Send us a text Our guest on this episode is Brandon Stojcevski, a professional hockey player with the Danbury Hat Tricks. We talk about his path through youth hockey, which included being cut from teams, multiple injuries, and missed seasons. David and Brandon share stories about coaches they've had at various levels. They reflect on both inspirational and tough things that coaches have done to get the most out of their players. Coaching Call is a show about coaching grassroots hockey....

Send us a text Our guest on this episode is Coach Michael Zigomanis, a former professional hockey player turned youth hockey coach. He was with the Pittsburgh Penguins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2009. Since that time, he has coached kids from 11-18 at A/AA/AAA levels. Coach Ziggy, as he is known, has thought deeply about hockey and how to coach. We talk about his rules for players, his approach to practice planning, his power skating technology, and finally, John Wooden, the winninges...

Send us a text On this episode, our guest is Marie-Pierre Pelissou, member of Team France and SA Bern, and clinical project manager for Nestle. We talk about her personal journey through hockey and how coaching made a difference for her. Although she is living the dream of being a semi-professional player, there were times when her path wasn't clear and she quit hockey entirely. Coaching Call is a show about coaching grassroots hockey. We believe in using sport to make players better p...

Send us a text New coaches often feel like they are imposters, meaning that they don't know what they are doing. Sometimes this feeling persists even after multiple seasons as a winning coach. Our guest on this episode is Coach Chris Lothier, who both feels like an imposter and has coached three championship teams in a row. Rather than establishing himself as an authority, Coach Chris empowers his coaching staff and players to drive both the culture and hockey. The tactics that he use...

Send us a text Traditionally, the best player on the team was the captain. But that's not necessarily the best approach for choosing your leadership group. In this episode, David and Susan talk about what jobs to give to captains and how to coach them to be leaders. Our guest, James Roxborough, shares his method for choosing captains, which includes a questionnaire. The items in Coach James's questionnaire: 1. In your opinion, who from this group is the best at ‘leading by example’ (name up ...

Send us a text One of the great arts of coaching is putting players on lines and putting those lines on the ice in a game. Do you give player unequal ice time? Or do you give players equal ice time by rolling the lines? Who do you put on your power play and penalty killing special teams? Our guest on this episode is John Bird, who won a city championship while rolling lines. John has coached youth hockey for over 25 years at levels ranging up to AAA. Coaching Call is is a question show abou...

Send us a text With the start of the new hockey season, it's time to hold that all-important parent meeting. This meeting lays the foundation for productive relationships between coaches and parents. Our guest is Gary Titmarsh, who has maintained good relationships with his player's families for over 20 twenty years. Coaching Call is is a question show about coaching grassroots hockey. We have a certain take on coaching hockey. We believe in using sport to make players better people on...

Send us a text A fellow new coach was nervous about losing his authority as a head coach if he had professional skills coaches. David gives advice on using a team approach to coaching. We bring in a goalie skills coach, Daniel Vella, to offer his perspective on working collaboratively. Coaching Call is is a question show about coaching grassroots hockey. We have a certain take on coaching hockey. We believe in using sport to make players better people on and off the ice. Your hosts are Davi...

Send us a text Susan attended Hockey Canada’s Instructional Stream courses: Skating 1 and Development Defensemen 1. We debrief her experiences and Dave answers her questions. Coaching Call is is a question show about coaching grassroots hockey. We have a certain take on coaching hockey. We believe in using sport to make players better people on and off the ice. Your hosts are David Trombley, a coach with 30 years of experience at all levels and ages, and Susan Sim, a new house league c...

Send us a text It's Dave's turn to ask a question about a situation with his women's recreational hockey league. Susan weighs in with her insights from software teams at big companies. Coaching Call is is a question show about coaching grassroots hockey. We have a certain take on coaching hockey. We believe in using sport to make players better people on and off the ice. Your hosts are David Trombley, a coach with 30 years of experience at all levels and ages, and Susan Sim, a new hous...

Send us a text How did Dave and Susan do on the celebration challenge? What analytics should we use in kids hockey? What's the value of playing cross ice or half ice in younger age groups? Does house league need goalies? Will Dave climb a telephone pole this weekend? Coaching Call is is a question show about coaching grassroots hockey. We have a certain take on coaching hockey. We believe in using sport to make players better people on and off the ice. Your hosts are David Trombley, a coach ...

Send us a text People with a growth mindset are constantly striving for improvement. But this mindset leads to a hyper focus on the gap between current state and goal state often leads. Dave challenges Susan to celebrate the gains too, and she doubles down with conditions.

Send us a text Join us for an insightful episode where we explore new beginnings. Key questions that we tackle include: How to you teach little kids to skate? How do adults learn to skate? How do you get started in hockey? How do you get good at hockey? How do you make a new hockey team? We provide valuable answers and guidance for your hockey journey

Send us a text It's the time of year for hockey team tryouts. Hear about Susan's experiences out the wild and Dave's advice on how to do run simple, effective tryouts for house league and select teams.