Last week I had the chance to meet up with some of my former players and other coaches from the program I was coaching in about 15 years ago.  It was great catching up but I was really disappointed to hear that the program no longer exists.  There were several factors in the disintegration of the program but by all accounts the biggest problem was a group of parents setting some expectations that were inconsistent with the program goals and then being displeased when they weren't met.…

I talk a lot on here about how hockey becomes an extended family for many of us.  Spending so much time at the rink together, traveling to tournaments, getting up at odd hours for games and the uniqueness of the sport itself makes for a pretty tight community.  I've never seen a youth activity where so many people keep in touch with each other for such long periods of time - even before Facebook and other social networking tools.

All of this was on display last night for me…

Those of us who are involved in youth hockey - especially travel and other competitive programs - know how much the game becomes an integral part of a player's life.  With the amount of time spent at the rink and the uniqueness of the sport we develop relationships that extend well beyond the rink and everything seems to revolve around the hockey schedule.  So it's no wonder that hockey is often very impactful in the maturation process of the kids who play.  As an example, what other sport…

I can't believe I'm already talking about the 2012-13 hockey season.  I can't put my finger on when these April and May tryouts started for travel hockey but it is kind of amazing how little downtime we get.  We love it so there's not much to complain about but talking about 2013 in May of 2012 is a little odd.

I'm excited to be looking at the next season from a whole new point-of-view: that of a hockey dad.  As much as I love coaching and as long as I've done it, there are…