The Ride To The Rink - Breaking Down PWHLer and Olympian, Hayley Scamurra's Youth Hockey Journey

Lee MJ Elias [0:00 - 1:02]: skaters and goalies around the world. And welcome back to another edition of the Ride to the Rink. It's Lee with Haley today. And Haley just did a tremendous episode that you can listen to about her entire schedule coming up from the year, from the USA hockey kind of training camps and meetings through the PWHL schedule and then the Olympics and then back to the PWHL to try and win a championship, and then definitely going to a beach after that season to relax. I highly encourage you all to listen to that episode if you want a day in the life of a professional and Olympic athlete. But, Haley, what we wanted to talk to the kids today on your ride to the rink is all about your youth hockey journey. Now, we talked about you being a pro and everything you do, but the things that you had to do as a youth hockey player to prepare physically, mentally, recovery, but then also maybe some of the things you wish you had done different or things also that you did really well that you recommend to everybody. Let's. Let's walk through some of those. 

Hayley Scamurra [1:03 - 1:23]: Well, it was just reminding me of how crazy my youth schedule was. So it's, you know, talking about the pro league and how crazy that schedule is. Absolutely. But my youth hockey days, I was doing some traveling. It was insane. I remember because in high school I played in Canada, so I'm from Buffalo, New York. So it's about an hour and a half drive to practice one way. 

Lee MJ Elias [1:24 - 1:24]: Wow. 

Hayley Scamurra [1:24 - 2:13]: Luckily, my dad did the driving, and then I would just sleep most of the time because I couldn't do homework. I'd get car sick. But it was a lot. There was practices three times a week, and I'd have to leave right after school, and then we'd have games on the weekend. So I was probably up there five times a week during the season and also juggling high school and, you know, and then eventually trying to figure out recruiting and colleges. And so it was a lot to juggle and handle. When I look back, I truly do not know how I did it in terms of, like, I didn't get much sleep. Like, I was up at 6am and getting home at like 11 midnight every night pretty much. So it was a lot. I don't really recommend how much. I traveled international, too. 

Lee MJ Elias [2:13 - 2:15]: Let's. Like, you have to go across the border. 

Hayley Scamurra [2:15 - 2:40]: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Big props to my dad for the driving piece of that, for sure. I think the biggest thing I wished I did focus on was my rest and my nutrition a little bit, I would say. I didn't really have meals prepared during Those. So we'd stop at Wendy's a lot and get, like, burgers and stuff. I got the Double Baconator. 

Lee MJ Elias [2:40 - 2:41]: Oh, wow. 

Hayley Scamurra [2:41 - 2:42]: But you had it. Oh, yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [2:42 - 2:44]: Calories right there. But you're burning them. You were burning. 

Hayley Scamurra [2:44 - 3:10]: I was, yes, absolutely. Protein and calories. Yeah. So, yeah, I think that was maybe something I wished I had focused on when I was younger. And then the rest piece, which I'm not really sure how, based on my schedule, I would have gotten more rest, but I just remember it was definitely exhausting. Like, I was sleepwalking a lot, things like that. So I think I wished I had gotten more sleep. So make sure you prioritize sleep. 

Lee MJ Elias [3:11 - 3:49]: Well, I'm gonna say this. As much as I love Wendy's kids, that was not a endorsement from Haley to go get a Baconator every day. Don't do that. I just want to say that in terms of rest, I mean, I'm. I'm sure, Haley, some of it, you know, kids, you actually need more sleep than adults do, but you also bounce back back faster than adults do. But. But Haley's right. Your rest, your ability to sleep will affect your performance pretty dramatically. You know, another thing I want to dive into, Haley, is I'm guessing you wanted to do this, right? Like, we have to talk about that. You wanted this. You were on a dream. You wanted to play Division 1 hockey. You wanted to be an Olympian one day. So that must have driven you quite a bit, too, correct? 

Hayley Scamurra [3:50 - 4:04]: Absolutely, I am. Because originally my dad wanted me to go to static St. Mary's and I was like, I don't really want to do that. And then we were given this opportunity to play. It was called the Funny Enough Provincial Women's Hockey League. PWHL at the time. Yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [4:04 - 4:04]: Yeah. 

Hayley Scamurra [4:06 - 5:08]: And it was just such a great league. It was super physical, super fast paced, and I just fell in love with it because it was totally my style of game. Because you could tell the difference when you went from the States to Canada in terms of the physicality they let. Yeah, it kind of was. It was exactly like a junior league. And so I do think it was huge for my development and cultivated who I was as a player. 100%. And I did want to do it. I was super excited to do it. And, yeah, definitely not forced into doing it at all. But I do remember I had to. Like, I was also trying to do soccer with my high school, and I did that up until my sophomore year was my last year. I got pneumonia that year, so that was a wake up call. And I Was like, okay, I'm clearly doing too much, right? And so then that's when I just focus on hockey. So starting my junior year is when I switched to just hockey, and then I did tennis in the summer. But, yeah, it was too hard to kind of juggle multiple sports at that point. So kind of know when to do that as well. 

Lee MJ Elias [5:08 - 5:18]: Well, you. You've. You've touched on an important life lesson for not just the kids, but the adults listening, too. If your body is strained, it will find a way to make you stop. 

Hayley Scamurra [5:18 - 5:19]: Yep. 

Lee MJ Elias [5:19 - 5:30]: And again, people think I'm joking. Oh, well, she got pneumonia. Yeah, you got pneumonia because probably doing too much. Your defenses were down, and you got it in pneumonia. If you ever have pneumonia, kids, you will stop. 

Hayley Scamurra [5:31 - 5:32]: You literally cannot go. 

Lee MJ Elias [5:33 - 7:05]: That's a dead stop in your bed. You're not moving for a few days. And when we say not moving, it's not like you can watch TV or read. You do nothing. So just kids, remember? And adults, too. If you go too hard, your body will. Will put you in a position where you got to slow down. All right? It'll find a way. The last piece of it, too, is, again, you love this. There's kids out there that everyone listening to the show loves the game, but maybe the love is a different level. Right. In youth hockey, kids, there's so much unneeded anxiety from you, but also put on you. It's not. I'm not saying it's your fault, kids. I'm just saying it's just out there. And while a certain level of anxiety can help you, it can help you prepare, it can help push you, There are levels of it that are unhealthy. Right? And I think those levels are when your identity is only linked to hockey. I think, kids, if you're going into games worried about what your parents may think or what other people might think outside of the. The team and the coaches, that. And even that can be unhealthy sometimes. Or if you feel that your worth is based on your performance, those are not the most healthy ways to approach the game. All right, so, Haley, as someone who loved this, I'm sure you still dealt with your fair amount of anxiety. Can you talk to the kids for a few minutes about maybe how to compartmentalize that, but also recognize that, you know, it's okay if you don't want to drive to Canada 16 times a week and. And compete at that level. It's okay, because at the end of the day, kids, you got to enjoy the game. You've got to find some enjoyment in the game. Go ahead. 

Hayley Scamurra [7:06 - 8:30]: Yeah, I think for myself, it was. It was hard to juggle, like, you know, parents expectations. You know, my dad was definitely hard on me growing up, and I felt like I always had to play a perfect game in order for him to be happy or satisfied or whatever. And he always said, like, it just meant, you know, based on my effort and things like that. But sometimes that line was a little bit blurred, and I think it took me a while to kind of get over that. I would say I think it was hard in my youth days. I think college was super important for me where I was able to kind of create space. But I think that's where you can have boundaries with your parents. You know, you can say, hey, I really don't feel like talking about the game for 24 hours after the game, right? Like, let's just say, like, you had a bad game and you know it because you know it. Like, yeah, everyone has them. We all have them, and that's okay. And then maybe you just. You get in the car and you're like, guys, I really just don't want to talk hockey at all. Give me 24 hours and I'll initiate if I want to talk about it. And I think that's super important. And it's not an easy thing to do necessarily. So just know that it takes a lot of, like, strength and vulnerability to do that. But I think it's super important to work on those boundaries early, and then it'll kind of help you throughout however long you decide to play. 

Lee MJ Elias [8:30 - 9:22]: I. I think that's tremendous advice. And look, I'm gonna. I'm gonna go on a limb here. If you're listening to this show, you probably are one of those kids and one of those parents that can do that, right? I have a feeling the parents who don't want to do that aren't listening to a show called Arkansas Hockey. So, you know, look, it's a two way street. Kids, you have to advocate for yourselves, you know, and parents, you have to hear that. But at the same time, kids, you know, like, parents have things to say to that are valuable. But you have every right to tell your parents, I don't want to talk about this right now. And I. And you should do that if it's not there. And look, parents listening. And kids, you should know this. We want to talk about the game after the game. I'm a parent. I've got kids. I always want to talk about the game. It's because I love the game. Right. But I also have to recognize as a parent, you know, my kid might not want to do that today, and that's okay. I have to be respectful of that. Right. Especially if it's a bad game. I try not to say anything, Haley. Believe it or not, I won't even open my mouth after about. 

Hayley Scamurra [9:22 - 9:23]: Yeah, because they know. 

Lee MJ Elias [9:23 - 9:24]: Like you said, they know. 

Hayley Scamurra [9:24 - 9:24]: They know. 

Lee MJ Elias [9:24 - 9:26]: They are going through it in their head. 

Hayley Scamurra [9:26 - 9:26]: Yep. 

Lee MJ Elias [9:26 - 9:33]: And more often than not, my son and daughter will come to me later and say, hey, could I have done something differently here or. Or I felt this way. 

Hayley Scamurra [9:34 - 9:34]: That's nice. 

Lee MJ Elias [9:34 - 10:26]: Yeah. To me, that's the environment. I think that at least for me, that's what I want. All right, kids. Really great stuff. I'm going to remind you all if you can check out Haley's big episode this week. It was awesome. It was just an awesome episode through. Through the life of a pro hockey player. I think if you have aspirations to play, that's one you're going to listen to. But kids, remember, wherever you're at on your hockey journey, we believe in you. You should, too. We're Haley. I'm Lee. Has been another edition of the Ride to the Rink. We will see you next time. Make sure to have fun. Skate on and skate hard. Take care. Sa.