Our Kids Play Hockey

🏒 What should young hockey players actually do in the offseason?
In this episode of The Ride To The Rink, Lee is joined by former NHL defenseman Andrew “Albie” Alberts for a motivating conversation every young player should hear before summer training begins.
The message is simple but powerful: start with a goal, write it down, believe in it, and then take small steps every day to move toward it.
Andrew and Lee talk directly to young skaters and goalies about what it means to dream big, handle doubt, make choices, build confidence, and use the offseason as a chance to grow both on and off the ice.
In this episode, kids will hear:
🏒 Why writing down your goals can help you stay focused
 💪 How belief becomes a skill you can build over time
 🧠 Why hard work, choices, and consistency matter more than talk
 📋 How to figure out what parts of your game need improvement
 🌊 Why summer should still include fun, creativity, and unstructured play
Andrew also reminds players that the game is changing. Whether you are a forward, defenseman, or goalie, today’s players need to become more complete, more creative, and more willing to learn.
And yes — summer training matters. But so does being a kid.
So write down your goal. Dream big. Put in the work. Try new things. Have fun. And remember:
We believe in you. You should too.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Offseason Hockey Training Starts With a Goal — And a Whole Lot of Belief
#TheRideToTheRink #OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyTraining #OffseasonTraining #HockeyMindset #AndrewAlberts #HockeyParents #HockeyKids #SummerHockey #GoalSetting #HockeyDevelopment
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Our Kids Play Hockey is powered by NHL Sense Arena! 🏒🥽
Trusted by our kids! Trust it with yours! Trusted at the NHL level through youth hockey, Sense Arena uses VR and mixed reality to build hockey IQ, confidence, and decision-making for skaters and goalies at their own pace. 
Right now, they’ve got offseason pricing at $299 for the year—less than a dollar a day, and up to four profiles. Use code OKPH to save an extra $25 off your purchase
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🏒 Should your young hockey player train all summer… or put the bag away and just be a kid?

On this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias welcomes back Andrew “Albie” Alberts — nine-year NHL veteran, Boston College standout, and Hockey Development Director at NHL Sense Arena — for a timely, honest, and incredibly useful conversation about what youth hockey players should actually be doing in the offseason.

With tryouts behind many families and summer hockey decisions ahead, Lee and Albie unpack the pressure parents feel to keep up, keep skating, and keep training — while reminding everyone that development is not just about more ice, more tournaments, and more structure.

In this episode, we talk about:

🥅 Why kids need a real mental and physical break after the season
🏒 The value of unstructured play, backyard hockey, and pickup games
⚡ Why skating remains the foundation of hockey development
🏃 How multi-sport athletes build better hockey tools
🧠 Why hockey IQ and playing without the puck may be the next frontier in development
🎯 How parents can help kids set goals without taking ownership away from them
🚦 Albie’s green-light/red-light offseason training advice for ages 10–14

Albie also shares what his NHL offseasons looked like, how training has evolved from heavy lifting to speed, explosiveness, recovery, and cognitive development, and why the best players are often the ones who learn how to think the game — not just shoot 500 pucks a day.

Whether your child is 8, 12, 14, or dreaming big, this conversation will help you ask better questions, avoid burnout, and build an offseason that supports the player and the person.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Should Youth Hockey Players Train All Summer? Andrew Alberts Says Start With This
🎧 Listen now and enjoy the offseason — because sometimes the best thing your hockey player can do is put the bag away, pick up another sport, and wait until they’re excited to get back on the ice.

#OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyParents #OffseasonTraining #HockeyDevelopment #MultiSportAthlete #HockeyIQ #SenseArena #AndrewAlberts #YouthSports #HockeyLife #HockeyTraining #LetKidsBeKids
Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
Our Kids Play Hockey is powered by NHL Sense Arena! 🏒🥽
Trusted by our kids! Trust it with yours! Trusted at the NHL level through youth hockey, Sense Arena uses VR and mixed reality to build hockey IQ, confidence, and decision-making for skaters and goalies at their own pace. 
Right now, they’ve got offseason pricing at $299 for the year—less than a dollar a day, and up to four profiles. Use code OKPH to save an extra $25 off your purchase
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🧠 What if the most important hockey skill your child learns this season has nothing to do with skating, shooting, or scoring?
This week on Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Mike Bonelli, and Christie Casciano-Burns welcome Angie Lion, author of Emerge: Rise from the Depths, Realign Your Soul, and Reclaim What Matters and co-founder/chief soul officer of Black River Performance Management, for a powerful conversation about emotional intelligence, transitional intelligence, and why “soft skills” may actually be the hardest—and most valuable—skills our kids can build through hockey. 
Angie explains why emotions are not weaknesses, distractions, or excuses. They are data. And when young athletes learn how to name, understand, and regulate those emotions, they gain tools that help them far beyond the rink.
In this episode, we explore:
🏒 Why emotional intelligence is a true performance advantage for hockey players
 🧠 How parents and coaches can help kids manage triggers, frustration, rejection, and disappointment
 📓 The power of a “trigger journal” and how it can help athletes understand their reactions
 🔁 What transitional intelligence is—and why every hockey season is filled with transitions
 👨‍👩‍👧 Why parents must model emotional regulation before expecting it from their kids
 🧊 How coaches can build team culture around EQ, accountability, and resilience
 💬 Why phrases like “calm down” often backfire—and what to say instead
 🌱 How failure, discomfort, and change can become opportunities for growth
Angie also shares why every transition begins with an ending, moves through a “messy middle,” and eventually creates space for growth. For hockey families, that means new teams, new coaches, new roles, tryouts, injuries, disappointments, and every challenge that comes with the youth sports journey.
This episode is a must-listen for parents, coaches, and hockey leaders who want to raise not just better players—but stronger, more self-aware, more resilient human beings.
👉 Learn more about Angie Lion at AngieLion.com and BlackRiverPM.com.
📬 Have a question, comment, or episode idea? Email us at [email protected] or use the text link in the episode description.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Emotional Intelligence in Youth Hockey: The Skill That Lasts Beyond the Game

Thanks for being part of the Our Kids Play Hockey community. Enjoy your hockey, enjoy your day, and keep building the skills that last long after the game ends.
 #OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyParents #HockeyCoaching #EmotionalIntelligence #MentalSkills #SportsParenting #YouthSports #HockeyDevelopment #Resilience #TeamCulture #AngieLion #TransitionalIntelligence
Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
Our Kids Play Hockey is powered by NHL Sense Arena! 🏒🥽
Trusted by our kids! Trust it with yours! Trusted at the NHL level through youth hockey, Sense Arena uses VR and mixed reality to build hockey IQ, confidence, and decision-making for skaters and goalies at their own pace. 
Right now, they’ve got offseason pricing at $299 for the year—less than a dollar a day, and up to four profiles. Use code OKPH to save an extra $25 off your purchase
Have A Topic You Want Us To Cover? Let us know!

Please Be Sure To Subscribe & Leave A Review For Us On Apple Podcasts, doing so helps our show grow!

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🏒 Ever feel nervous before a game, unsure of yourself in the locker room, or like your emotions are getting in the way of how you want to play? You’re not alone — and you’re not broken.
On this episode of The Ride To The Rink, Lee, Mike, and Christie talk directly to young hockey players about something every athlete faces at some point: nerves, confidence, pressure, and emotional control.
Whether you’re heading into a big game, joining a new team, playing in a new rink, or just feeling “off,” this episode gives players simple tools they can use right away to recognize what they’re feeling, take control of their mindset, and step onto the ice with more belief.
The biggest message? Your feelings are real — but they don’t have to run the show.
In this episode, we talk about:
🥅 Why feeling nervous before hockey is completely normal
 💬 How naming your emotions helps you control them
 🧠 Why negative thoughts don’t define who you are
 🔥 How positive self-talk and affirmations can help before games
 🚗 Why pregame routines can calm nerves and build confidence
 🙏 How gratitude can become a powerful competitive mindset
 👊 Why belief is one of the biggest separators in hockey — and in life
Lee also shares a powerful lesson from a recent conversation with an NHL athlete: at the highest levels, the difference often isn’t just skill — it’s belief.
So, players, before your next practice or game, remember this:
You can feel nervous and still play great.
 You can feel pressure and still compete hard.
 You can have doubts and still choose belief.
Wherever you are on your hockey journey, we believe in you — and you should too.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: How Young Hockey Players Can Handle Nerves, Pressure, and Build Confidence
🎧 Listen now and take this one with you on your next ride to the rink.
#TheRideToTheRink #OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyMindset #HockeyConfidence #MentalSkills #YoungAthletes #HockeyParents #PregameRoutine #PositiveSelfTalk #HockeyLife
Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
Our Kids Play Hockey is powered by NHL Sense Arena! 🏒🥽
Trusted by our kids! Trust it with yours! Trusted at the NHL level through youth hockey, Sense Arena uses VR and mixed reality to build hockey IQ, confidence, and decision-making for skaters and goalies at their own pace. 
Right now, they’ve got offseason pricing at $299 for the year—less than a dollar a day, and up to four profiles. Use code OKPH to save an extra $25 off your purchase
Have A Topic You Want Us To Cover? Let us know!

Please Be Sure To Subscribe & Leave A Review For Us On Apple Podcasts, doing so helps our show grow!

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🏒 What do you do when your child loves hockey, has the skill, makes the higher-level team… but freezes when everything feels new?
In this fan mail episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Christie Casciano Burns, and Mike Bonelli respond to a heartfelt letter from a hockey dad in Connecticut whose 2019 birth-year player thrives once he’s on the ice — but struggles with nerves, unfamiliar teammates, new coaches, and chaotic scrimmage environments.
The big question: How do parents help young players grow, compete, and build confidence without pushing so hard that they lose their love for the game?
The hosts unpack why hesitation in new environments is normal, why confidence often comes before compete, and why parents need to be careful not to put adult expectations on seven-year-old players. As Mike puts it, sometimes the answer is simple: put the child where hockey feels fun, social, and confidence-building — because that’s where growth actually begins.
In this episode, we discuss:
🥅 Why nervousness in new hockey environments is common — and not a red flag
 💬 How helping kids name their feelings can reduce overwhelm
 🏒 Why “confidence breeds compete” at every age
 👥 How parents and organizations can “shrink the newness” for young players
 ⚠️ Why pushing too hard at mites can backfire
 ❤️ Why protecting a child’s love for hockey matters more than chasing early status
 📣 How to ask your child what they actually want from the game
Whether your player is seven, twelve, or sixteen, this conversation is a reminder that development is not just about skating, shooting, and compete level. It’s about confidence, communication, emotional awareness, and creating an environment where kids want to keep coming back.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Confidence Before Compete: Helping Young Hockey Players Handle New Teams, New Coaches, and Big Feelings
Have a question for the show? Send it in — anonymously if needed — and you may hear it discussed on a future episode.
#OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyParents #TravelHockey #MiteHockey #HockeyDevelopment #YouthSportsParenting #ConfidenceInSports #HockeyFamily #LetKidsPlay
Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
Our Kids Play Hockey is powered by NHL Sense Arena! 🏒🥽
Trusted by our kids! Trust it with yours! Trusted at the NHL level through youth hockey, Sense Arena uses VR and mixed reality to build hockey IQ, confidence, and decision-making for skaters and goalies at their own pace. 
Right now, they’ve got offseason pricing at $299 for the year—less than a dollar a day, and up to four profiles. Use code OKPH to save an extra $25 off your purchase
Have A Topic You Want Us To Cover? Let us know!

Please Be Sure To Subscribe & Leave A Review For Us On Apple Podcasts, doing so helps our show grow!

Follow Us On Social Media:
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