Coaching Call

Send a text Our guest on this episode is Brandon Stojcevski, a professional hockey player with the Danbury Hat Tricks. We talk about his path through youth hockey, which included being cut from teams, multiple injuries, and missed seasons.  David and Brandon share stories about coaches they've had at various levels. They reflect on both inspirational and tough things that coaches have done to...

Send a text Our guest on this episode is Coach Michael Zigomanis, a former professional hockey player turned youth hockey coach. He was with the Pittsburgh Penguins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2009. Since that time, he has coached kids from 11-18 at A/AA/AAA levels. Coach Ziggy, as he is known, has thought deeply about hockey and how to coach. We talk about his rules for players, his approach...

Send a text On this episode, our guest is Marie-Pierre Pelissou, member of Team France and SA Bern, and clinical project manager for Nestle. We talk about her personal journey through hockey and how coaching made a difference for her. Although she is living the dream of being a semi-professional player, there were times when her path wasn't clear and she quit hockey entirely. Coaching Call is...

Send a text New coaches often feel like they are imposters, meaning that they don't know what they are doing. Sometimes this feeling persists even after multiple seasons as a winning coach. Our guest on this episode is Coach Chris Lothier, who both feels like an imposter and has coached three championship teams in a row. Rather than establishing himself as an authority,  Coach Chris empowers...

Send a text Traditionally, the best player on the team was the captain. But that's not necessarily the best approach for choosing your leadership group. In this episode, David and Susan talk about what jobs to give to captains and how to coach them to be leaders. Our guest, James Roxborough, shares his method for choosing captains, which includes a questionnaire. The items in Coach James&apos...

Send a text One of the great arts of coaching is putting players on lines and putting those lines on the ice in a game. Do you give player unequal ice time? Or do you give players equal ice time by rolling the lines? Who do you put on your power play and penalty killing special teams? Our guest on this episode is John Bird, who won a city championship while rolling lines. John has coached youth ho...

Send a text With the start of the new hockey season, it's time to hold that all-important parent meeting. This meeting lays the foundation for productive relationships between coaches and parents. Our guest is Gary Titmarsh, who has maintained good relationships with his player's families for over 20 twenty years.  Coaching Call is is a question show about coaching grassroots hockey. We...

Send a text A fellow new coach was nervous about losing his authority as a head coach if he had professional skills coaches. David gives advice on using a team approach to coaching. We bring in a goalie skills coach, Daniel Vella, to offer his perspective on working collaboratively. Coaching Call is is a question show about coaching grassroots hockey. We have a certain take on coaching hockey. We...

Send a text Susan attended Hockey Canada’s Instructional Stream courses: Skating 1 and Development Defensemen 1. We debrief her experiences and Dave answers her questions.  Coaching Call is is a question show about coaching grassroots hockey. We have a certain take on coaching hockey. We believe in using sport to make players better people on and off the ice. Your hosts are David Trombley, a coach...

Send a text It's Dave's turn to ask a question about a situation with his women's recreational hockey league. Susan weighs in with her insights from software teams at big companies.  Coaching Call is is a question show about coaching grassroots hockey. We have a certain take on coaching hockey. We believe in using sport to make players better people on and off the ice. Your hosts ar...

Send a text How did Dave and Susan do on the celebration challenge? What analytics should we use in kids hockey? What's the value of playing cross ice or half ice in younger age groups? Does house league need goalies? Will Dave climb a telephone pole this weekend? Coaching Call is is a question show about coaching grassroots hockey. We have a certain take on coaching hockey. We believe in usi...

Send a text People with a growth mindset are constantly striving for improvement. But this mindset leads to a hyper focus on the gap between current state and goal state often leads. Dave challenges Susan to celebrate the gains too, and she doubles down with conditions. 

Send a text Join us for an insightful episode where we explore new beginnings. Key questions that we tackle include: How to you teach little kids to skate? How do adults learn to skate? How do you get started in hockey? How do you get good at hockey? How do you make a new hockey team? We provide valuable answers and guidance for your hockey journey

Send a text It's the time of year for hockey team tryouts. Hear about Susan's experiences out the wild and Dave's advice on how to do run simple, effective tryouts for house league and select teams.