazon that I decorated with my cricket. 

Lee MJ Elias [36:14 - 36:18]: Like, you know, you're giving Sherry ideas for Vegas right now. 

Sheri Hudspeth [36:18 - 36:25]: No, I have the record in my office. I just want it on record that we won that tournament and we have a record there. 

Lee MJ Elias [36:25 - 36:29]: Yeah. There's no rivalry here at all. There's nothing, nothing brewing here whatsoever. 

Sheri Hudspeth [36:29 - 36:30]: No. 

Lee MJ Elias [36:31 - 36:34]: Before I close this out, Mike, Sherry, you have any other questions? 

Sheri Hudspeth [36:34 - 36:36]: No, this is great. Thank you for being here, Kristen. 

Kristen Bowness [36:36 - 36:40]: Yeah, no, thank you. And thank you for bringing my dog on, too. 

Lee MJ Elias [36:40 - 37:48]: Listen, I said it's a pet friendly show for any future guests. If you have dogs, cats, or literally anything else, just I love birds, but birds can be a problem. So please don't bring them on the show. But that's going to do it for this edition of our Girls Play Hockey with Kristen Bonas. We talked about a lot of stuff today. Talked about tournaments, the importance of that, developing programs both in established and new NHL cities. We also talked and had a great conversation here about the chaos that is hockey. And we always like to remind our audience, you're not crazy. The hockey world is crazy. And that's why we love having you as part of this audience. For Mike Benelli, Sherry, Ed Smith and Kristen Bonas, I'm Lee Elias. We'll see you on the next edition of our Girls Play Hockey. Remember, skate hard, have fun. We'll see you next time, everybody. We hope you enjoyed this edition of our Kids Play Hockey. Make sure to like and subscribe right now. If you found value wherever you're listening, whether it's a podcast network, a social Media Network or our website, Our Kids Play hockey dot com. Also, make sure to check out our children's book, when hockey stops@whenhockeystops.com. it's a book that helps children deal with adversity in the game and in life. We're very proud of it. But thanks so much for listening to this edition of Our Kids Play Hockey, and we'll see you on the next episode.