Taylor

[Edmonton Elks @GoElks]

FIRE ME UP COACH 🔥🔥🔥

#GoElks

[Topher Scott @HockeyThinkTank]

This is a clip that EVERY KID AND PARENT needs to watch. It’s from Jeff Lerg - who was the MVP of a NCAA National Championship team as a 5’6” goalie - and now is deeply involved in youth hockey.

Just because you wear a specific jersey, or you go to a certain academy, it doesn’t mean you’re going to develop into a great player.

[Topher Scott @HockeyThinkTank]

This is a basketball guy but wow does it hit for hockey too.

[Topher Scott @HockeyThinkTank]

I went to junior hockey a year too early. It was the hardest year of my life. Thank God I have a great family that supported me through the tough moments.

But here’s the thing…

My family always told me the truth and never let me make excuses. Even though we may have made the wrong decision rushing the process, the message from my parents was always to be the best teammate I could be, work through the tough stuff, and I’ll be better for it on the other side.

In today’s landscape where kids are trying to get to the next level as fast as possible instead of at the right time, there will be many kids in my shoes.

So for all the families out there that may be in that situation with their kid…

Don’t make excuses for them. Don’t tell them it’s not fair and they’re getting screwed. Help them to look in the mirror, control what they can control, and focus on getting better and earning what they get.

If my family made excuses for me or blamed other people, I would not have made it. I’m thankful for the tough moments and my parents helped me understand it was a part of the process.

[made me smile @mademe__smile]

Father of the year 😂

[Football Alberta @FootballAlberta]

🏆 Instant classic in Antigonish! Alberta comes out on top at the Canada Cup U18 with a gritty win and is heading home as CHAMPS! 🇨🇦💪 #CanadaCupChamps #TeamAlberta #U18Football

[zach @zjlaing]

zach hyman in the oilers locker room after game 7: “there’s nothing that’s going to make this feel better… but I know we’re gonna be back.”

[Topher Scott @HockeyThinkTank]

The more I dive into and try to learn about what it takes to be a great hockey player, it's becoming clearer and clearer that there's a specific moment in a kid's life that is so incredibly important.

That moment is the conversation a player has with their parent when they hit their first adversity.

Whether it's getting cut, dealing with a hard coach, getting hurt, or anything else - how that parent approaches that conversation is a potential make-or-break moment on their kid's journey.

This weekend I heard two stories that exemplified that.

One was a pitch for Andrew Ladd's 1616 Project (which is awesome). He talks about getting cut around 14-15 but his parents had great perspective...he went and killed it on the "B" team and then he became a fourth overall first round NHLer. I also heard a story about Jake Guentzel not getting selected for Minnesota's High Performance final camp at around the same age and he's one of the best players in the game right now. His dad is a former college coach and I have to believe he allowed Jake to go through it.

So many parents today fight their kid's battles or make excuses for them. They'll jersey shop around until they hear what they want to hear if things aren't going their kid's way.

If you do that, you are 100% handicapping them. Guide them through their adversity, help them through it, but let them feel it. Let it motivate them to work harder to be better. By fighting their battles you're instilling a victim mentality where they'll think the world is out to get them and everything isn't fair rather than getting to work, building the mental toughness, and understanding that more is in their control than they think.

Everyone goes through it, especially the great ones. Help kids understand it's a necessary part of the journey. Don't let it handicap them with excuses.

[Topher Scott @HockeyThinkTank]

We got asked if parents should showcase their kid on social media for our mailbag podcast episode this week.

NO.

🎙️ https://t.co/MPlGQghTsF

[Topher Scott @HockeyThinkTank]

All kids have a different path to their dreams. If anyone tells you that you HAVE to do something for a kid to attain their dreams, they’re either ill-informed or not telling the truth.

🎙️ https://t.co/YvZcrAr1Gw

[Kane Lafranchise @KaneLafranchise]

Hockey is broken here in Alberta and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. What happened to the good old days of playing with your buddies, developing together and playing for association/community bragging rights. All this chasing just hurts the players in the end 👎

[Topher Scott @HockeyThinkTank]

Hockey Parents:

I got this DM from a parent and want to see if more parents feel this way. I get a lot of DM's from hockey parents about the stress youth hockey brings but the severity of messages I'm getting recently are bringing it to another level. Let me know your thoughts

[B/R Open Ice @BR_OpenIce]

Letang, Geno and Sid were the last three to step onto the ice for the Penguins opening night intros 🐧🔥

[Pure Athlete @pureathleteinc]

You don't have to go "ALL IN" on travel sports at an early age to have success down the road.

Do you agree with Jeff’s take?

Stream #ThePureAthletePodcast available on all platforms!

[Dan Orlovsky @danorlovsky7]

🙏

[Jim Shapiro @jimshapiro]

I heard a U13 select volleyball coach yelling at his team while the parents listened in.

“You all need to take this seriously if you want to play collegiate volleyball. Stop screwing around with other sports. Focus just on volleyball year around.”

The girls were all about 5’3 being sold a lie.

If this sounds familiar, pull your kid from that team asap.

Just watch the @NFL draft. Even the greats played multiple sports.

Life is too short. Play multiple sports.

Why?

Before you know it, it’s all over. Even for those that make it to D1 or pros.

The most common comment I get from alumni that didn’t play football while in high school is “I regret not playing football for you.”

No regrets. Play multiple sports!!

[Emmanuel Acho @EmmanuelAcho]

Nick Saban explaining and defining athletic instincts is maybe the most fascinating thing I’ve ever heard.

All sports fans, listen to this:

[Taylor @ctstiles]

@ImJordyJones They were just tightly wrapped in tin foil and looked like a t-shirt flying through the air. Just a bit warmer and the correct type of white sauce.

[Hockey REVIEW 🏒🥅 @ReviewOfHockey]

Thank goodness Hyman had rich parents.

#LetsGoOilers