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038 - The Importance of Networking and Is Spring Hockey Worth It?
105 Plays3 months ago
Show notes are available at https://thediygoalie.com/pod038
Take advantage of 20% on the Vizual Edge platform with the code DIYPOD at https://vizualedge.com
This week we dive into how the hockey community is small and why networking as you go is incredibly important. Don't be afraid to start a conversation and get to know the people around you in the hockey world. It could lead to some cool things! We also talk about our thoughts on spring hockey and if it is something that is worth pursuing.
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Transcript
Introduction and Holiday Reflections
00:00:06
Speaker
Welcome to the DIY goalie podcast, where hosts and goalie coaches, Nathan Park and Connor Monday share their insights on how to become a better goalie. How are we doing today? Goalies, welcome back to episode 38 of the DIY goalie podcast, as always with your hosts, Nathan Park and Connor Monday. How are you doing today, Connor?
00:00:36
Speaker
Well, you know what? We are past the crazy times right now. Hopefully everybody had a fantastic Christmas. And obviously one by the think by the time that this goes out, we will be. path And it will be it'll literally be the New Year's Eve. It'll literally be New Year's Eve. So hopefully everybody behaves themselves. New Year's Eve. That's the that's the important part. Don't drink and
Connor's Christmas Stories and Hockey Cards
00:01:02
Speaker
drive. Don't do anything that I wouldn't do, which is Not a lot of things, realistically. But I'm good. I'm good. ah It was a bit of a different Christmas this year um in terms of the fact that there was a lot more items for a person that's not even here yet. had to So we there we have but um quite a few baby
00:01:30
Speaker
baby things set aside clothes bottles and uh a tiny little oilers jersey that uh my parent or my my father-in-law claims his child abuse so you know ah we'll uh we'll see they're apparently they're also getting like a little flames jersey so then that might be child abuse actually but well you know we'll see Well, you need diapers. That's all good. Um, yeah. So while I'm mid sip too, that was perfect. yeah mid Um, i want can I want to talk about it. I did not. Well, it's beer and I don't want to get it all over my, uh, my, uh, my setup. I want to talk about a couple of things quickly before we get started. If I may, because I think this is really cool.
00:02:15
Speaker
um so typically like every year I get hockey cards because I'm still a 12 year old cut child at heart and I got I have some really interesting cards here that I want to show off and I'm gonna take over that. So here's my one segment for today um And we'll kind of go at it from there so yeah, these are the guys I so i got So if you guys are watching over on YouTube, I have a nice little Linus Olmarch in his Boston Bruins get up. I think that's it's the 100 anniversary jersey. So that's that's pretty cool. I like that. um I also have what also i have a what is this it's a it's a Jeremy Swamin card. And it's a dazz it's one of those Dazzler cards that Upper Deck has put out this year.
00:03:07
Speaker
This one's also really cool, and I like this one. And then I also have, it's not his rookie card, but I think it's still a pretty cool-looking card. Jesper Wahlstadt with the Minnesota Wild. So that's another one right there. That's pretty cool. I like that one. And then, where is he? There he is. Good old Mackenzie Blackwood when he's still with the Sharks. Just signed his five-year, was it five-year? It was a five-year deal.
00:03:36
Speaker
With that you assume I keep up on on hockey news And he didn't sign with them. He got traded. So Yeah, but no like he literally just he either just signed with colorado today and like signed like a massive extension or yeah Yeah, I think it was literally either today as of recording this or like a day or two ago.
00:03:59
Speaker
So analyze to being up of it well you know somebody somebody has to i suppose and anyways, point being, I got some cool cards. I'm happy with them. And, uh, yeah. So I thought I'd share that with everybody because I thought people might like it. All
Networking in Hockey: Importance and Tips
00:04:16
Speaker
right. Well, I was going to ask you what your new year's resolution was, but I feel like we've probably taken too much of the start of this episode. So I feel like we can still talk about it.
00:04:29
Speaker
We'll slip it in between our two segments of that town. We'll give the listeners a break. All right. Um, I dunno, I guess I'll go first today. I like i like totally ruin your thing. Yeah. So as you can tell, we're in holiday mode still. Um, no, so what I wanted to talk about today, um,
00:04:54
Speaker
kinda relates to a lot of what we're doing with the podcast and kinda, you know, the general overview, I guess, of, of being a coach and being a, you know, attempted content creator in the holy world, I guess. But, uh, I wanted to talk about basically the importance of networking and the opportunities that can come with that. Um,
00:05:23
Speaker
I don't think people realize just how small the hockey world in general is and how how much smaller the goalie community is itself too.
00:05:35
Speaker
um There is like, I dunno, I know the whole saying of like six degrees of separation when it comes to like life, how you're somehow only six people away from knowing everybody in the world. To me, when it comes to the goalie world, and there's probably like two degrees of separation. Like there's probably two people between you and everybody else in the goalie community. Um, so.
00:06:06
Speaker
What I wanted to touch on, I guess, is just when you when you guys are, um you know, out and about whether whether you are a younger goalie, kind of an elite goalie more towards, you know, getting into the um elite streams of hockey at an older level, whether you're a beer league goalie, any of that stuff. The connections that you can make through hockey are like They can make significant impacts on your life both away from and at the rink. Just wanted to go through a couple of things that you can keep in the back of your mind as you you know make these interactions, as you meet new people, as you you know interact with the people you already know and have known for years. but
00:06:57
Speaker
The impact of the impression that you make on people is massive when it comes to the hockey community, both good and bad. And for you goalies who are striving for the higher levels and um who want to to get through those elite levels of hockey, it can make or break you um basically the impression that people have. and to an extent, it is somewhat unfortunate that sometimes decisions are made, not just on skill, but at the same token too, right? Like it's hard to make your place at a high level when you're not a good teammate, when you're, you know, you've got a bad attitude, stuff like that, right? So think of these things when you are interacting with people and think of how you want
00:07:54
Speaker
people to view you and kind of the perception that they have of you. So, you know, making sure that you're early, like early is on time. On time is late. Anytime you're um at practice, at video, at dry land, at whatever the case is, make an impression. Don't be the last guy out there. Um, shake hands, talk to people.
00:08:22
Speaker
And I want to elaborate more on the talking to people in a little bit, but make sure you are interacting a lot of kids these days, even adults too. One of the hardest things that ah that um people have or one of the things people struggle with the most is talking to people, having a legitimate conversation, walking up to somebody saying, Hey, how's it going? Who are you? What do you do?
00:08:51
Speaker
blah, blah, blah, right? So the more personable you can be, the more that you put yourself out there, the more connections you can make, you'd be surprised at the things that can happen from that. I mean, just as an example, like we've gotten to talk to some cool people just on the podcast from other people we know, right? Like even You know, I, it's been 12 years since I've gone overseas to play ball hockey. And I reached out to belly, like, you know, a couple months ago and said, Hey, I'm starting a podcast. Do you want to come on? He's like, I can't right now. Cause of my contract with the devils. And then once he stopped, I reached out and I was like, Hey, you want to come on? And he's like, yeah, sure. And we got a cool interview out of it. We got to see a different perspective on things. Right. And.
00:09:43
Speaker
That's the kind of stuff that can happen. It might not just be helping you get on a team. And I'm sure Connor can touch on it, but, you know, he's gotten to do play by play stuff just from putting himself out there and talking to people and getting to know them and all that stuff too. And I'll let you get more into that. But, um, the big thing that I want my segment to, I guess, portray to you guys is.
00:10:11
Speaker
take the time to think of the connections that you can make through hockey and where they could potentially take you. um When I talked earlier about getting out there and talking to people, take some time to, you know, have a conversation and get to know people, like not just You know, Oh, how long have you been playing? Like, you know, you can talk to them and be like, Hey, what do you do away from the game? What hobbies do you do? What, you know, if, if you're a beer league goalie, Hey, you got kids, like, what do you do for work? Whatever the case is. And you just never know kind of where.
00:10:53
Speaker
a connection or an interaction can take you like even if you're a beer league goalie um and you know you're not striving to hit any sort of elite stream of hockey or anything like that you just never know when like getting to know ah certain guys might lead to a cool opportunity maybe like some sort of outdoor game of some sort or a charity game or something like that and it's kind of cool to like just some of the stuff you can do outside of, of playing, right? Like, um, you know, play by play or video or, you know, coaching, equipment manager, whatever the case is, like, there's a lot of cool things you can do outside of just playing too. And most of those opportunities come pretty much from who you know, and the connections that you make as opposed to, you know, applying for a job, right? Like, I mean,
00:11:52
Speaker
You look at the NHL, how many times is there a brand new coach hired, right? Like not very often. It's usually just kind of a carousel of the same guys. And it's kind of like that throughout the sport at all the levels. So, you know, take the time to get to know people, ask them about themselves personally, get to know them and and leave a good impression, right? Like we've talked before about how.
00:12:20
Speaker
having the wrong impression, not being a pro, parents getting involved, all this stuff can lead to, you know, not getting the opportunities that you might've otherwise had. So just think about that anytime you're interacting with a coach, with any sort of support position. So treat your equipment managers well, treat your trainers well, treat your physio people well, whatever the case is, right?
00:12:48
Speaker
make make good impressions, be a good person, work on that network and you never know where it's gonna lead. There's always cool things that can happen. I was debating on how to respond to your spiel and there was like a few different ways that I can go about it.
00:13:12
Speaker
um But I think the way that I want to go about it is that social media, if used effectively, is one of the greatest tools that an athlete can have.
Social Media in Athlete Networking
00:13:24
Speaker
In the same breath, though, it's as much as, you know, hockey content creators make fun of it. And as much as there is a stereotype about it, it also is dependent on who you know.
00:13:40
Speaker
Um, I think, I mean, again, going back to the social media aspect of, I mean, that's how we managed to get somebody like walking, engage to come out, you know, um, as a matter of fact, it's actually how you and I met right over social media. Um, pretty much how we've gotten 80% of our guests on the podcast. Yeah, exactly. yeah reach out Exactly. The worst, the worst thing, the worst thing that can happen is that somebody can say no.
00:14:07
Speaker
right. um But yeah, I mean, in the same breath to like it is with the sport in particular, I can't say definitively on other sports, but it is exactly almost exactly who you know, right. And so there is kind of a in a way a gate kept kind of community. and within the hockey community just in general. But I think Joaquin's story in particular was very inspiring or very um interesting. And I think it's almost maybe in a way a lost art where an athlete will reach out to general manager of the Edmonton All Kings or the Kamloops Blazers or insert team here and say, hey, I want somewhere to play.
00:14:56
Speaker
Do you have a spot? And they might say yes. They might say no. They might say, ah come on out. We'll see what you got, kid. um um there are There is a Facebook group. I think it's like junior hockey players or parents or junior hockey. It's junior hockey something. Isn't it junior hockey camps? Yes. That's the one thing. I think it's junior hockey camps and hockey development. I think that's what it is. Yeah.
00:15:21
Speaker
But I really liked that page and I really like it because like I used it earlier this year because I had a goalie reach out to me and had said like, hey, like I'm looking for somewhere to play because the team that he was supposed to play for that he played for last year was really given a ah ah definitive answer on whether he's um playing or whether he's getting started or not. And so I put I just I just ended up putting it out on on that Facebook group and I had a team from Oh, somewhere in BC. I can't remember the name, but they were like, but they were like a, like a reigning division champion or I think like they were like playoff champions last year and they were looking to repeat. And I told this kid, like, this is a great off. For me, it was a great opportunity. i Like if it was um somebody like me who wanted to go play, I think I would definitely take it or definitely jump on it because
00:16:14
Speaker
Number one you get to go play overseas or overseas you get to go play in a different province You and you were going to a team that's looking to go back to back I don't know where they're at currently and I should check up on them, but um But again just stuff like that like even In the same breath like talking about like who it's in the same with it's about who you know um It's kind of how I got my jobs in in junior hockey Because I knew because one of the teams that I was playing barely for the head coaches Dad's sister was one of my teammates
00:16:55
Speaker
and She was like, hey, my nephew's looking for a goalie coach. And I was like, OK, sure, why not? And that's how I ended up coaching for the two other junior teams that I was working for. And then by proxy as well, because they were looking for somebody to do play by play, I do YouTube as a hobby sometimes. And so I was like, I don't mind getting behind the mic and doing all that.
00:17:23
Speaker
I know a lot. I know my way around technology in the same breath. And that's how I ended up doing play by play. And I most recently did a play by play for the Edmonton AAA Junior Oilers here in ah here in Edmonton, Alberta, which was a really cool experience. And I can officially say that I called to know this game. But um but again, it's it's the power of networking and the power of knowing where people who you know is greatest thing ever. I have quite a few contacts in my phone of people that I've maybe talked to once and but I have them in my phone or I have them on my Facebook, Instagram, whatever because you never know when there's one day where i I'm either looking for a job or whether there's an athlete that's looking for a place to play and I say hey I can reach out to
00:18:14
Speaker
to these people for you and go for now. I will say, though, in the same breath as now, I'm going on a tangent. It is definitely a scary thing. I am not i mean as much as I like to talk.
00:18:25
Speaker
I am brutal when it comes to introducing myself or when it comes to meeting new people for the first time. I think, Nathan, you can maybe attest to this when you and I first met the first time. I don't think I was... I definitely wasn't very chatty as I am now. um Maybe a little timid, but... I liked it better back then.
00:18:50
Speaker
oh Fair enough, but Point point of being is that like it definitely is a scary thing like I genuinely I personally like even as a coach I genuinely hate I Don't want to say I genuinely hate but I genuinely dislike going to work with a new team for the first time, and i'm I'm by myself, and I look like an idiot. I have no idea what I'm doing. I have no idea where I'm going. I don't know who I'm supposed to talk to or anything. um But eventually, you know, I figure it out, and i go and and and you go from there. So it's it it is scary, but you can't progress in your career if you don't take those risks, essentially.
00:19:32
Speaker
Yeah. And the same tools that you use for mindset and for the mental side of things on the ice can translate to helping you with those situations off the ice too, right? Just anything that you found has worked for you with coping with nerves or anything like that. Use the same stuff in these situations. Um,
00:19:55
Speaker
Cause like, you just never know. I know my 16 year old year, I got invited to the oil Kings rookie camp, which I mean, quite a lot of people did, but, uh, um, I went and I knew that it wasn't like, I had no chance in hack making the Edmonton oil Kings at 16 as a goalie who, you know, what's just hopefully going to play mid to triple A at the time.
00:20:24
Speaker
But I actually showed really well. I made it past rookie camp and I was the last unsigned goalie left at main camp and they caught me and I just was like, yeah, awesome. Like this far, I thought I was going to make, right. But.
00:20:38
Speaker
The oil Kings goalie coach at the time was Dustin Schwartz and he was the goalie coach for the spruce Grove saints who picked me up as a 17 year old to play my first year of junior a and kind of kick started my career that way. So I don't know how much that oil Kings camp played into that, but I.
00:20:57
Speaker
I have a feeling that it did a little bit, right? And so you just never know when there's a coach who's, you know, you meet for the first time that two years down the road is now scouting you and was like, Oh, that guy was awesome to talk to. Seems like a great person and he's doing well on the ice. Let's bring him on board, right? You just never know what that kind of translates to.
00:21:25
Speaker
Yeah, and I guess I kind of equivocate it to the same way where um going to school in Edmonton here is a school called Vimy Ridge Academy, which was is rather one of the top hockey schools in the province, I think.
00:21:43
Speaker
And you know you go there and you meet a lot of guys who played major juniors, who played in the NHL or some type of pro hockey at one point. And a few of those, there's there's a few of those guys specifically who were goalies that I still talk to today, whether they were students or whether they were ah teachers at that school there. I still talk to Emminton Hawkins, goalie coach Curtis Muku on a
00:22:12
Speaker
tri-monthly basis um quarter monthly basis how do you want to put it quarterly i talk to him quarterly but uh again but i like to kind of echo jabo in our recent interview i try not to you know, bother those guys a whole lot because, you know, they're obviously busy and they have probably a lot better things to do than to talk to me. But regardless of that fact, though, is how like the fact like the fact is that they're there, they know who I am if I needed them to, for a reference, for whatever reason.
00:22:45
Speaker
Or I'm sure that there has been conversations where my name has popped up for whatever reason. um And I would, I would hope that they would, that they would speak highly of me and, and going from there. Right. So it's, it's, it's, again, it's to kind of echo what I was talking about earlier. It's like, it's a matter of who you know.
00:23:07
Speaker
Which is kind of the yeah a good thing and a bad thing at the same time, I suppose. Yeah, it depends on how you play it. And that if you find yourself in a similar situation like Connor does and you just keep hounding your coworker until he lets you on your podcast and and then 20 episodes later, you're you're a regular.
00:23:27
Speaker
then you never know. That was after a year of knowing you all after couple a year or two of knowing you already and then just just bugging you at that point. so Yeah, I can get away with it. I brought him on just so I don't have to hear him. Hey, can I come back on? It's a pity thing. Yeah, exactly.
00:23:50
Speaker
So sorry for all you guys, have to be but, um, no, you just kind of love me and just kind of to, um, and segue a little bit. Cause, um, just quick before we get into yours, I'll touch on my two, uh, my two new year's resolution. So one of them is actually to do a better job of being personable and networking and stuff. Cause I do feel like.
00:24:18
Speaker
I don't know, I wouldn't call myself introverted, but I just like to keep to myself. I guess I kind of live in my own little bubble, which I think is kind of maybe closed some doors that could have potentially been there, like in hindsight, looking at it. So I want to try and get to know people a little bit more. That's one of my things. And then, um,
00:24:41
Speaker
The other one is I want to put out some more content for you guys and and be a little bit better on that. I think the last month or so done a bit better job. Um, but trying to make time for you guys and do a little bit better with the the DIY goalie stuff, because that's kind of why it was created, but with everything else going on, it's kind of been put to the wayside a little bit. So those are my two new year's resolutions for the year.
00:25:07
Speaker
I suppose I'll i'll get in into mine here before before before we jump into my segment. and I kind of echo you with the with the goalie content. You know, I mentioned in previous videos, it's like, yeah, I'm putting out some goalie content and like I never do.
00:25:23
Speaker
Um, and now you share everything that true north and the DIY posts. Well, you know, brand reputation is what it is. Um, and then like, I suppose that my other new year's resolution this year, uh, it's kind of a bit of a personal one and you know, it's, it's, it's a typical one at the same time. Cause you know, I'm going back to the gym, I'm starting to, um,
00:25:48
Speaker
you know, work on myself. um But also just because I have a kid on the way as well. So I want to be in better shape than I am right now. um And then yeah, I think just anything like, I don't know, just kind of I don't know, maybe youve just putting my name out there more. That's why I bugged Nathan to be on the DIY podcast full time. But I don't know, it's- All right, guys.
00:26:18
Speaker
Shout out Brad McDonald, I hate you. um But I don't know, that those yeah this those are those two for sure. I think just over anything, I want to make sure, and this isn't like just for the new year, I think it's for the long term, is that- i want him i want to I want to make an impact on the goalie community in whatever form that takes place. So whether it is, you know we joke about it, but whether it is me coming on the podcast and and helping doing that, helping around with True North and DIY and even doing...
00:26:50
Speaker
my own small little thing and whatever that takes place. I think just at the end of the day, I want to, I want to say like, yeah, I made, I made an impact on the goalie community. I made an impact on my community here in Edmonton. And just, I want to be able to walk away from this happy whatever day, whenever day, hopefully in the far future when I do decide to, to walk away from it.
00:27:16
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:28:06
Speaker
yeah Awesome. Well, what do you got for us on your end of things today?
Debate: Pros and Cons of Spring Hockey
00:28:13
Speaker
So I wanted to talk about this maybe a couple of episodes ago, but I ended up going a different route, um but I wanted to talk about spring hockey and summer hockey and whether you should be involved in that.
00:28:26
Speaker
or whether you should, uh, go and play a different sport this year. Nathan's smiling at me because I think he has some thoughts on this and, uh, yeah. Oh yeah. So, um, I saw this and and I only wanted to talk, I wanted to talk about it when it was relevant.
00:28:45
Speaker
ah because there was a lot of posts on the Facebook group sentiment talking about you know hey we we're looking at playing spring hockey or looking at playing summer hockey oh we got invited to this we got invited to that you know what should we do once this winter season ends Um, there are pros and cons to To it. Um, I think maybe the cons maybe outweigh more of the pros Um So let so we'll we'll we'll put it this way, um spring hockey having coached in it
00:29:22
Speaker
Is a completely different beast Compared to winner hockey my god though those like they're insane They are why I won't say they're insane, but they're they're very intense this what we'll put it Quickly I played one season of spring hockey growing up. We did not win a single game we split games starting And even then I played in every single game because we got pulled every time and we lost the game 11 nothing. And the shots were like 72 to like five or something. it's It's it's different now. It's a little bit better, but yeah, that's my personal anecdote, which is fair. When I coached, um,
00:30:15
Speaker
I think, because I coached two or three, tour I think it was three years actually in spring hockey. And we had some we had some fairly good teams. um I think we won a few medals, but um but just I couldn't get over how much of a deal, like how much, it was essentially like AAA on drugs essentially is what it was.
00:30:43
Speaker
um It's I found it to be good hockey because I think it you know for those who take hockey very very seriously, it's um You get some of that you get some really good players out of it you You don't get some great players, but I think just for those looking to stay in the sport. I think it's I think it's fine um I know that the costs are really up there and The fact that tryouts are like we're happening like mid to like basically mid November and then there are even still some now there's a few teams that I follow on Instagram that are in the Edmonton area that are I think they have tryouts coming up come again It's either camps or tryouts that are coming up again in January um So it is um
00:31:35
Speaker
It is a different beast. It is good hockey. and why There is a lot of drama that I think also comes with it. um Again, talking about who you people who you know and such. There are definitely some teams that are loaded up with parents or that are loaded up with kids, rather, whose parents know one another.
00:32:01
Speaker
You know, you slip some you slip some cash under the table and such and all of a sudden little Johnny has a spot on the team when he should be playing in tier six hockey.
00:32:13
Speaker
um
00:32:17
Speaker
there But it also is dependent on two on whether you're invited to come try out or whether you're just openly trying out For the team. Um, I think in the same breath what that is that there there are pros and cons to that as well I think if you are invited to To to try out for the team. It means that there were some people watching whoever that may be from whoever um And then versus trying out as well um for for spring hockey. um But all of that said and done is parents, hockey parents, need to also let their kids be kids. Let them try other sports. um let them play Let them play other sports is what I'm trying to say actually.
00:33:09
Speaker
um Because you can take a lot of aspects from sports like baseball, for example, and can apply that back into your game. um Like lacrosse, like soccer, ball hockey, even. um I think it's it's good to get away from the game.
00:33:36
Speaker
because you don't want to be burnt out by the time you're 12 13 14 15 years old and You're like, I just this is too much for me. It's it's a great idea in theory But I honestly genuinely believe that there are more cons and there are pros But it also is dependent on I just who you're who you're going to play for so I i Suppose at the end of the day, it's it's not if I guess first off talk to your child, you know talk to your child and say What do you want to do once hockey is done for the season? What is what is your child's plan? What is your child's goal? Do they want to play? Do what do they want to play basketball in the summertime? Do they want to play baseball or do they want to continue playing hockey? Okay, then what are the options from there? parents
00:34:34
Speaker
need to do, should do, what their children wants when it comes to their physical activity, not what the parents wants. And then Nathan, you kind of touched on it all a little bit already, but I wanted to to just kind of touch about our experiences as well. um So i you kind of already went through yours, but um i had I actually had a really good experience with Whispering Hockey. I was on, i think it yeah I think I was coaching there for about three to four years. I have the document.
00:35:04
Speaker
here Actually, okay, so here's how nerdy I am. So I actually have like a whole last whole document rather um That has like my entire coaching career in it when it comes like to all the teams that I coach So I'm gonna pull this up here goodt say Yeah, so I coach so I spent three. Yeah, so I spent three years coaching coaching junior hot coaching spring hockey and and Of those T of those years I coached about five teams and So each team had their, had their pros and cons. Um, there were definitely some parents or some kids on that team that were a little bit more expressive with their emotions and others. Um,
00:35:48
Speaker
But all in all, like I had a good experience. It's a shame that the teams or that the organization folded. I think it was like literally after my last year of coaching with that with that organization.
00:36:00
Speaker
But um it just when I first broke into coaching spring hockey, I couldn't get over this the the the the shock and commitment and just kind of them the mindset that it had but after a while you get you kind of ah get accustomed to it you got used to it and we had some really good uh... that's a really good uh... really good uh... really good teams i suppose to kind of cap off my point uh... there does it it does come with a lot of development and the same time because they don't there's not necessarily
00:36:35
Speaker
a season that you play. It's a lot of tournaments um that your team is a part of. And so there's a lot more time for development, which I think is where a lot of the popularity with the Hockey Super League and the Premier Hockey League here in Alberta um and surrounding provinces were getting a lot of attention because they were essentially taking that spring league model and trying to incorporate it into more of a full-time winter thing. So I suppose I'll be into the pro of it as well. but um I didn't really answer my question. Should your child play spring hockey or summer hockey or should they be involved in a different sport? I think it's just dependent on what your child wants to do at the end of the day. But there are pros and cons to to to each side of it. But I think there are more pros to playing a different sport and just kind of expanding our horizons versus playing versus playing hockey 20, 365 days a year.
00:37:28
Speaker
Are you ready for this? No. Nathan's going to shatter my world right here is what's going to happen. I apologize for anybody out there who disagrees with me and I fully invite you to disagree with me, that is fine. We are going on a tangent here. Oh no. I do not like Spring hockey until I would argue maybe 14th hit, I don't know, at at the time of your career that
00:38:03
Speaker
if you're thinking of playing an elite level, maybe then you can make an argument. But here's why I don't like it. First off, there's plenty of studies out there of the cross training that you're talking about, you know, doing something like tennis, baseball, even if you are playing spring hockey, play as a forward, work on other skill sets that you don't get to work on normally when you're in the net. And to become a better goalie, you have to become a better athlete. And one of the best ways of doing that, cause it's really hard to take a 10 year old kid and to tell him to hit the gym three times a week, four times a week, and to actually get anything out of it. It's a lot easier to tell a 10 year old for three or four times a week to go kick a soccer ball or hit a couple of dingers out of the park or whatever the case is. And.
00:38:59
Speaker
It's going to help them work on some of these things that they don't normally get to work on. And they don't even know they're working on it. They're having fun. They're being kids. The other thing too, that a lot of people don't take into account, especially as goalies.
00:39:17
Speaker
our position sucks on the body. It is not good for knees. It is not good for hips. It is not good for backs, groins, whatever. And it's something that if you're playing goal year round and you're not giving your body that time to rest and adapt and all of that stuff, like I think We we're probably gonna see because recently there's been such a big shift to 365 24 7 hockey we're gonna start to see an uptick in my opinion of Shortened careers like I mean
00:39:56
Speaker
I tore my meniscus at 18. I tore my um other meniscus at 19. I had a pretty hefty hip surgery at 24 and a less hefty hip surgery on the other hip at 29. And I didn't even play spring hockey. Now I didn't take the greatest care of my body. I can admit it that, but.
00:40:16
Speaker
we're having kids that are on the ice six days a week playing goal. And we all know how unfriendly practices are for goalies already. They're probably dropping two, 300 times into the butterfly. That's probably an exaggeration, but either way, the wear and tear on the body is not good. Take a break. Like it's, it's one of those things that to me,
00:40:40
Speaker
It's not worth it. Like, yes, I know hockey's fun. Yes, we want to play. Yes. We want to get better. All of that stuff, but there's other ways you can do that and still have fun and take care of your body a little bit better in my personal opinion. And then the other thing too, is a lot of times with spring hockey is the problems that goalies have during winter hockey are magnified. There's very little goalie development during the winter. There's almost zero during the spring.
00:41:09
Speaker
Like one of our major clients with True North, they bring us out a ton during the winter in the spring. It's no longer the organization bringing us out. It's up to the teams. Now some of the teams don't bring us out at all. Some of the teams do maybe once, maybe twice, because it's a shortened season and it's more focused around tournaments and games as opposed to development. So it's already one of those things that.
00:41:37
Speaker
goalies struggle to find any sort of good development and goalie friendly practices to begin with. And I find it's even worse in spring. Now, again, it's just my personal experience. There are a lot of programs out there that are doing good things that that's not the case, but I just find that that kind of takes a step back in spring hockey. And again, a lot of times to a lot of the stuff's a bit of a cash grab, right? Like it's.
00:42:05
Speaker
Hey, come play our four elite tournaments that'll get you, you know, scouts from the States and all of this stuff and blah, blah, blah. And then there's maybe one guy sitting in the stands from an ACA div three team that is just there. Cause he's getting paid to be there kind of thing. Right. So I dunno, I personally am not a big fan of spring hockey. All in all you guys do you, I know the goalies.
00:42:31
Speaker
Like they just love being on the ice a lot of times and that's great, but I think there's better ways to go about it. I think in my personal opinion, there are way more benefits to walking away from the rink, stepping out of the crease for three, four months and coming back refreshed and eager, right? Like personally with me, my last year at junior.
00:42:55
Speaker
If I wasn't getting an NCAA scholarship, I was just like, okay with being done and okay with retiring after junior. And about two months into the summer after being away from it for two months, I'm like, nah, I want to get back in there. So I was already enrolled at Nate. I called the coach. They said, Hey, I'm already enrolled. I wasn't going to play, but I'm interested. And they're like, yeah, we were just still looking for a third goal. He come on board and.
00:43:23
Speaker
played my two years of college and all of that. So I think there's benefit to taking that step back and having a bit of that reflection away from the rank, as opposed to just being there all the time and rant.
00:43:42
Speaker
um Yeah. So I think you, I think you basically took what I said and then said it better. Um, Well, I just elaborated on more of stewed hatred. Yeah. Um, yeah. And I, yeah, so like there's definitely this shift.
00:44:07
Speaker
And again, with here in Alberta with like the HSL and the PHL, like there's that kind of similar mindset where my kids got to play 365, 24, seven, and they got to play for like their baby. Like we, we don't like hockey Alberta because biasness and whatever else. and cash grabs and whatever else and and at the same point. And then they go to these teams. And I have to admit, as much as I like you know sprint, like i'm i'm ah I'm a fan of it to a certain extent. And I'm a fan of HSL and PAHL and these outlaw leagues, because I think it gives more diversity when it comes to opportunities to play the game that we love.
00:45:06
Speaker
um The reality still remains the same where 1% Of players whether it be in the in the mainstream system or in the in the non-mainstream system Go on to play Or go on to have careers rather in in hockey at the highest level right, only now the that the so the the pool of players has just expanded. So go from 1% to 0.5%. I think, though, going back to networking for a second there, it's again, like this is where I got essentially kind of how I got my career in coaching.
00:45:53
Speaker
you know aside from doing the You know the goalie camps and the goalie schools and one or whatever else but I I think I can definitively say that I can attribute a lot of My success in coaching coaching goalies and being where I'm at today comes from leagues like spring hockey and these out these outlaw leagues if you want to call it that and um And that's how essentially like I got made, but like I can definitively say I've coached, I've coached junior hockey, maybe not junior hockey at the highest level, but I can say, but, but I can, I can say that and I can track it back to all because I did this, this and that. And because I was again, posting about it on social media and everything else, it has garnered attention from, from, from certain people that have said, Hey, we want to have this guy on our team or Hey, I know this guy and I have a,
00:46:51
Speaker
I have a cousin or a nephew or whoever that I was also working in hockey that is doing that ah Same thing from a player side. You have a coach that is coaching. I know I i recall this definitively because I Think of my last year of coaching spring hockey. We had a coach Guy by name a Tony or CD very good guy. I'm quite like him um who is was I think at the time is now not so much um is the Canadian Athletic Club here in Alberta when it was is hit one of the head coaches um for that club and so that's where he essentially got a lot of his players because he did
00:47:39
Speaker
have a couple of years of coaching spring hockey, and that's where he got a lot of his players from. So again, you want to talk about networking in that in that regard, too. that's it It is another avenue, but I don't want to say it's like the it's a desired avenue, should we call it? Yeah, I mean, there's definitely pros. Our biggest client with True North Goal attending I started with them when they were strictly a spring program and that was almost six years ago. And they grew from there to be one of the unsanctioned leagues. Like they were one of the teams in the unsanctioned leagues. And now they're at the point that they have like nine teams and they do winter and spring and all of that. But yeah, like.
00:48:28
Speaker
Before True North was even a thing and I was getting started on my own coaching, I reached out to a bunch of teams. They were the only ones that got back and said, yeah, we'd love to have you on board. And kind of the rest is history. So yes, there's, there's the avenue there. And yes, there's some pros. I just, I would encourage you guys to really sit down and think and weigh the pros versus the cons because Yes, spring hockey is fun. Yes, there's some things you can do, like with opportunities, networking, all that stuff. It's just, you know, think about some of the other stuff. Like it's tough if you're 25 and you're, you're having troubles walking or, you know, you have to take a couple of weeks off of your job every few months because of XYZ joint issue or whatever. Um, and some of the other stuff that we talked about as well, but, um, I know I'd sound like a negative Nelly or whatever, and I'm just, but yeah,
00:49:41
Speaker
but yeah there, there are good aspects to it. I just. I guess my thing is, is the shift towards it, like it it's almost like an automatic now that if you're playing at a somewhat high level winter, you know, you had you essentially have to go from playing whatever double AAA to going into play double AAA spring hockey. yeah Yeah, everyone's like, Oh, what spring team are you on? Oh, what tournaments are you on? Oh, are you going to this three on three league? Oh, are you playing in this four on four tournament? Like, it's like, Oh my God, think yeah that back, take a breath. it yeah exactly so But nuts. I don't know. Yeah. I guess just at it's, it's at the end of the day where.
00:50:28
Speaker
take a step, especially for the older athletes, take a step back and figure out what you want to do with this sport. What is your end goal with this sport? I think it's safe to say that 99% of the population who play this game want to go off and play in the NHL. The reality of it is that obviously 1% 0.5% of a percent actually only make it.
00:50:58
Speaker
No, I so say think it's like one, one, one to 2% actually get get to go on to play major juniors. And then 0.5 of a percent on that actually gets to go and play, um, in the show. So it's just, I suppose it's just a matter of what is, what is your end goal and what is going to be the most optimal way for you to get there. Realistically, nobody's getting drafted out of spring summer hockey.
00:51:26
Speaker
Especially at eight years old exactly You know you look at me and like I think like the brick tournament here in Edmonton comes to mind I love that tournament. I quite enjoy. Oh, oh really? Oh Really? Well, it's just yeah, that's a whole other episode fair um But it is it is interesting though to see the guys who played in that tournament now playing in the show but again that's only point two per percent of all the kids who played in the brick tournament here in alberta from all of the different provinces and states that go into play in that tournament and it's good hockey i quite enjoy it but realistically only two percent of that point two percent of that go off to play in the uh... in the uh... in the n h l
00:52:22
Speaker
um despite nathan's objections to it again it's it's one of those things like you got like you want strategically almost in a way kind of map out your career and i think pete fry When we had that, when we had him on, he had a similar kind of idea. It's like, what your your what what was it? You called it like your goalie map? Map out your goalie career. Map out your goalie career. Exactly. And I've stolen that and used it a couple of times with well they seminars, I guess, with our goalies. But that's the point that I'm trying to make, yeah right is that there are options these are options that are there.
00:53:02
Speaker
But what is, what is your end goal as an athlete at the end of the day? And you got to think about like, is it actually optimal? Is it actually feasible? Is it actually realistic to be playing hockey 365, 24 seven? Just something to think about.
00:53:22
Speaker
Agreed. All right. You want to take us home? Well, yeah, we'll take us home today. I've been thinking about how to streamline this, so I'm going to go this way. Thank you guys so much for watching over on the YouTube channel of the DIY Goalie channel. If you are listening to us over on any podcasting sites, or if this is your first time listening to us, thank you so much for listening. Please feel free to give us a follow, whether you're listening to us on iHeart, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or whatever podcasting platform that you're listening.
00:53:53
Speaker
When it comes to social media, we have plenty of those as well. If you want to follow our in-house goalie, uh, goalie school at True North Goal Tending on all the social media platforms, except for Instagram, because we like to be different and we're actually called at YEG goalie coach or on Instagram. It's the at sign YEG goalie coach over on Instagram. If you want to follow any of our DIY goalie podcast content,
00:54:19
Speaker
It's just DIY goalie on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, any social media, TikTok, YouTube, exactly. Any social media platform. Make some sales goalies. We'll see you guys next time. Take care.