Our Top-5 Episodes for Youth Hockey Players & What They Say About Mindset, Motivation and Growth

Lee MJ Elias [0:07 - 5:10]: Hello hockey friends and families around the world. And welcome to another special edition of our Kids play hockey. It's Le Elias here. Continuing with our 400th episode celebration, we're spotlighting five of our favorite episodes made specifically with the players in mind. So this is a great one to listen to with your kids because we're going to go through a lot of ride to the rings in this one. Look, each clip here is going to offer something useful each episode that we discuss, whether it's a mind shift, mindset shift, excuse me, a performance tip, or just a better way to approach the game. Right. We're also going to share a quick reflection before we go to the clip and if it hits home, we hope you'll go back and listen to the full episode. Most of these are micro episodes and easy to find. We're obviously going to link them, but we got some our kids episodes in here. So let's get started. Okay. The first one today was a ride to the rink of what to do if you feel nervous before a game. All right. Remember, the ride to the rink for the new listeners is a really fast, focused playbook for players. These episodes are usually five to 10 minutes long. And in this one we shared an anxiety. Sorry. We shared a strategy to turn anxiety into performance fuel by staying present and embracing pressure. So here's a clip about how focusing only on what you can control gets your mind game ready. Really comes down to it. At the end of the day, the only things that you control are your effort, your mindset and what you do to fuel your body and your mind. Now, let's just say you are feeling something, maybe like you said, nervousness or even overexcitement. I think we all know we can get a little jittery at times before a game. I think there's a two part process here that we all need to follow. Number one is to get as present as you can before a game. Now, when I say get present, I'm talking about the present moment. And that could be anything from focusing on something right in front of you, a hockey puck, a stick, and really focusing on the fabric or the texture of those things just to get your brain to stop focusing on anything externally. Stop focusing on the future, the past, and get focused on right now. This will get you mentally sharp for the game. It's something you should practice during the game as well. As we always talk about, the last shift doesn't matter any more than the shift you're going to have. What matters is right now, the present moment and what you can control. And that brings us to the second part of this topic, which is focusing in on things that you can control. When it really comes down to it, at the end of the day, the only things that you control are your effort, your mindset and what you do to fuel your body and your mind. That's it. Everything else is just noise. Like I preached that one a lot. But it's still a great clip to share with your kids. It's a great episode to revisit. So remember, this episode was a mental warm up designed to build resilience, emotional strength and focus right before you hit the ice. So, so go ahead back and listen to that one. The next one on the list. This was a full episode. It was a good one. 11 essential questions for hockey players to ask themselves at the start of a new season. That's the name of the episode. Why we pick 11, I don't remember. We recorded this a while ago. I just remember that there was 11 that we had. All right, so in this episode we offer players a personal checklist to begin the season with. Right. We walk through 11 self reflective questions to help players understand their goals, their mindset, their role and the growth plan. So here's a clip on why hockey doesn't define who you are, but can reveal who you're becoming. Pretty deep. Check it out. It's important, I believe, coaches and parents to remind your kids that while hockey is amazing and one of the greatest things on the planet, I firmly believe that it's not the only thing that defines who they are. It can be tough for a kid at 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and up to think that way, but I think that's why it's so important you say it. Hey, listen, son, daughter, you're a hockey player. You're my son or daughter, you're a student, you're a great musician, you're a good friend. You got to say these things, right? So they know that there's something surrounding them. Ask them what is the one thing that matters most to me? And look, if they say hockey, fine, right? Identify that because that's parents. They're giving you the driving force. They're giving you the answer of how to get what you want, right? What is the one thing that matters most to me? Again, powerful, right? Why should you go back and listen to this one? This episode's a powerful guide for, for setting goals that matter and growing as both a player and as a person and that that cannot be lost along the hockey journey. We always say it. You're more than just a hockey player. And I think framing that for your kids or kids listening, framing that for yourself is so important to make sure you not only develop, but have the joy of playing the game. If the joy is not there, we're messing up. Okay, the next one's actually an episode of our Girls Play Hockey, the Road to Pro Hockey with. With pwhl or Haley Skamura, a friend of our show. Right. And in this one, Haley, who's from Team USA Olympian, she plays in the pwhl, shares her really inspiring journey from NCAA hockey to professional hockey, emphasizing the. The mindset and habits players can develop now in youth hockey to prepare for high level competition. So here's Haley on why coachability, communication, and setting high standards in practice matter more than ever. Check it out, athletes. You can do this now. You don't have to wait until later on. Right. These skills are built throughout the game. 

Hayley Scamurra [5:10 - 5:54]: Yeah. I mean, I think being coachable is a huge advantage. As I've gotten older, that's been like something I've always harped on is I'm always like a very coachable player. Like, a coach can come to me with any sort of, like, critique or criticism, and I'm. I'm taking it in. I take what I need to take out of it and I place it into my game in terms of, like, the practice itself. Like, at our pro level, we're huge on communication, and that's something she doesn't like to have to repeat herself for us to continue to do so. Like, in every single drill, you need to communicate, you need to call for pucks. We need to have tape to tape passes. That's like baseline standard. Like, if that's off at all, we're immediately, like, yelled at and we need to fix it kind of thing. And that's just the standard we've kind of set with our team. 

Lee MJ Elias [5:55 - 6:49]: I love that you said you don't have to wait till later. I think there's this, this, this notion that, oh, this will come later. You can do a lot of this stuff right now. And I think. I love that she said that. So that's one of the reasons to go back and listen. And there's just so much wisdom that Haley gives in this episode to players and a vision, really, for what it takes to succeed at the top levels and how to start building towards that now. Okay, next one. Another ride to the rink. How. How to protect your mind from junk. This is a great one. We had Dr. Cassidy Preston on, who really does a great job of Helping young athletes find a mental path forward, which is super important. And he explores how players can defend their focus and confidence by managing negative thoughts, online distractions, and self talk. It's a guide to mental hygiene for hockey brains. I'm going to say this again. It's a guide to mental hygiene for hockey brain. Right, let's go to the clip. Here's Dr. Preston comparing mental input to donuts and why it matters in your game. 

Dr. Cassidy Preston [6:50 - 7:26]: What are we doing with our time and energy and our mind particularly? And because we all know our mind's so important in the mental game, but the input is going to dictate the output. And the analogy I like to use is like nutrition. It's like your input dictates your output. Like you eat healthy, like you're gonna have better energy. And so when we look at stats, some social media or a lot of social media, those are like donuts. It's like they're entertainment, right? Like you can have a few donuts here and there, but if you're having donuts all day every day, like, what kind of output are you gonna get? And that's what I call then the mental junk. 

Lee MJ Elias [7:28 - 10:12]: Now you know where I was going with the donut thing. Okay, look, go back and listen to this one. This episode teaches players how to clean out mental clutter and sharpen their mindset before it affects their game. Dr. Cassidy does an amazing job with that. Okay, next one. Another ride to the rink. How to impress your youth hockey coach. It's a question we get all the time via email and other ways. So we share three practical tips in this episode to stand out in the eyes of your coach. From asking great questions to showing up prepared and really welcoming feedback with a growth mindset. Right? That is such a key. So in this clip, we're going to talk about why the players who want feedback feedback are the ones who actually really grow and grow the fastest. Check it out. With that said, we should also expect constructive criticism when we do something bad. And we should want that. You should want to be coached when you do something incorrect. You want to search for that. You want to search for a coach that does that, number one. And you want to get on a good level with your coach so that they understand that you can take constructive criticism, that you can take the feedback needed to become a better player. This is one of those things, especially in the younger ages, it can be tough. You don't want to be playing in fear of making a mistake. Establish early on with your coach. I want, I want feedback I want to learn. Ask great questions about the mistakes you made. Hey, we just got scored on there. I think I was in the right position. Maybe I wasn't. Did you see something? What can I do to be better at this? Same thing with skills, right? I'm not scoring a lot of goals, Coach. What are some things I can do off the ice at home to help me work on my game a lot of times. Most times, poor communication leads to poor coaching. It also leads to poor players. Pick up your communication. You want to impress your coach. Going back to the beginning of the episode. Ask great questions. Phrase your questions very, very well and be accountable on both sides of the puck. Winning, losing, scoring, making mistakes. Be accountable to all of it. Always be learning. Great questions lead to great answers. They demand great answers. Why you should go back and listen to this. The three simple behaviors can fast track your development and deepen your connection with any coach. Again, those ride to the rink episodes are very quick. Highly encourage you to go back. That's it, guys. That's it. It's another five episodes Motoring through these best of series. Those are filled with tools, perspectives and lessons that can help every young player grow in skill, mindset and confidence. We really hope you'll go look back. And again, if these struck a chord, share with your team, share with your coach. Share it with your fellow teammates. Right? The celebration is going to continue. Make sure to check them out. We've got episodes with NHL guests professionals, episodes for coaches, for parents, for goalies. Check it out. I'm Le Elias. Thanks so much for helping us reach 400 episodes. We'll see you in the next Our kids play hockey. Everybody. Take care. Take care. Take care. Let's get on. Have fun.