1:06

Hello hockey friends and families around the world , and welcome

1:08

to another edition of Our Kids

1:10

Play Hockey , powered by NHL Sensorina

1:12

. This is going to be one of those shorter episodes . It

1:14

is time we are in late April when I'm recording

1:17

this it's probably May when it's being released to do

1:19

a season in review . Now , before

1:21

I dive into my season in review , I

1:23

do this for a lot of reasons . One is I like to share my learnings

1:26

, my findings , my my mishaps from

1:28

a season and the purpose of just sharing and hopefully

1:30

educating and learning from you . But I

1:32

also want to give you the opportunity to share your

1:34

thoughts on your season . You can email them over to team

1:36

at ourkidsplayhockeycom . Also

1:39

, check out our social pages . Our Kids Play Hockey

1:41

On Facebook . We have a group that's

1:43

very popular right now , but

1:47

I'll put a post in there asking you to share your wins , your losses or anything you want to share about your hockey

1:49

season , because I think it's really important as a hockey

1:51

community that we share our experiences

1:54

, both to make sure that we understand that

1:56

a lot of us are going through the same stresses , and

1:59

it's important to know , as a parent and

2:01

as a player and as a coach , that you're

2:03

not alone in some of the stresses

2:05

that youth hockey brings , but also

2:07

to learn from each other . If we don't effectively communicate

2:09

the things that we're seeing or doing , it tends

2:12

to stay within us or in our little groups or in our little

2:14

circles , and I think one of the ways to make hockey a better

2:16

place is to make sure that we're all communicating

2:18

through this podcast or through other

2:20

podcasts or any way possible to

2:23

get that information . So let me set the

2:25

stage for the 23-24

2:28

season for my kids . My daughter Alina , who

2:30

is seven years old , entered her first year into

2:32

might hockey , and my son , logan

2:34

, who is 10 , entered his first year of squirt

2:36

hockey . So we had two new experiences

2:39

for both kids this year . It was also my son's

2:41

first year as a goalie

2:44

, somewhat full-time , so that paints

2:46

the picture right . He's out of might , he's playing full ice

2:48

now he's playing with rules , he's playing with scores , he

2:50

is a goalie on the team . He played defense half the other

2:52

time and then , because that wasn't enough

2:54

, we decided to let the kids play

2:56

for their elementary school league as

2:59

well . Now , one of the cool things about

3:01

the elementary school league and I'm gonna talk about all these throughout this

3:03

episode is that this is

3:05

going to be the only year , most

3:07

likely , that

3:14

my son and daughter will ever be able to play on the same team . So the way the elementary school

3:16

works here the league works here in PA is that it is first through fourth

3:18

grade , my daughter is in first grade , my

3:20

son is in fourth grade , and then fifth through

3:23

eighth grade is middle school and

3:25

then obviously nine through 12 is

3:27

high school . So , unless somehow they're

3:29

both still playing hockey , my son's

3:31

senior year and they both make the same team outside

3:34

little tournament teams and fun teams . This is it . This is the only

3:36

time they're ever going to get to play together . And

3:39

of course , I volunteered

3:41

to be an assistant coach on that team because God

3:43

knows I need more things to do . But no , I served

3:45

as an assistant coach on that elementary school

3:47

team . I served in as assistant coach

3:49

on my daughter's , my team . I chose not

3:52

to serve as an assistant coach on

3:54

my son's squirt team this season . All right

3:56

, I wanted to have allow him to have some space

3:59

away from me but also with other coaches

4:01

and get some other experience , just

4:03

to see how that would go . Right , I think that's the

4:05

first lesson of this episode is that if

4:08

you're a coach , I think it's okay sometimes to step

4:10

away if the president sorry

4:12

if the situation presents itself that way

4:14

Right , there were three coaches on that team already . They

4:16

did not need my help , I did not need to volunteer

4:18

to do it , and I thought it was a good experience

4:21

for my son to have again a little space

4:23

away from me , which I also will fully admit

4:25

. I think is something we should all do as parents sometimes

4:27

in these team environments . Right , I

4:29

want to be involved with everything

4:32

that my kids do , but I also respect

4:34

that sometimes we need space

4:36

from each other , even if it's not something

4:38

that's said . Sometimes it's important just to give the

4:41

space so he can again experience

4:48

other leaders , other coaches and other situations . But let's rewind back and start with my daughter

4:50

, who made , I'll say , an entry level might team this season

4:52

, before the season . This

4:54

is a funny story . There was actually talk of maybe

4:56

she should go back to the Adams program , which is

4:58

kind of our learn to play program here in

5:01

Pennsylvania , and there was a funny

5:03

moment where I was talking with the coach of that program

5:05

and he's also a Mike coach and I kind

5:07

of came to the conclusion like she could probably use another

5:10

year in Adams . And then

5:12

my daughter came up to me because some of her friends were

5:14

moving up to Mike and she said and I

5:16

had not thought of this for some reason she said , dad , can't

5:18

you just teach me the stuff I need to know to be a mite ? And

5:21

I kind of looked her in the eye and I said you know what , alina

5:23

, I can , because you asked . And

5:26

what needed to be improved upon at

5:28

that time was her skating . So

5:31

you might be asking yourself well , what did you do ? What

5:33

did you do for your kid to teach her how to skate ? This

5:36

might surprise some of you . We didn't do any power skating

5:38

clinics . We

5:43

didn't do any plyometric exercises off the ice . We went to public session

5:45

at the stadium , which is our local rink , one to two times a week . I put her

5:47

on her skates , I put my son in his skates and I let them

5:49

chase each other around and

5:52

she got very good at skating very

5:54

quickly with that creative environment

5:57

. Right , and I would jump on the ice with them . We would make funny

5:59

videos , my , my lesson

6:01

here , my thought here . We had a good time

6:03

just being on the ice together . Those

6:06

videos were very funny . I cherish them

6:08

. She was smiling , she was happy and

6:10

in chasing her older brother around or chasing

6:12

me around , she naturally discovered

6:14

a stride and a way to skate . Now I

6:17

did give a little instruction when she asked

6:19

, but largely I did not say

6:21

a word . We were going there for the hot

6:23

chocolates . We were going there for

6:25

the fun , the music . It was

6:27

in the summer , we were going there to cool off a lot of the

6:29

days and we had a really good time . So when the season rolled

6:32

around , she would not only

6:34

was skating well , I , in

6:36

my opinion and the coach's opinion , she was one of the better

6:38

skaters , skating only on the team

6:40

. So it goes to show you that when you , when

6:42

you inject a little fun into the environment , a

6:44

lot of things can happen . Now again , stick

6:47

handling , you know vision

6:52

on the ice . These were all things that needed to be developed on the team that year and as an

6:54

assistant on that team , my main goal is always to to enable the head coach

6:56

of that team and to work with those kids

6:58

to really make it fun , and we accomplished

7:00

that that . The talent on the team

7:02

was very beginner . I don't think we

7:04

won more than two or three games this season . But

7:07

I remember I turned to the head coach early

7:09

on in the season cause this is not my third year in the Mike

7:11

kind of age group , which is again eight

7:13

you and I said , look

7:16

, as long as they're all proficiently skating

7:18

by the end of the season and

7:20

they have some basic ability to to

7:23

to stick , handle , pass and shoot

7:25

, it doesn't have to be great . We've succeeded . That

7:27

was the goal at that level and I think that that that's

7:30

always an important thing . When I look back at my

7:32

hockey from the first year with my son to now

7:34

, you know I've evolved in that sense

7:36

of really understanding what the goal here is right , it

7:38

can be , it can get , you can get lost in the wins and losses

7:40

if you're not careful . And look , winning is a lot of fun , but

7:43

you know it's fun playing hockey and the kids

7:45

had a lot of fun playing hockey and they became really good friends

7:47

. And you know we went to the tournaments , sometimes

7:51

not winning a game , but the time we spent together was

7:53

really fun . And you know my goal as

7:55

a coach , especially in youth hockey , is to never

7:57

be a kid's last coach Right , coach

7:59

Right , and I'm not going to lie to you . There's a few kids

8:01

that decided not to play next season . Now

8:03

I was . I was assured by the parents . It's not because

8:05

of the coaching , right ? That's , that's

8:11

kind of the way you have to look at it . It was just , you know , they're not taking to the sport and that's

8:13

okay . Um , there's other sports that they want to play , but that's

8:15

the gauge for me , right , and it's okay that

8:17

they're not coming back . But I always look at things like

8:19

that too and I try and analyze myself . And

8:22

again , I'm thankful to the parents for saying something . But did I do

8:24

something wrong ? Did I not provide an experience for these

8:26

kids that was fun for them ? Again

8:29

, simply wasn't the case , but it was a long

8:31

season for them . But they all learned a lot

8:33

. Of them are coming back for next season , for another

8:35

year of might Some of them have moved up

8:37

to squirt , believe it or not . And you

8:39

know you love those kids , you love to play with those kids . And

8:41

quick memories from that season you know I saw

8:43

a young girl named Avery really

8:46

, really struggle with the game the first half of the

8:48

season and then broke out and got a hat trick in one

8:50

game . The love for the game you know showed

8:52

up on her face and then other

8:54

kids too . That could barely escape before the season

8:56

. And now that they're flying all over the ice , you

8:58

know my daughter really took to the position

9:00

of defense and really understands

9:03

on how to protect the goalie and loves to protect the goalie . I'm sure her

9:05

brother , being a goalie , plays into that . So

9:07

that was a developmental team and I really enjoyed

9:10

it . And you know my final thoughts on that team

9:12

. I'm going to move on to some of the more exciting stuff . That happened this season

9:14

too is I was amazed

9:16

at how much less anxiety

9:18

I had this season coaching

9:22

might just because it's my third season doing

9:24

it . I remember the first season . It's really

9:26

kind of high strung . Looking back

9:28

at it now I didn't think I was at the time

9:30

, but it's a lot of anxiety . There was a lot

9:32

of let's do this right kind of let's get on target , and

9:34

I've just learned how to enjoy my hockey and enjoy

9:36

it for what it is and it's a sandbox . In a lot

9:39

of ways it's a hockey sandbox and you

9:41

just got to let the kids experience the game , learn

9:43

the game and as coaches we got to teach them

9:45

basic skills , and that's my message

9:47

to you parents too , is I

9:49

hear some crazy things from parents about

9:51

expectations or where their kids should

9:53

be , even 10 years from now

9:55

in might , and I think it's a mistake . I

9:58

got to be honest with you . I'm going to reiterate what

10:01

I just said . This is a hockey sandbox at that age . You

10:03

need to cultivate a love of the game for your kid at

10:05

this age . Um , if your kid is showing great

10:07

skills and great promise , that's wonderful . If your kid's not

10:10

, that's

10:15

also wonderful , and it's okay . If your kid is not

10:17

taking to the talent of the game , but loves the game , it will cultivate

10:19

into talent at some point . We always give the metaphor , especially

10:21

on this show , that you know you learn to walk . We're very

10:23

patient when our kids are learning to walk . Everyone

10:25

does it at their own pace , or learning to speak . Hockey

10:28

works the same way . I didn't start playing hockey until

10:30

I was 12 and I had a wonderful career in the game , right

10:32

. So as long as you love the game

10:34

, it's a sandbox Let them play in the sandbox

10:37

and make sure the coaches are making it a fun

10:39

sandbox to play . So no-transcript

11:11

, I give a shout out to my organization that he's

11:13

in the they have for Hawks for bringing

11:15

in outside goaltending help and one

11:17

of our guests actually the goalie doctor , matt

11:19

Tendler and Mitch , would come out

11:22

to practices often to work with

11:24

all the goaltenders in the club and

11:27

to practices often to work with all the goaltenders in the club and I think that instruction really

11:29

benefited him this season because you could see him evolve from the beginning of

11:31

the season to the end of the season into really

11:33

becoming a solid goalie , right

11:36

Long way to go in terms of like a career and

11:38

again , we're not thinking that way at all , but

11:41

you can see the advancement Now

11:43

. The other cool thing about Logan is that when he skated

11:45

out he played defense Prior

11:53

to this season . I would say that you know Logan did a great job but he was always struggling

11:55

a little bit kind of positionally and trying to find the game . You know

11:57

he was not a big scorer on any of his might

11:59

teams , but playing goaltender

12:02

has really bolstered his ability

12:04

to play defense and you can see how

12:07

the two positions , excuse me

12:09

have played off each other . That obviously

12:11

, in that you have to work on your edges , you have to work on your

12:13

angles , you have to work on tracking the game . You have to watch

12:15

the game and that has completely played

12:17

paid off as him as defenseman . He , he sees

12:19

that aspect of the ice and , not

12:22

to mention , he understands how to play the puck now for

12:24

the goaltender right . So

12:26

really advanced the season

12:29

. I'm very proud of him . He put in the time

12:31

, he put in the work and he really

12:33

became , you know , one of the better defensemen

12:35

and a goalie on his team that succeeded

12:38

. Now that team as a whole , I

12:40

would say the season was a little bit of a disappointment

12:42

. They started out with a lot of potential but

12:45

as the season went on I don't think that

12:47

they were evolving enough to get better and they

12:49

made the playoffs but had kind of an early exit

12:51

. But the kids had fun from

12:54

everything that I was told . The kids understood

12:56

that sometimes not every season is going to be a winner

12:58

and sometimes not every season is going to end up the way you

13:00

want it to . I remind kids all the time look , there's

13:02

only one champion . Typically right Now

13:05

you might get multiple opportunities to win a championship

13:07

in tournaments . You might get ultimate

13:10

opportunities to win at the end of the season , but

13:12

only one team wins right . It's usually not

13:14

in anyone's favor . So I think there

13:16

was a lot of lessons learned on that front this year of

13:18

the frustration of having

13:20

a lead and losing it and the adversity

13:23

that you face as a hockey player . The

13:25

highlight for that team this year for me , was getting to go

13:27

to Lake Placid with the team . Uh , I remember early in the

13:29

season they had , they had gave us some tournament locations

13:31

and I said , look , I want to go to Lake Placid . I love Lake

13:33

Placid . I did Can-Am as a kid . We

13:36

went up there . Um , we didn't win

13:38

one game . We

13:47

didn't win one game , but the kids were bonding . You could see them having

13:49

a good time . You know , we went out into the speed skating rink one

13:51

day and skated around there . It was a winter wonderland

13:54

. But in the final game I

13:56

will just say that they were playing against a team

13:59

that probably should have been at a higher

14:01

level . All right , we've all been in that situation

14:03

and we hadn't won a game . And

14:06

we go into this situation and you know you're

14:08

probably not going to win this game and

14:10

I talked to Logan before that game because I knew he

14:12

would be in the net and we told

14:14

him this you know how this game

14:17

is going to go . So it's on you mentally

14:19

and your team mentally to

14:21

make sure that , no matter what the score is , you can look

14:23

this other team in the eye and they will know that you

14:25

are not giving up . You

14:31

will not stop , no matter what the score is . You can look this other team in the eye and they will know that you are not giving up . You will not stop , no matter what . I will say this they didn't

14:33

win the game . They played one of the best games , if not the best game they played

14:35

all season . They were in the game for most of the game . I

14:38

was immensely proud of them . And then what's cool

14:40

afterwards and this is going to be a little bit of a team

14:43

brag right Was that the

14:45

other team we were playing was clearly put together for

14:47

the tournament . They were not a youth hockey organization

14:49

, they were a select team . I'm going

14:52

to say it again they probably should have committed

14:54

to a higher division because they routed everybody

14:56

. But you could tell a lot of the parents

14:59

on that team didn't know their kids , I'm sorry

15:01

, didn't know the other kids . It was just a team that was put together

15:03

and

15:08

after the game we lined the hallways , outside the locker room , and we basically gave these kids a standing

15:10

ovation as each one of them walked out and

15:13

the smiles on their faces . You

15:15

would never have known we lost the game

15:17

as bad as we did , right ? I

15:19

can't remember the final score right now . Again , it was close for a

15:21

while , but it wasn't close at the end . You

15:24

never would have known . It looked like we had won a championship

15:26

and the other team's parents and kids

15:28

kind of had to walk through that . Not

15:30

that I'm gloating about that , but it

15:33

shows you that this game is about

15:35

more than just winning at times , right

15:37

. And I had said at that time look , we

15:39

won that game without winning . Look at the kids , look how

15:42

happy they are and we got to leave even

15:44

though we didn't win on a high note . Happy

15:48

they are and we got to leave even though we didn't win on a high note . That's a cool story

15:50

to tell . That's why I wanted to share it . Right , you know the kids were not happy

15:52

. They lost , but the support from the parents

15:54

and us as a parent group and the coaches

15:56

meant everything to them . We stood by

15:58

you , you worked hard , you did what we

16:01

asked you . You never quit . That's

16:04

a bigger win than winning the game . Okay

16:06

, I

16:11

am all for sharing those types of lessons in these

16:13

games . So again , that team season ended up , you know , just kind of , I would say

16:15

, above par right . I mean , they made the playoffs

16:17

, didn't win a game in the playoffs , but it was a great

16:19

learning experience for my son . Again , you know we get these

16:21

evaluation forms at the end of the season . They

16:24

ask you a lot of questions about the coaches . And

16:26

look , coaches on this team were volunteer

16:28

coaches , all three of them . They

16:30

showed up to every practice , every game

16:33

, right ? I always remind parents

16:35

that . You know it's easy to be critical of coaches , but I

16:37

take a step back . These are volunteer parents and

16:39

they were always there . And then I said this in my evaluation

16:41

. I said , look , my son loves to play goalie

16:43

, he loves to play defense , he loves to play hockey

16:46

, he wants to come back next season and

16:48

he , in my opinion I can only speak for my

16:50

own son is a better hockey player

16:52

now than he was at the beginning of the season . Just

16:55

trying to keep it in character right . Again , sometimes

16:58

you do evals at the end of the season . You don't win the

17:00

last five or six games . It can be a rough eval

17:02

. You win a championship , it's going to be a great eval

17:04

. I just try and keep these things pretty even-keeled and realistic

17:07

. Now , moving on to my

17:09

favorite story of the season the

17:11

Haverford Fords that really is their name

17:14

elementary school team . So Logan

17:18

and my daughter Alina were both on this

17:20

team . We had thought Logan would start as a goalie

17:22

on this team Team had two very good goalies , along with my son . He

17:24

was one , and our goalie Alex was team a team had two very good goalies , along like with

17:26

my son , he was one , and our goalie Alex was the other one . And

17:29

it became apparent pretty quickly that I

17:32

would say Alex had a slight edge on Logan and net but

17:34

you know they're pretty comparable but that Logan

17:37

was succeeding at defense so much that it was

17:39

actually more valuable to us as a team to have

17:41

him out of the net and playing defense

17:43

. So I remember going to him and asking him

17:45

like hey , look , how would you feel about just just playing

17:47

D on this team ? And I wasn't sure how he'd react . He's like yes

17:49

, yes , I want to do that . Um , so

17:51

we started going full-time with Logan on D

17:54

Alex in that . Uh , and this is

17:56

really cool Logan's defensive partner

17:58

or I should say maybe my daughter's

18:00

defensive partner was my son and my daughter . So Alina

18:02

and Logan were D partners on the team

18:04

, and guess who was coaching the D ? So now I'm

18:06

in this really special situation where I'm coaching

18:09

my son and my daughter on a defensive

18:11

line together and that does not take

18:13

away from any of the other defensemen on this team , right

18:15

? They were all wonderful to coach . And

18:17

we started out the season and we got on the ice for tryouts

18:19

. I got to go back a little bit here and

18:22

six of the kids couldn't skate I mean , really could

18:25

not skate . So I took a step

18:27

back and I went to the head coach and I said look , this is what I

18:29

think we should do for this season . I think the first five

18:31

or six practices let's split up

18:33

literally between the kids who can skate

18:35

and the kids who can't skate . Let me get these kids moving right

18:37

. So for six weeks I worked with , I'll

18:40

just say , the beginner kids on the team and and

18:42

most of them were a little bit older , like you know , third , fourth grade

18:44

and they started taking to my drills

18:46

very quickly . We got them moving

18:48

right . We got them to a point they could start , stop

18:51

, turn , go backwards and about week five or

18:53

six we started

18:55

incorporating everybody into the same practice

18:58

again . Now our record at that time

19:00

was about 500 , but we had played

19:02

every team and I remember saying , as

19:04

a team builder , as a culture builder , look

19:06

, if we can time the development

19:09

of this team right . I really

19:11

said this like week seven

19:13

or eight I think we can win this thing . I

19:16

really think we can take on these top teams in our division

19:18

and win this thing . And so it

19:20

goes . We started doing team building after

19:22

every practice on Friday , or

19:28

I should say most practices . By team building , I mean I would take the team upstairs and I would do off-ice

19:30

drills that would force them to be in a group right , little challenges that I

19:32

do in my culture work and my team building work that I do with

19:34

businesses and teams all over the country . So

19:37

we started doing that and you could see the kids starting

19:39

to bond . And I always love it , because

19:41

when we first do team building , I get a lot of eye rolls from parents

19:43

and kids like , do we have to do this ? I said yes

19:45

, you have to do it . And they come upstairs and within

19:47

one or two sessions , like , are we doing team building

19:49

today ? Are we doing team building today ? So

19:51

the kids love it , the team loves it , and

19:54

you could see about three

19:56

quarters through the season , things started turning in the

19:58

games . We were not only in every

20:00

single game , but we were winning a lot of games . Right

20:02

, so we head towards the playoffs . I

20:05

got my son and my daughter and D-line together . The team

20:07

is winning and you can

20:09

see it is clicking right and

20:12

the top team in the league . We played them , I think , the

20:14

second to last game at the end of the season . We lost by one

20:16

goal and that team is very , very talented

20:18

and I was really excited

20:20

about this because you can start to see now

20:22

the pattern of the team and the methodology

20:25

needed to , I'll just say , defeat the other team . Right

20:27

the tactics . So we

20:29

go into the playoffs and the way the playoffs work

20:31

here in this league is it's a two game elimination

20:34

. I got to quickly explain that for you at home because I had never

20:36

seen anything like this . Basically , you

20:38

lose two games , you're out of the playoffs , so teams are

20:40

eliminated as they play and

20:42

then the final happens is whoever has not

20:44

lost two games wins the championship ? Right , because

20:46

everyone's got to lose two . So we

20:49

go into the first game . I believe we won three . Nothing

20:51

, team is surging . They're looking great . We

20:53

go into our second game against

20:56

the top team in the league right now . Again , you

20:58

need two losses to be knocked

21:00

out . And when we get into this game , uh

21:02

, they had , we had both won one game . We

21:04

defeated them in a really amazing

21:07

team effort . Right , it was their first loss

21:09

of the playoff , so they're not eliminated yet . So we could see

21:11

these guys again . But man , was I

21:13

proud of our team ? We had a system in place

21:15

? Uh , we had . We had tactics in place

21:17

. But the key was this we are not

21:19

more talented than that other team . We were

21:22

not , but we played as a team

21:24

better than the other team . And that's what we told these

21:26

kids in the locker room , all of them If you play

21:29

as a team , the best team will win because

21:31

you have comparable talents

21:33

, even though you're not as talented . And

21:35

from the kids who couldn't skate at the beginning

21:37

of the season and the kids who could skate at the start of the season

21:39

complete team effort , complete

21:42

belief in each other . It was beautiful . Now we

21:44

have to keep moving on in the playoffs . This

21:46

is where it gets really interesting . We

21:49

had to play that team , I think , three times in a row

21:51

, right , because all the other

21:53

teams were getting eliminated , and it really became a best

21:56

of three series . And in the second

21:58

game we played against them

22:00

. Our , our top scorer , could not make the

22:02

game . We lost that game in

22:05

a way that was setting up this last

22:08

game of a three game series on a Sunday afternoon

22:11

. Both teams showed up . I'll

22:13

keep the story very short . It was a fantastic

22:15

game . It went to overtime

22:17

, we won the game in overtime

22:20

and one of our first graders got

22:22

the game winning goal in overtime . And

22:24

I'll tell you what I remember during this game

22:26

. You know , I believe it or not , I'm usually pretty calm

22:28

on the bench , especially in those big kind of championship

22:30

moments . You know , I've been blessed to have been in

22:32

a lot of them . I just kind of know how to keep myself normal

22:34

. But I was very

22:36

anxious , I was very tired and

22:39

I was on the bench . I was , I remember , thinking , man

22:41

, I really want to win this game . I

22:43

believe it or not , I always

22:45

want to win , but I don't always have that I got

22:48

. I got to win this . It's more of a let's

22:50

do the right things to the habits to win , and

22:53

I'm realizing I want to win this because I want to win

22:55

with my son and my daughter , because it's

22:57

it's in the back of my head . This might never happen again

22:59

and I thought before the game too

23:01

, and during the game , like , look broadly

23:03

, no matter what happens , this season was

23:06

a win , right . I know I told you that

23:08

we won already , but I remember thinking on the bench should

23:10

we not emerge victorious here

23:12

? Season's still a win , right . I got

23:14

to coach with my son and daughter . They love the game . They're

23:17

playing well together . My daughter , first

23:19

grader , playing against fourth graders fearless out

23:21

there , fearless right , no

23:23

problem going right at a fourth grader trying to steal the puck

23:26

. She worked well with my son . She would kind of

23:28

disrupt the play and he would take the puck down the ice and

23:30

move it up to the offense . It was really fun

23:32

to watch . I

23:36

mean at a picture of them right now actually in their jerseys . It's

23:38

funny , as I'm talking to you , but I'd be out

23:40

there . I'd see my name on their back . It's

23:42

their name too . I'm like those are my kids . It

23:44

was surreal , right , seeing two Eliases

23:46

out there on the ice at the same time with

23:49

me on the bench , but

23:52

it was a win no matter what . But and we'll

23:55

share a picture , maybe share some of the video at

23:57

the moment Um , uh , for those of you watching

23:59

the show , that was the cherry on

24:01

top , just just getting the championship and getting

24:03

to take the pictures with both of them and kind of put our medals

24:05

in our mouth , and it's a beautiful moment

24:08

with my children . Um , and

24:10

and that was the win is those

24:12

beautiful moments with my children on

24:14

the ice . The championship , I'm going to say it was

24:16

a , it was a cherry on top . The

24:19

win is the cherry on top . The

24:21

real win was that time of

24:23

the three of us together enjoying the

24:25

most beautiful game in the world

24:27

and the looks on the bench of love

24:30

, whether we won or lost , excuse

24:33

me or , or , or , working with the team as a whole , and that you know the understanding

24:36

that we love each other as a family . That's what I'm going to remember from this season , along , along

24:38

with the team as a whole , and that you know the understanding that we love each other as a family

24:40

. That's what I'm going to remember from this season

24:42

, along with the championship I'm not going to lie about that but

24:45

, man , what a cool experience

24:48

for me as a dad , but hopefully them as kids

24:50

as well . I also want to give a shout

24:52

out to our coaches , and

24:54

there were many this year but the bench coaches , coach

24:57

Lauren , head coach , who I have a lot

24:59

of respect for . Lauren is 20 , 27 years

25:01

old , just got engaged , played

25:04

hockey at a very high level , but

25:06

it's not easy to be a 27 year old female hockey

25:08

coach and I took a lot of pride that my

25:10

daughter got to see her in

25:12

the bench , on the bench running this team Right

25:15

, and I took a lot of pride

25:17

in being her assistant coach and

25:19

doing everything I could to support her this season . And then

25:21

our other coach , rich Temple , who ran the offense this year , whose

25:23

son's also on the team . The

25:25

three of us really came together and again , this is not excluding

25:28

any of the other coaches on the team who were involved , but

25:30

we really understood that , look , we want to win

25:33

this thing , we believe we can win this thing and we

25:35

committed to the development of these kids . We had conversations

25:37

weekly about our practices and the development

25:39

of this team . It

25:42

really proves again , my friends and this is

25:44

really my passion and my work that

25:46

a bonded team will beat a

25:49

group of individuals and I'm not

25:51

saying that the team we beat in the final was a

25:53

group of individuals . Those are kids , they really

25:55

love each other and they're very talented

25:57

. But we focus so much on

26:00

that bond and that experience of playing

26:02

for the kid and the person next to you , and we coached that

26:04

way too . We helped each other through the entire season

26:06

and we emerged victorious . And

26:09

I think that that is such an important thing

26:11

to instill in your teams , because

26:13

it goes beyond hockey . And I tell the

26:15

kids in the locker room and again , those of you listening you know I do

26:17

this , this team building work , professionally . You

26:20

got to create great people if you want to create great

26:23

players , and I took so much pride in all

26:25

of these athletes this season , on all three teams that I spoke

26:27

about , um , that a lot of them

26:29

still come to me , whether I'm coaching them or not , and say hey , coach

26:31

Lee , can you help me with this situation ? Uh

26:34

, it might . Maybe it's tactical , maybe it's a skills

26:36

question , but I also get a lot of questions about

26:38

my teammates making fun of me and I don't know

26:40

how to handle it . And I always appreciate when

26:42

they come to me about that , because they want

26:44

to grow , they want to get better and I don't think

26:46

that they're complaining . I think that they're

26:49

having 10-year-old problems or 7-year-old problems

26:51

. They have a right to those problems . But

27:01

yeah , look , it was an interesting season where I'd say both of my kids' clubs teams didn't

27:03

do what they wanted to do from a win-loss standpoint , but they evolved . And

27:05

then again this elementary school team

27:07

. I get a bunch of pictures of this . I'm looking at them right now

27:09

. It's just a special moment for

27:11

me as a dad . And

27:13

again , that's the rub , that's what

27:16

I always say my friends , the experience

27:18

, the memories , the journey is

27:20

so important . The journey to that championship

27:23

with the Ford's team was a beautiful

27:25

journey and I was present with

27:27

it and I enjoyed it . And I want

27:29

to remind all of you as I head towards

27:31

the close here . You've got

27:34

to respect and love the journey . Every season

27:36

it's so easy to get lost in the outcomes

27:39

or the eventualities , or

27:41

you might want your kid to be in a year , two years

27:43

, five years , ten years . Don't get

27:45

lost in that . Live in the moment

27:48

with your kids in these journeys and

27:50

experience it with them . Fun part

27:52

you all know this we get to live through the kids

27:54

a bit . We get to see it through their eyes . Don't

27:57

get in the way of that . Let

28:04

them experience it and then be by their side as an ally as they go through

28:07

that time period . But don't sacrifice the journey for any outcome . Right , the

28:09

good , the bad , the in-between , the life lessons

28:11

, the pain in the ass of getting them to pack their bags

28:13

all of it . Be present with it . All right

28:15

, because one day they won't need your help packing

28:18

their bag and one day they won't want you on the bench . Right

28:20

, I'm fully ready for a moment where my kids

28:22

don't need me or want me on the bench and

28:24

that's how . I'm okay with that , right . So

28:26

I take every second

28:29

that I get to be out there with them as

28:32

a gift . And I'm going to say it again

28:34

good or bad , not every moment

28:36

is fun , all right , but

28:38

the fact that I'm getting the moment with

28:40

them is really what I value and cherish in this

28:42

game . I think that goes well beyond hockey . It's not just

28:45

hockey that I do that , obviously . But

28:47

yeah , that's . That's my season in review . I

28:50

got a lot of funny trinket stories but

28:52

we'll share those online again at our kids play

28:54

hockey on Facebook , make

28:56

sure you check that group . Or if you want to just email me stuff

28:58

, even if you don't want it to appear on the air , you just want to talk

29:00

to someone ? Team at our kids play hockeycom

29:03

, christy , mike and I usually answer those emails

29:05

. But yeah , that's my season and review

29:07

and I already know what teams my kids

29:09

are on for next season . We'll have to wait till the next

29:11

season review a year from now . I don't think

29:13

anyone's gonna be waiting for that episode . But fun

29:17

times this year , always nice to end the

29:19

year with a championship and I

29:21

will always cherish and remember

29:23

the season I got to coach both of my kids on

29:25

a team together . I want to give a shout out to that entire

29:27

Haverford Forge team on their championship

29:30

. They believed in the team

29:32

, they believed in the power of teamwork

29:34

, they believed in the power of working together towards

29:36

a common goal and they accomplished the goal in

29:39

the face of the best talented team , the

29:41

highest scoring team , and in the face of

29:43

everybody saying you're not going to win that championship . They

29:45

did it . Congratulations to all you kids . That's

29:48

going to do it for my year in review . Youth

29:50

Hockey Edition . Again , lee Elias , here

29:52

with Our Kids Play Hockey . We will see you on the next episode

29:54

. I hope that you had a wonderful season

29:56

and if you didn't , I hope you have a wonderful season

29:59

coming up . Enjoy these moments

30:01

with your kids , because that's what it's all about

30:03

, right ? Our kids play hockey

30:05

. All right , my friends , we'll see you in the next episode . Skate on

30:07

, take care , have a great week

30:09

.