Our Kids Play Hockey

Listen to this episode if you want to unlock some incredible insight into what goes on between the pipes. 🥅 Paul Cohen joins us this week to discuss the physical and mental edge that goaltenders need in order to compete in the crease. He gives valuable insight to the position as we discuss how coaches can incorporate goalies more in practice, and thoughts on our favorite debate - should the goal...

Should we be taking a break this spring? It’s a question that’s on the minds of a lot of hockey families right now. Ask yourself - Do YOU want a break? Does your kid want a break? Its okay to take time away from the ice if your answer is yes, and it might actually be more beneficial to your child’s development. Make sure to listen to this week’s episode before you sign your hockey players up for t...

Coaches are only as great as the standards they keep for themselves and their teams. Aaron Wilbur’s work as the founder of The Coaches Site is no exception. In addition to educating hockey coaches on the tactics of the game, Aaron and his team also help prepare coaches to impact the lives of their athletes On this week’s episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, we dive into the genius platform that Aaron...

The echoes of a hockey game played 43 years ago today still reverberate.  There’s a reason the U.S.A. defeating the USSR in 1980 was selected as the most significant sports moment of the 20th century.  It lifted a team, a town and a nation - events like that are in short supply today. This team also thought us something that I have based my professional life on; that when a group of people believe...

Youth hockey is stressful on us as parents and coaches, imagine how it must feel for the kids! 😳 Scott Kelsey is a former pro and shared with us how his journey in the game taught him how to approach Youth Hockey as: 🧭 A Journey 📈 A Process 📍 Not Just A Means To An End Scott is the CEO and Founder of Shareapy, the Founder of Edge For Athletes and works closely with The Ranch: Teammates For Lif...

Tryout & evaluation season is upon us!   It’s a weird time.  😳 It’s a stressful time.  🙃 It’s an important time.  🏒 (Trust us, we know)  The gang shares as many tips and tricks on how to navigate this time of year as calmly as possible in this week’s episode. Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team! Keep your player sharp this summer with NHL Sense Arena. Save $25 on an annual plan with...

NHL veteran goaltender Clint Malarchuk’s life and story are a testament to the importance of mental health in the sport of hockey and beyond. He is a suicide survivor, someone who has experienced trauma from childhood on, and now dedicates his life to impacting others through speaking regularly on the subject of mental health and by serving as a figurehead at The Ranch Teammates For Life organizat...

It’s not how many times they get knocked down, but how many times you’re there to coach them back up that matters. Adversity happens to all of us, but how do you help your young athletes overcome it? Lee and Mike drop valuable coaching insight this week to help you coach your kids through failure. Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team! Keep your player sharp this summer with NHL Sense Arena....

How do you manage to make child #1’s home game at noon, and child #2’s game across town at 1:15pm?? Parents of multiple kids: you’re in good company! All three of our hosts have, or have had, multiple kids playing hockey at the same time and focus this week on sharing their tactics with you! Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team! Keep your player sharp this summer with NHL Sense Arena. Save...

How do you continue to inspire your young athlete when the game is no longer fun?  We recently received an email from a parent who says that their child is struggling to find the fun in playing now that they’re at the elite level - of course we had to unpack our thoughts right away! Do your homework, do your research, and take our advice on how to combat any chance of hockey not being fun anymore!...

This week we’ve decided to have do our very first cross-over episode featuring a parent (and a podcast host) that has braved the elements of another youth sport. We thought it would be a great show idea to compare and contrast our crazy sport lifestyle - to see if ours is as insane as we say - and soccer seemed like the perfect starting point. JB Anderson of the Soccer Dad Pod is just the right ma...

FIT CHECK! Are you certain your goalie’s gear fits properly? How about their training, does that fit them well too? On this month’s edition of Our Kids Play Goalie, we brought in goalie gear and coaching expert Brad Johnson to discuss how to find the right fit for your tendy! Brad is a Level 5 Coach with USA Hockey, the associate Coach in Chief for goaltending in the Michigan Amateur Hockey Associ...

What better time than the start of the year to work on building new habits?? Christie was inspired this week by her hockey community to discuss some of the best habits you may want to start incorporating into your routines. Have another tip that you think would be valuable for our community to start the year off? Share it with us on social media or send us an email so we can share!! Click To Text...

We’ve officially reached the end of 2022 and so this week we’re wrapping up the past year of Our Kids Play Hockey! Tune in to hear a recap of the Top-5 episodes with guests, Top-5 without guests, and some exciting stats that came this year as a result of our amazing audience! Our team wishes you a very Happy New Year and looks forward to continuing to be a beacon for hockey players and families al...

Ever wonder what goes into Youth Hockey Journalism? This week the OKPH Line was joined by Sydney Wolf from The Rink Live. She uses her extensive hockey knowledge to cover all levels of hockey for the website and its associated social media, but truly enjoys reporting on youth as well as interacting with the players when creating content to share highlights from the games and events she attends. Sy...

Is mental fitness something you take into account when considering your child's hockey career? Tom Chorske returns for a discussion on mental health and ways that we can better serve our young athletes as parents and coaches.  This episode is a longer one, so make sure you're ready to listen in or plan to consume in more than one session! Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team! Keep...

What's your Hockey IQ? Greg Revak's mission is to make the game of hockey better. He does this by coaching on the ice and off, specifically via his podcast The Hockey IQ and articles on his site TheHockeyArsenal.com. Greg joined the Our Kids Play Hockey audience this week to discuss coaching and how we can learn from our athletes in order to better serve them.  If you're a hockey co...

Coaches: If You Have A Goalie On Your Team - You're A Goalie Coach, So Listen Up!! Laura Brennan joined the team to discuss goalie development and why its so vital that you research and use resources available in training your tendies. Laura, who now serves as a USA Hockey Goaltending Development Coordinator for the state of Connecticut is also former professional and NCAA Division 1 netminde...

In part two of our most recent conversation with Coach Pete Whitney, he shares with us what it's like to build a (college) team from the ground up, and some things that coaches in young programs should look for when recruiting to ensure a great culture. Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team! Keep your player sharp this summer with NHL Sense Arena. Save $25 on an annual plan with code OK...

Coach Pete Whitney returns to the panel to answer some mailbag questions on the path to NCAA hockey. We discuss players need for passion in the game, essential habits your athlete should foster that will help them on their path to college, and not limiting your kids to the ice. Tune in again next week for another episode with Coach Whitney and as always feel free to email us with thoughts or quest...

Before we sit down to enjoy Thanksgiving with our family and friends later this week, we want to make sure we thank some of the important people we all come across on our hockey journey.  Send us an email, leave a comment, or drop a DM to let us know who you're thankful for too! There are so many important people out there in the hockey-verse, so let's show our thanks! Click To Text The...

The holidays are coming, and so is the holiday lull. Should you lean in on team bonding? Should you give your kids a break? We explore why teams can break during this time of year and give you tips and tactics to prevent that from happening. Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team! Keep your player sharp this summer with NHL Sense Arena. Save $25 on an annual plan with code OKPH at hockey. Sen...

Famed Broadcaster and Hockey Coach, Dave Starman, joins us for our first official episode of Our Kids Play Goalie, our new mid-week edition of Our Kids Play Hockey. While this version of the show is goalie-centric, the content is meant for all hockey coaches, parents and players so that we can all better understand our net minders and how to improve managing their position. Trust me - we learned a...

The holidays are right around the corner and we want to make sure you have all the hacks to save on hockey gifts this year. Tune in to hear our suggestions and tips, and be sure to share your own gift giving hacks via email or by dropping a comment on our social media! Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team! Keep your player sharp this summer with NHL Sense Arena. Save $25 on an annual plan w...

Our guest this week was named Mr. Hockey in Minnesota (an award given to the states most outstanding high school player which he followed up with a successful collegiate career at the University of Minnesota. That time created the foundation of what would become an 11 year NHL career which included a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995. We are very pleased to have Tom Chorske on the sho...