In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy continue their thread on tryout-related topics. They cover how young players consume hockey content, trying to learn from hockey highlights, the role of motivation in your practice, NHL player habits to emulate, creating an off-season plan, and more! Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other ways to support? Subs...
Apr 21, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 184
Building on last week's episode on tryouts, Coach Eric and Coach Andy discuss some of the key elements that players should focus on to “get noticed”. They use several examples of current players to walk through the concept of grit, what it means to ‘have good details’, how coaches can support learning, specific details of your game in each zone, and more! Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, d...
Apr 14, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 183
With team tryouts and training camps upcoming, Coach Eric and Coach Andy take a deep dive into the process of building a team. They discuss the timing of tryouts, the evaluation process of players, the A/AA to AAA jump, the ‘extras’ that may or may not be required, and other topics! Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other ways to support? Subscribe on Y...
Apr 07, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 182
In this episode, Coach Eric references a USA Hockey article and corresponding X thread to discuss the skew towards early specialization in hockey. He and Coach Andy use this to explore why the long term athletic development model is key for youth and long-term hockey success. Similarly, they discuss specializing in a certain position as a hockey player and how the game is trending towards ‘positionless’ play. Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our...
Mar 31, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 181
In this episode, Coach Eric reads a note sent in from a university hockey coach about using hockey as a vehicle for life success. The boys cover in detail the importance of preparing for life beyond hockey, and ensuring you are ‘checking the boxes’ along your hockey journey. Preparing yourself for life alongside pursuing hockey does not take away from your sport focus, but enhances it. Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video...
Mar 24, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 180
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy discuss the process of taking advice along your hockey journey. They cover how to evaluate sources of information coming from other parents, other players, coaches, scouts, and agents/advisors. Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other ways to support? Subscribe on YouTube, leave a 5-star review, and share the sh...
Mar 17, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 179
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy go through a client email they received outlining some common issues that parents might find in youth hockey. They start out on over the top parent behavior before moving into boundaries around youth teams, teaching kids HOW to work hard, the idea of ‘sacrificing’ for your goals, being a good player early in development, academy systems, and when less hockey might be the answer! Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take adva...
Mar 10, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 178
With Coach Eric's recent trip to watch NCAA DI hockey, he and Coach Andy take a deep dive into the college game. They analyze the structure of college style of play and contrast it with the younger CHL game, discuss the extended development timeframe for college bound players, some of the lesser appreciated but key qualities of division I hockey, and where to focus your attention as a young player. Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill deve...
Mar 03, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 177
In this episode, Coach Andy and Coach Eric share their thoughts on some common development questions they continue to hear in the hockey world. They discuss the insistence on playing ‘best’ competition, how much the draft matters, balancing game vs practice time, what happens when players get too much ice, and other topics! Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking...
Feb 25, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 176
In this episode, Coach Andy and Coach Eric discuss common issues through the lens of a coach. They cover the major topics of coaches swearing on the bench and the appropriateness of benching players in youth hockey. This episode is a great window into how coaches think about different situations with their players. Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for othe...
Feb 18, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 175
In this episode, Coach Andy and Coach Eric have an interesting discussion on the ‘Time Spent’ delusion. They open by pointing out the drastic changes from youth hockey to higher levels and discuss some coaching philosophies, before dissecting how much time we actually spend working on our craft. Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other ways to support? S...
Feb 11, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 174
In the final episode of this basics mini series, Coach Andy and Coach Eric give an introduction to special teams. They look at powerplay breakouts and in-zone setups, penalty kill forecheck and in-zone defending, mindsets on both sides of the puck, and how to make decisions in different situations. Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other ways to support...
Feb 04, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 173
In the third episode of this basics mini series, Coach Andy and Coach Eric discuss the offensive zone. They cover everything including forechecks, in zone positioning and cycles, entries, finding passing and shooting lanes, having a defensive vs offensive mindset, shot selection, and more! Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other ways to support? Check o...
Jan 28, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 172
In the second episode of their basics mini series, Coach Eric and Coach Andy discuss neutral zone play. They outline a neutral zone mindset before moving on to offensive strategies and regroups, defensive structure and systems, faceoffs and backchecks, and more! Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other ways to support? Check out our AFFILIATE Links, leav...
Jan 21, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 171
In this episode, Coach Andy and Coach Eric open their basics mini series with episode 1 discussing defensive zone coverage. They outline a philosophy for defensive zone play, roles and responsibilities by position, several in-game scenarios, and strategies and drills for coaches to actually teach defensive zone. Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other w...
Jan 14, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 170
In this episode, Coach Andy and Coach Eric address whether or not a kid ‘has a chance’ to make the big leagues or get something higher level out of hockey. Following the World Juniors, they start with a discussion on the youth hockey system in Canada and how to progress development moving into the future by learning from other countries. They then move on to outline what factors are important to have a successful hockey player, examples of unlikely players that ‘made it’, the role of good timing...
Jan 07, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 169
In this episode, Coach Andy and Coach Eric host a special holiday ask me anything episode. They take questions from the PowerTech Online Members covering a variety of topics from players, parents, and coaches! Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other ways to support? Check out our AFFILIATE Links, leave a 5-star review, and share the show! AFFILIATE/SPON...
Dec 31, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 168
In this episode, Coach Andy and Coach Eric answer the question “how will you be remembered”. As a player and as a person, the boys outline the key characteristics that will leave a lasting positive impact on any team or organization a player might be a part of, and lead to a bright future through and beyond hockey. Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for othe...
Dec 24, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 167
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy discuss some of the more overlooked qualities of an effective teacher. They broaden out their discussion to include coaching and parenting topics such as setting appropriate expectations, being age appropriate, knowing your audience, enforcing ‘consequences’, relatability and vulnerability, and more! Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes...
Dec 17, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 166
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy cover how to set your mentality against the ‘better’ teams. How should you adjust your mindset when you know you’ll lose? How can you balance being competitive vs realistic? What strategies should coaches and parents use in these situations? Listen in for discussions on these and other topics! Support the show by becoming a MEMBER in the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and m...
Dec 10, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 165
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy discuss the financial considerations in youth hockey. They look at where the value is in spending money from the player, parent, and organization perspectives. They contrast the different drivers between each of these groups and how it contributes to decision making. Support the show by visiting powertechhockey.ca/memberships to join the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and m...
Dec 03, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 164
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy cover how to make yourself a wanted commodity on any team. They discuss the common mentality of young players looking externally to solve their problems, how to become the player your team needs, the proper mindset when things go wrong, and a special message for parents. Support the show by visiting powertechhockey.ca/memberships to join the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, a...
Nov 26, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 163
LIVE SHOW SURVEY LINK In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy cover the hot topic of body-checking in hockey. They discuss the purpose of contact in the game, how to prepare for the violent nature of the sport, the positives and negatives of body contact, and the technical aspects of delivering and receiving checks. Support the show by visiting powertechhockey.ca/memberships to join the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount co...
Nov 19, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 162
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy discuss how to “fix” skating mechanics. They begin with a discussion on the “perfect” skating before removing into the technical pieces of quality mechanics. Closing out, they discuss five tools you can use to become a better skater. Support the show by visiting powertechhockey.ca/memberships to join the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other ways to sup...
Nov 12, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 161
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy cover the dangers of overcoaching. They discuss how good intentions can lead to poor outcomes, the short and long term impacts of overcoaching, the importance of picking your battles, how to judge if you are overcoaching at different ages/levels, and the best ways to get kids to respond. Support the show by visiting powertechhockey.ca/memberships to join the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, ...
Nov 05, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 160
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy explore the major differences between various levels of hockey. They discuss why the gaps between A/AA and AAA have become greater over time, as well as development differences between AAA centres. Factors such as demographics, money, coaching, and skill development take center stage for their conversation. Support the show by visiting powertechhockey.ca/memberships to join the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, ...
Oct 29, 2023•1 hr 35 min•Season 1Ep. 159
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy deep dive into the issue of communication with today’s young athletes. They focus on the youth-adult dynamic and why this skill is so important, why it can be such a challenge for kids, and how to parent and/or coach the art of communicating at a young age. Support the show by visiting powertechhockey.ca/memberships to join the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looki...
Oct 22, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 158
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy revisit the concept of roles in hockey. They discuss when roles become relevant to development, how different skills make up certain roles, and developing players to be versatile assets to the team. Support the show by visiting powertechhockey.ca/memberships to join the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other ways to support? Check out our AFFILIATE Links...
Oct 15, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 157
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy discuss their recent viral post about the puberty effect in youth sports. They go into detail on the positives and negatives of being early and late to hit puberty as a teen, the physical and mental changes that occur, and coaching and parenting strategies around this topic. Support the show by visiting powertechhockey.ca/memberships to join the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount code...
Oct 08, 2023•1 hr 33 min•Season 1Ep. 156
In this episode, Coach Eric and Coach Andy outline the foundations for understanding nutrition. The cover philosophies that will work from a family perspective, key terms necessary to understand, how the body uses the fuel you give it, and strategies for setting up solid habits. Support the show by visiting powertechhockey.ca/memberships to join the PowerTech Community! Take advantage of our skill development video library, consultation calls, discount codes, and more! Looking for other ways to ...
Oct 01, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Season 1Ep. 155
