🧠 What if the most important hockey skill your child learns this season has nothing to do with skating, shooting, or scoring?
This week on Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Mike Bonelli, and Christie Casciano-Burns welcome Angie Lion, author of Emerge: Rise from the Depths, Realign Your Soul, and Reclaim What Matters and co-founder/chief soul officer of Black River Performance Management, for a powerful conversation about emotional intelligence, transitional intelligence, and why “soft skills” may actually be the hardest—and most valuable—skills our kids can build through hockey.
Angie explains why emotions are not weaknesses, distractions, or excuses. They are data. And when young athletes learn how to name, understand, and regulate those emotions, they gain tools that help them far beyond the rink.
In this episode, we explore:
🏒 Why emotional intelligence is a true performance advantage for hockey players
🧠 How parents and coaches can help kids manage triggers, frustration, rejection, and disappointment
📓 The power of a “trigger journal” and how it can help athletes understand their reactions
🔁 What transitional intelligence is—and why every hockey season is filled with transitions
👨👩👧 Why parents must model emotional regulation before expecting it from their kids
🧊 How coaches can build team culture around EQ, accountability, and resilience
💬 Why phrases like “calm down” often backfire—and what to say instead
🌱 How failure, discomfort, and change can become opportunities for growth
Angie also shares why every transition begins with an ending, moves through a “messy middle,” and eventually creates space for growth. For hockey families, that means new teams, new coaches, new roles, tryouts, injuries, disappointments, and every challenge that comes with the youth sports journey.
This episode is a must-listen for parents, coaches, and hockey leaders who want to raise not just better players—but stronger, more self-aware, more resilient human beings.
👉 Learn more about Angie Lion at AngieLion.com and BlackRiverPM.com.
📬 Have a question, comment, or episode idea? Email us at team@ourkidsplayhockey.com or use the text link in the episode description.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: https://www.ourkidsplayhockey.com/blog/emotional-intelligence-in-youth-hockey-the-skill-that-lasts-beyond-the-game/
Thanks for being part of the Our Kids Play Hockey community. Enjoy your hockey, enjoy your day, and keep building the skills that last long after the game ends.
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