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Why Small Intentional Decisions Matter. We’ve all been there. A tournament 45 minutes outside a [...]
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In a world of constant comparison, identity is under pressure, and grit is what holds [...]
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As participants in the hockey community, there are moments where we, as coaches, observe parental [...]
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Every season we try to anchor our team with a theme—something that captures how we [...]
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Youth hockey tryouts in Fairfield County reveal something fascinating every year. Parents become anxious, conversations [...]
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Why Small Intentional Decisions Matter. We’ve all been there. A tournament 45 minutes outside a third-tier city. Three-star hotel. Rink. Lobby. Repeat. Vacation days disappearing faster than expected. The parent playdate goes a little too long. The next morning…the idea of the gym, reading, or anything beyond breathing and blinking feels like a stretch. A […]
As participants in the hockey community, there are moments where we, as coaches, observe parental behavior and try to reconcile it with our own sense of reality. This week felt like a live experiment. Daryl Jones — a.k.a. Jonesy, a.k.a. the real most interesting man in the world, a.k.a. The Gold Coast’s Most Eligible Bachelor […]
CONNECTICUT HOCKEY PARENTS: READ THIS CAREFULLY This isn’t about coaches. This isn’t about ice time. This isn’t about practice plans. This is about us. The Hard Truth On a per‑capita basis, Connecticut — along with New York and New Jersey — produces far fewer high‑level hockey players than comparable regions. That includes: NCAA Division I […]
Every hockey coach I talk to can’t stop talking about the way Team Finland played at the World Juniors. They punch well above their weight in NHL representation. And for years, USA Hockey has studied the Finnish model—trying to decode what people often label as “skill development.” But here’s the reality check. If Finnish players […]
What the Data (and the Kids) Are Telling Us One of the perks of being a hockey geek who actually tracks what happens on the ice is that you get to move past opinions and look at reality. Numbers don’t lie, but they also don’t tell the whole story unless you know how to read […]
But… it’s actually kinda funny) Let’s be honest. Two of the dirtiest little secrets in youth hockey: 1️⃣ Mite parents absolutely know the score of every game 2️⃣ Everyone says rankings “don’t matter”… while secretly refreshing them like the stock market When my boys were in Mites, I’d hear legends about managers rearranging schedules like […]
Understanding and Encouraging the Development of Hockey IQ A few years ago, I was out for a skate and found myself watching a Junior kid and thinking, “man, this guy is so dumb out there.” The words slipped out before I even realized what I was saying. Then it hit me—I coach in the same […]
I was 14, sitting behind the starting block, staring down my lane with a death stare. 90’s hip hop in my Walkman, goggles on, everything else fading out. From the outside, it looked like I was just waiting for the race to start. On the inside, I was doing something completely different. I was calming […]
While watching an NHL game with my son the other night, I caught myself trying to explain something most fans never even notice: how acceleration works on the ice, and why great players are constantly managing the natural delay it creates in the rhythm of the game. One simple question led to another, and, if […]
In today’s high-pressure youth sports environment, mental toughness and emotional resilience are often left behind in the race for rankings, trophies, and scholarships. But what if we could shift the focus back to what really matters, developing strong, confident kids who can handle adversity, on and off the ice? Enter The Grit Kore Project—a free, […]