Our Kids Play Hockey
Our Kids Play Hockey is a podcast that focuses on youth hockey, offering insights, stories, and interviews from the hockey community. It provides valuable advice for parents, coaches, and players, covering various aspects of the game, including skill development, sportsmanship, teamwork, and creating a positive experience for young athletes. The show frequently features guests who share their expertise and personal experiences in youth hockey, both on and off the ice.
The show features three hockey parents, who all work in the game at high levels:
- Christie Casciano-Burns - USA Hockey Columnist, Author, and WSYR Anchor
- Mike Bonelli - USA Hockey Coach and Organizational Consultant
- Lee M.J. Elias - Hockey Entrepreneur, Author, and Team Strategist
In addition to the main podcast, there are several spin-off series that dive into specific aspects of youth hockey:
1.Our Girls Play Hockey – This series highlights the growing presence of girls in hockey, addressing the unique challenges they face while celebrating their accomplishments and contributions to the sport. Each episode of Our Girls Play Hockey is also hosted by Sheri Hudspeth who is the Director, Youth Hockey Programs and Fan Development for the Vegas Golden Knights.
2.The Ride to The Rink – A shorter, motivational series designed to be listened to on the way to the rink, offering quick, inspirational tips and advice to help players and parents get into the right mindset before a game or practice.
3.Our Kids Play Goalie – This series is dedicated to young goalies and the unique challenges they face. It provides advice for players, parents, and coaches on how to support and develop young goaltenders, focusing on the mental and physical demands of the position.
Together, these shows provide a comprehensive platform for parents, players, and coaches involved in youth hockey, offering insights for all aspects of the sport, from parenting, playing, or coaching to specialized positions like goaltending.
Our Kids Play Hockey
Luke Croucher’s Path to Inspiring the Next Generation of Hockey Players
Show Notes:
In this engaging episode of “Our Kids Play Hockey,” hosts Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli welcome Luke Croucher, a Division III hockey player from Neumann University with a passion for motivating, inspiring, and educating young hockey players. Luke shares his unique hockey journey from Ancaster, Ontario, to college hockey near Philadelphia, highlighting the importance of perseverance, hard work, and capturing life lessons. This episode dives into overcoming challenges, the significance of Division III hockey, and Luke’s role as a social media influencer for the youth hockey community.
Key Topics:
- Luke Croucher’s Journey: From growing up in Ontario with UK-born parents to playing Division III hockey at Newman University.
- Overcoming Stigmas: The value of playing Division III hockey and the dedication required to succeed.
- Building Habits for Success: The importance of developing consistent habits early in a hockey career.
- Role of Social Media: Luke’s approach to using social media to inspire and educate young players, and the challenges of balancing content creation with team dynamics.
- Mental Fitness: Addressing the importance of mental health in youth sports and how to navigate emotional hurdles.
- New Community Initiative: Luke’s free online hockey training community, My Hockey Training, aimed at providing guidance and support for aspiring players.
If you found value in this episode, please like, subscribe, and leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit OurKidsPlayHockey.com for more episodes and resources. Follow Luke Croucher on Instagram and join his My Hockey Training community to continue your hockey journey with expert guidance and support.
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories and practical advice on “Our Kids Play Hockey.” Thanks for listening!
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Hello hockey friends and families around the world and welcome back to another edition of Our Kids Play Hockey. I'm Lee Elias, with Mike Benelli, and our guest today is making a name for himself both as an influential hockey person and player. He currently plays Division III hockey for Newman University which, funny enough, is right down the street from me and hails from Ancaster, ontario and what stands out about him the most is his uncanny ability to share his hockey journey. Or, as he puts it, his niche is the youth hockey player community, where he strives to quote, help motivate, inspire and educate those who are now in the shoes I once was. I love that. This is something we can absolutely get behind on this show. Ladies and gentlemen, please help me in welcoming Luke Croucher to the show. Luke, welcome to Our Kids Play Hockey.
Speaker 2:I appreciate it. Thank you so much, lee, and thank you, mike as well, for having me today. I'm super excited to see how this conversation goes and all the deep questions that we get to dive into today. So thank you, it's an honor to be here.
Speaker 1:No thanks for being here, luke. Again, I said before the show, I've been watching your stuff for a while and I love it. You have an approach to the game but, most importantly, the expression of that game that I think really, really resonates to the younger audience. What's cool for me, man, is that you know again, I'm older than you, but you're saying things I wish someone had said to me when I was younger, and I think that's what resonates with me. But I want to start here. Man, your parents are both from the UK. You grew up in Ontario. You now go to college right outside Philadelphia. That's a hockey journey, if I've ever heard one. What drove you to play college hockey in this area?
Speaker 2:um, honestly, like, if I break it all down, it was like, really, only, it only came down to like a couple offers. I knew one day, like I was like, okay, I really wanted to play college hockey. Um, and obviously it's a privilege to do so. I always tell my like friends they're like, oh, you're still playing whatever. I'm like, yeah, it's a privilege to still play. And I think the main reason why I ended up coming down to Philadelphia was simply because, like this was the team that wanted me the most.
Speaker 2:Um, credits to coach Mountain, who's no longer uh with Newman now, but he's now down in the east coast seat. I think he just landed a job there as a head coach. I think it was Greensville, but in the East Coast. So congrats to him and thanks for having the faith in me in order to do so. I didn't know the journey would quite work out like this, obviously like any kid growing up. I think this is one big point that we could even touch on. Today is a lot of people have like the stigma of like division three hockey, like, oh, you're playing d3, you're not playing d1. No, I did not make division one um, but I like to say like I act like I'm a division one.
Speaker 2:Oh, you do yeah, stay in the life poster like that man.
Speaker 2:You can see you're putting the work in um, exactly, and it's uh, I think that's like one of the biggest takeaways is that it doesn't really matter what level it's about. Like what do you put in to your work every day? Um, and mastering your craft and doing what you can, because you never know. Like a lot of guys, like after division one, it really is all about like, after it's all said and done, you guys all could be done college and some some guys who play Division. I might retire, the guys who play Division III might continue to keep playing, and I think that's like the mindset is like what do you think long term? And I could see myself playing another, like two or three years after Division III, and maybe it happens, maybe it doesn't. I don't know where life's going to take me right now, but I'm just worrying about getting better as a player and also helping out.
Speaker 1:Well, I'll tell you what, Luke. None of us know where life's going to take us.
Speaker 1:That's one of those big things that as you get older you realize, man, you're never going to know where life takes you. You know one of the cool things I do want to tap on that stigma three, as you put it. I think for a lot of parents you know everybody's like D1 or Quebec major junior. It's like look, if you can play for any team after high school ACHA, d3, d1, the NOL, anything, any of those junior leagues that's awesome. That is a huge deal. You're part of the minority already.
Speaker 1:If you play post high school hockey Now, obviously you want to play at the best level you can. But if you need to be D1, to give everything that says something about you right, I don't think division one, division three, whatever, if you're going to put the time in, you're going to put the time in. It doesn't matter what level you're at. That's definitely part of your message. I alluded to it a minute ago. Your day in the life posts you are putting the work in. I mean, your life revolves around this and your academics. If I'm not mistaken, you're like an all academic all-star as well.
Speaker 2:Right, so you're doing all of it, not bad, thank you.
Speaker 3:No, but I think I think what, to the point, luke, you're making too, is that you're you're not, you're kind of focused on what you're doing on social media, and a lot of the stuff you're doing as far as like a mentor is not really for 19 and 20 year olds. You know this is for the kids that are bringing in that journey. I mean, I'm sure there are plenty of, you know, players that follow you. Is that? I really loved what he's doing, and you know whether you're playing at division one or division three or wherever ACHA doesn't.
Speaker 3:I think the message is, though, what you're, what you're asking kids to do, and and the path that you're helping young players. You know from the like that you know 10 to 18 year age group is going to help them, no matter what their path is, and I think that's you know, if you don't do the things you're doing and think about what you're doing, you're doing it without the support of a Division I program. I mean, you're doing it without all the staff and all the extra pieces that go into what a lot of these basically pro athletes are getting, and you're building that on your own, which is really a testament to what you're doing. But I think it's great for other kids to say no matter what, where you're at, you could be in a big AAA organization or some small you know small town team, you know you can make the best of it by just following what the best practices are in your age group.
Speaker 2:Yeah, A hundred percent. I couldn't agree more. It's a. It really is just obviously a privilege to play, but you got to keep putting in your work every single day.
Speaker 2:I always think I always give like analogies to kids of it's almost like your time, like whenever you think your breakthrough is coming, is like almost like a pinata. A lot of kids like always like the first, like couple kids like they show up to the locker room. You know they go through like two or three practices and I always think it's like it up to the locker room, you know they go through like two or three practices and I always think it's like it's like the two or three first whacks at the pinata. It never breaks. But then there's like those kids who come in who are like the seventh or eighth kid who ends up showing up but they just stick around with the pinata to break.
Speaker 2:And those first two kids who like only practiced a couple times. They don't get to see the rewards because they just didn't stick around long enough. And sometimes that's the main thing is that you just didn't do the simple, boring tasks of like skill development, power skating, power skating is one of them because every kid hates it. I was built on power skating, um, but you just didn't stick around long enough to see. The reward and I think that's like a huge thing is just stay at it. Stay at it. Very simple. The boring tasks will help you over the long period of time.
Speaker 1:You know you hear a lot of pro athletes some of the greatest of all time talk about the fundamentals and that they continually practice the fundamentals and that that is the foundation for everything else that they've built. And you know we're kind of living in a time now where social media dictates that you know Michigan's which I'm not I'm not poo-pooing the Michigan, but amazing, crazy plays become the. I need to be able to do that, but the truth is, man, you just need to know how to skate well and take a good shot. You know, and those foundational elements, as you just said, are so important. If you're not willing to put the time in for those, I don't have to say it, there'll be repercussions, right? I mean, you gotta put the time into those fundamental aspects of the game if you really wanna get somewhere with it.
Speaker 1:100%, 100%. So, luke, I wanna ask you this you did a great interview with our friends over at the Hockey Think Tank and we always like to share things with the parents that listen to the show, and one of the great phrases that you shared was that you're not taught lessons, you capture lessons. I thought that was a really impactful statement and, again, we have a lot of parents that listen to this show that I know are frustrated at times, myself included, that their kids may not be listening to them. So can you dive into the capture part of this and how, while your kids may not show it, they're most likely listening to you yeah, 100.
Speaker 2:Um, I think like the biggest thing I was like talking about with parents because, like, they never like, like you know, aside from like the odd exchange like my mom would obviously have me and my mom would obviously have, but, um, most of the time, how I learned, I always think like this one thing from my dad is he's a very good cook, um, but he had never showed me how to do anything, never, never, never showed me how to like cut a tomato, cut you know whatever, how to dice things, nothing, um, it was literally just the product of me watching him in the kitchen and then just trying to like almost like mimic what you do, and that's why I was like, come back to that.
Speaker 2:You know, your lessons are caught, they're not taught. You don't physically have to say those words, and I think that's like a big one, and I think of my mom too is like the reason why I go to the gym every day is because I see my mom go to the gym every day. Right, it's not because you know she says, hey, you need to do this. No, it's more so. Like she does it, it's like you. You know you find your role models in your life. Those are things, like you know, I'm obviously grateful for is that I can follow some amazing people who are in my own home, but I think that's like a huge lesson as a parent, you want them to do something like you got to be doing it too, and that's why, like for me, it's like as an influencer, I got to practice what you preach. You got it. Like you know, I have to raise my standards in order to you know preach a standard.
Speaker 3:So that's kind of the philosophy around that. Yeah, I mean, that's one of the first things you learn as a parent is that your kids are always watching you. They're never listening to you, but they're always. And I think and I think you know, even even me now that my, my teenager is driving a little bit like I'll see little nuances of the frustration that I probably presented when I was driving and I'm like, oh, you know, that's a really bad lesson, get out of the way, man, you always do that, but I've been driving for 40 years.
Speaker 1:What are you doing? What is he doing?
Speaker 3:But I think it's just, you know, it's one of those things where you know and I think this even goes to coaches, right? I mean, if you're, if your coach is a screamer and a yeller and a crazy person on the bench and all of a sudden the fans get into it and you get into it and everybody loses their minds. I mean, it's just a matter of being a, not a, not only a great role model, but presenting and acting the way you want the players that you're working with to act like. And if you, you know you can't expect a standard, I don't think you know, you shouldn't, you can't expect a standard out of your team that you don't, that you're not reflecting, and you can always see like a team that's undisciplined and out of control most likely has maybe it's not the head coach, but somebody on that bench is undisciplined and out of control.
Speaker 2:A hundred percent. Bench is undisciplined and out of control, 100%.
Speaker 1:I agree with you more. I'll say this too. A lot of times in my work with team building. When I interview, if you will, for a coaching job or an opportunity, it's a two-way interview. And if a coach asks me, well, do I have to follow these rules that we're setting up? That is a massive red flag for me to work with that team, because, yes, you have to follow the rules that we are creating for the team, or what is the point if it's not at the top?
Speaker 1:But to your point, luke, that statement you made about capturing really made me reflect on my own life with my own parents and all the things that I captured from them. And again for the listeners, if you're thinking about this too and you have the opportunity, you should definitely reach out to your parents and thank them for that. But you know, one of the real world experiences that I had, luke, that I'll share with you just to prove your point, is that I remember the principal from my school came up to me and said oh man, your kids, they know how to lead a team. They are just leaders in their rooms and they want what's best for the team. And I'm really thinking, look, I don't see that at home, but they're watching that. The principal even said man, he's doing what you do, she does what you do.
Speaker 1:So a lot of times, parents and this is the point I'm making, luke you might not see it, you might not see that they're watching you and they're learning from you, but they are good and bad habits, right. First time your kid puts out a curse word, he right. First time your kid puts out a curse word, he didn't learn that from someone else. He learned that from you and you can deny it, but he most likely learned it by from what are you? Right?
Speaker 1:And and uh, one of the fun parts about parenting, luke, is that your kids teach you a lot about yourself, and there's many moments you go oh, that's, that is totally my fault that he learned how to do that. Um, but that's part of the journey as well. Um, yeah, luke, I want to say this the information you provide on your channel is just outstanding, right, but I think the beauty of it is your voice and your tone. Right, you speak directly to the young dreamers out there that aspire to play hockey at a high level. It feels that way and, again, your channel like I'm 40, but in reinvigorates the mindset that I had when I was 16 years old wanting to make it right, and that's that's a rare thing that I see, so I ah, that's a good question.
Speaker 2:Um, I mean, honestly, like I had a spark in wanting to do social media for like a good like three or four years. I just never really knew exactly how I was gonna do it. And then I was like you know what, like maybe I just throw my camera on the ice and see, kind of like, what kind of goes from there. Obviously you get a little bit of backlash off the hop. Um, you know like they're like my teammates are like why are you bringing a camera? Like what are you doing here? Wait, what's what's going on? And I was like, okay, you know, like let's just see, because I have, um, a lot of people don't know.
Speaker 2:Uh, I have a pretty decent background. Since I was like 12 years old, I was teaching those Timbits kids hockey. Always up until now I've been coaching and a lot of people don't see that because I never pulled my camera out for that right. I feel like the this social media era now involves you bringing out your camera everywhere. I don't really like to bring it out everywhere. I wish I could show you more.
Speaker 2:Everyone only sees about maybe 0.1% of what I actually you know do on a daily basis and I wish I could capture it all, but I simply can't. And um, back to my point is that I've been in this kind of field and I I kind of already knew the flow of like words and like how I already communicated to kids on the ice and I was like, well, kids always like that. So I was like well, kids always like that. So I was like, hey, like shout in the dark, maybe, maybe I can talk to another kid, that's, you know not directly in front of me, but I guess directly in front of a phone.
Speaker 1:So well you are, you know. Going back to what you said earlier too, it's kind of like the pinata thing, right? If you put a couple of videos out and just stopped, you never know what was going to happen. If we just did a couple episodes of this podcast. You know, the first few episodes of this podcast, I remember getting 12 listens, which I mean our audience is massive now, but we kept with it and it got us to where we're going. And then the more reps you do, the better you get, I mean.
Speaker 1:But I want to tap on this even more and pull through on it, luke, because some of your segments like I saw the segment you do now you know what, what? What coaches never tell you, right? And I love that because it's not a negative, it's. Oh, here's some information that can really help you. Just the title of that what coaches never tell you is a brilliant title, right? So I just tell me about what is. How does it go through your head? Does something happen? You go? You know what? I should tell kids this because it wasn't taught to me and it just there. Do you just do it on the spur?
Speaker 2:Do you take notes Like, how do you, how do you push forward with your content? Good point Honestly, like the last two years like ever since, I knew like something works just been like sporadically trying a bunch of different stuff because I know at one point like I'll kind of have a arsenal of like okay, I know what content works. So right now I'm like like a lot of people don't know this, I'm literally in still test trial phase. I'm literally just like testing a bunch of content, seeing what works, seeing what doesn't. For those who want to become influencers or want to like have some content that actually works, I think series are the best thing for any type of influencer. Like, for example, a podcast is still considered a series. It's the same format over and over again. Where I get held back in my content is that I want to do a bunch of different stuff. That's why I basically split up my social media accounts.
Speaker 2:I want to do a lot more day in a life, a lot more what I eat in a day that I haven't shown anyone. And then I want to do a lot more like hockey training, hockey specific. So I have a hockey audience and then I have a little bit of both, because I'm not going to be a hockey player forever and I know that. But I know if I can document the process I'll have a bounce of both.
Speaker 2:But that's basically how I've just kind of thought about my content and how it's, I guess I guess, going in that case, no, it's, it's going. I mean, that's how it formalized you're a guide, luke. You're a guide for these young kids and other people too yeah, it's honestly sporadic, like you guys ever like go in the shower or go for a walk and just like the ideas oh, all the time all the time.
Speaker 3:I mean kind of approach, that well, I mean, I just thought my question would be uh, for you real quickly. It's just like so I can't, you know, this is, this, is the age gap, right? Like I can't imagine some guy walking into my locker room saying, listen, I'm a social media influencer and everything we're going to do now is going to be filmed and taped and critiqued, and and but. But on the positive side, I mean, maybe you could tell us, like, how much influence you get from your teammates. Like, are they on? Do they get all pumped up about oh, my God, luke, you got to do this or well, that that would be some great content.
Speaker 3:You're like well then, you know, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's an interesting dynamic when you're not a social media influencer like a fashion person who's just by yourself, you're in a team, like, you're in a group of men that have to work together. And I mean so how do you balance that Editing your content to not negatively affect your teammates and vice versa, like, how do you pump up your teammates Be like hey, listen, we're gonna blow this up. And they're like listen, dude, I don't want a part of this, like, that's not who I am, so it's, it must be. It must be a big difference in, um you know, being an influencer on a team than being an influencer as an individual a thousand percent.
Speaker 2:Um, I always find it easier to make content in the summer than I do in the winter because I'm around like teammates. So you always have to be like I, always I'm not afraid to take risks, but I'm also like I always have to walk up on the line because, you don't want to.
Speaker 2:You know, and I don't can be wrong. I've crossed the line a couple times where I've, you know, maybe ticked off some teammates based on what I posted. But I'm that's that if I didn't make that mistake or I didn't have that failure, I wouldn't have known what worked, what didn't, um. So you kind of have to have a little bit of uh, like you might step on a couple people's toes, and that's totally okay and it's a part of the process. But at the same time, like now, I'm starting to understand, okay, like, okay, this is what works, this what doesn't, this is what you know, this is probably out of balance. Um, this is probably good, this is what we can roll with. So it's always like I think, like I said, these first couple years have been just throwing darts blind at the board. You don't know whether you might miss the board and hit somebody. Um, and that was kind of like the. The thing that I've learned the most is that, too, when you do post these things, you got to take responsibility for them.
Speaker 3:So if it does step on anyone's toes, you gotta be like yeah, like I see I think, as I think as a coach, I mean, I would be like back my my young self as a college coach. I would be horrified to have an influencer in my locker room like getting and I don't use the word chirping, but if, if you know getting, you know my team now is exposed to you, right, like, oh, this is the guy, this is. You know, this is the guy that's gonna, you know, I'm gonna be on his, you know his. You know thousands and thousands of followers are going to be a part of this losing streak this weekend or winning streak or whatever it is.
Speaker 3:And I think that's to me as a coach, and I think that's where you must have, obviously, the coaches you've had now for the last couple of years have to be open to this, have to be modern coaches, have to understand like this is a new thing that players do, right, I mean like, like we just have to evolve and knowing that, listen, this is a great thing for you to do for your career, whether you're a hockey player or not, but it's another part of society, a part of the workforce, right, like, if somebody, if somebody was told me like, hey, do you know that social media influencing is a job.
Speaker 3:What are you talking about? This is? This is ridiculous. But but to watch and now have teenagers and have kids that I work with that are so influenced by this you know that are really. This is a huge man is doing and and I can I can, you know, be a little bit more modern myself and a little more progressive myself and not fight this, but but, you know, help to harness it and use it yeah and that's a huge thing too is like finding a way, like where it's it's like beneficial to both sides too.
Speaker 2:I always like say that with like, especially even when you're just like you know it's like negotiation, like you want, like, obviously you want the best case for yourself, but you also need you need some type of win-win for it to like happen long term. So, um, it's always like trying to find a healthy balance of, okay, like hey, like you should be posting this more than this, you know. Um, so it's yeah, definitely, uh, you have to walk a fine line. You have to be able to take some risks early on. But now that I have taken those risks, I know like, okay, what's good, what's gonna, what's out of bounds, and what I can now like really like focus on and help kids out with.
Speaker 3:So no, you gotta have pretty, you gotta have pretty thick skin. I can't imagine the uh, I don't feel it with you, but I think that's the modern player like the ability to know that this is uh, this is just, you know, all part of it is is really an interesting thing for me yeah, well, and look, I'll say this too what I love about your approach you're saying brilliant things like win-win, finding those fine lines.
Speaker 1:The key with with you, buddy, and this is why I think people like you really succeed is that your channel, your broadcasts, your posts have a service nature to them. You are trying to serve others by sharing the information you have. It's not me, me, me, me, and even in the ways that I watch it, your day of the life things. It's hey, come take this journey with my teammates and I. It's not about you. You know the mistake that I think that social media makes, and I'll say this look, I'm an elder millennial. I was there at the dawn of the Facebook. I was there at the dawn I was in college when these things were made. So I've I've kind of had this my entire life and you know I have, I have an understanding of it, in my opinion, at least as much as someone can. And what I find is this when it becomes a human highlight reel, there's only so much people can take of that because at the end of the day, something inside you tells you that's not real right. It's not all highlights all the time.
Speaker 1:And what I love about your channel is you don't just share human highlights, right, even like little things in your videos. I've noticed where you'll say you know I was too tired to record this next part, so I didn't record it because I was tired, right, like that kind of honesty is not normal. And then the video never ends on that. But, but things like that of like no, I'm working hard and I, you know, I didn't want to pick up the camera at that moment, there's, there's a realism to it. So I think that, in terms of you know where we're going, as Mike said, look, there's not a future where this stuff's not happening now. This is just the reality we live in now and for for for parents who kind of scoff at I'm like guys, this, this is the world in 2024 is not going back.
Speaker 2:We're not going to just get rid of our phones and our cameras, but there, is a responsibility, and I think that you also serve as a role model to young people, not just from a hockey standpoint and really a growing up standpoint, but as someone who does this. You're a service based channel. In my opinion.
Speaker 3:Am I wrong?
Speaker 2:in assuming that, or is that something that's on your radar? Give more than you take, always like it doesn't matter, like what it is obviously like you can build more that you feel like you deserve, the more you do and put in more reps, like when it comes to the game of like hockey. But, um, I've always been like a kid. I don't even know if I've released this series yet, but, um, I'm releasing something of like. Okay, what are the three things I should have done differently?
Speaker 2:right division one or so. That's brilliant. Um and the one point.
Speaker 1:Making yourself vulnerable like that, luke, is that is uncommon for someone. Your age, that's huge.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that and, um, basically I like always like struggled, um giving the puck away too much, like not like really focusing on, like actually what I'm capable of doing, like I'm always the pass first type of guy. Um, obviously I've slowly evolved to like, hey, you gotta get a little bit more selfish, and that's like one of the points I do make um but you gotta be you.
Speaker 2:You can be both. You can be selfless, selfish and selfless. You know what I mean. Like you can be a team player, but you can also understand that you have what it takes to. You know, take a puck to the net or shoot on a two-on-one and still making the pass instead of making the pass.
Speaker 2:Those things matter in the long run they do you got to be confident in your ability, but you also got to understand hey, there's times, you know, where you got to take it on your own and there's times where you got to use your teammates around you and finding that balance.
Speaker 1:It's funny how the game and what you're talking about mimics life or even mimics what you're doing. So, for example, I do think it's important that as you get older players know maybe their niche or what. What they're succeeding at right, like this is the part of the game you're good at. But you can't only focus on that, because then you become not a well-rounded player. You look at your channel. You're saying, oh, I found a little bit of a niche here. But look at you, I'm trying this, I'm trying that, I'm looking at this. So you're approaching this the same way that you play the game. But even to your point, from a hockey standpoint, the work's never done. Even if you feel like you've mastered something, go, it doesn't stop there. That's not how this works, right. But that message coming from you to these kids is super important, because I've had kids say, but I can do a Michigan and I'm like that's, that's great man, but but you can't do a crossover. Well, you know what I mean. Like you should always be expanding your game, luke, on that point. And again, we make sure people check out your channel. It's at Luke Crouch. A right, it's not the full word L-U-K-E-C-R-O-U-C-H-A. I said that, right, make sure you check him out for some of these segments that he's talking about, because we could do a whole episode on them alone.
Speaker 1:But, luke, one thing I want to talk about we speak about mental fitness a lot on this show. You kind of alluded to this a minute ago. I did want to ask you what some of the hurdles you've had to jump over are in your career thus far, but also how they helped to get you where you are today. You've been unabashed and unabashed, excuse me, at saying things like this on your channel. I wish I knew this. I wish I had done this. This is something I had to deal with. Would you share with our audience maybe a few things that you had to go through in your career that you've reflected on now?
Speaker 2:This is a good one. So the first thing I think of is when I was a 16-year-old. So back when I was 16, this is kind of like a, I guess like before minor midges. So go back to my 14, 15, 15, 14, 15 year old years. My 13 year old year, I've had probably one of the best years of my life. Um thought it was on top of the world.
Speaker 2:My 14 15 years years come and um, I was just like swiped out of any confidence I ever had. Um reason for is because, like I didn't hit my growth spurt but everyone else did and I was like, why am I not as good as I? Once, you know, was like what, what is going on? And long story short, um didn't really play much in my 14 15 year old year when I played AAA, or at least I didn't feel like I did, or it didn't have that impact that I wanted to. Um.
Speaker 2:So then I took and, part ways I went to a prep school for a year because I wanted, I needed some type of change of environment. I played for the Hamilton Huskies AAA organization for seven years, eight years in a row. Ever since I was, it was like major Adam, always up to I guess you 15 now they call it. But, um, that 15 year old year was just a confidence building year. And then that year a bunch of guys got drafted. I finished the year I thought I'd have a really good year and right in my backyard is the Hamilton Bulldogs. They even affiliated out of the Ancaster ring that I live literally next door to and I didn't get invited to a rookie camp and I was kind of shocked. I was like how All the past players I ever played with they ended up going to this rookie camp. So that kind of like you know, fired me up pretty good. So throughout that whole summer I absolutely worked my butt off. I said, okay, this is the time I need to actually get serious about getting into the gym. Like kids don't realize like if they just did it two, three years earlier, their efforts would have just compounded. They don't understand like that's the understanding is like your growth ends up, just like it compounds. Over time it gets bigger and bigger.
Speaker 2:And habits this is the thing I'm going to kind of get to is that your habits are so hard to break when you start, when you get that like think about it. Like when you wake up in the morning, you probably do the same three or four things every single morning, like for me. I might, you know, go for a walk, I might brush my teeth. I might brush my teeth and shower the exact same way and, you know, shower the same parts of my body. That's why habits are so important. So, not to drag it along, but fast forward, I said, okay, I'm just going to get to the gym every single day. I'm just, I'm going to try this, just see what it does. Okay, it doesn't matter what it takes.
Speaker 2:Long story short, august comes around. I play in this four on four league. A guy by Matt Turek he was, I think, the head scout of the Hamilton Bulldogs at the time I get an official invite as a free agent to be a part of the Hamilton Bulldogs main camp and I was like I didn't think it was possible. And the reason why I say this is that a lot of kids right now it's July, what's July 7th or 8th? And they think, like a lot of them don't take action because they think their dreams are way too far away from themselves. That's what stops them from actually doing something, when they realize, like, if you just put your head down for like three to six months, you're.
Speaker 2:Everything that you want can most definitely happen, but it all revolves around your habits. Obviously, there's an extended part of the story that I'm still trying to kind of gather. In my 17, 18 year old year, I left the gym that I was working out at and I built a habit about showing up at that gym and I built a gym in my own home and the problem was is why I didn't stay as consistent throughout my 17 18 year old year and I kind of like took a step back because I didn't realize like, in order to get to the gym more, I just have to build the habit around going to the gym. You don't need to have the thing like the gym itself, you need to have the habit of doing it.
Speaker 2:So that's a great that's kind of like a very uh, no, listen dude, that's but long.
Speaker 1:It's funny, luke, because my next question was going to be what do you wish you had told your younger self? But here's the deal um, you're right, building those habits at 12, 13, 14 and not 18, 19, 20 I mean, that's years of development, right there. You know it's funny. I'm going to equate this both ways. You hear about the greats in any sport, like Sidney Crosby comes to mind right now as someone you know. He was outside skating. I remember they got that video of him skating and practicing outside, like right before a game, and people were kind of surprised like what's he practicing? This guy has been doing that every day his entire career. He's a voracious trainer. People know that about him and it you look at kobe bryant, same thing was up before all his teammates. What's funny is you don't even have to look at the best the mcdavids, the crosbys, right. You can look at guys like you in college. They're doing this work too, and that is one of the separators from kids that achieve goals and dreams and those that don't. I think it was Denzel Washington. He said something like dreams without goals won't happen, right? And if you, if anyone, thinks that you can just snap your finger as talented as a McDavid or a Crosby or a Croucher is, it doesn't just happen because you're talented. It happens because of the habits, the fundamentals and the ability to get up and do the work that needs to be done Right. And again, the habit could be 500 shots in your garage every day. The habit can be going to the gym every day. There's nothing stopping you from doing these habits. And I always like to say this too it's not a lack of resources, it's a lack of resourcefulness. You do not need the top training aids. You don't even need 500 pucks. You need one, right? It's what are you willing to do, right? Mike and I didn't have any training aids when we were a kid. They didn't exist. We had to make our own right and we found a way to practice outside. We did it, we figured it out.
Speaker 1:So for the parents listening, one more thing I have to add on to this. We've talked about this before. You can't force your kids to do this. You can't create it for your kids. You can only cultivate it. As Luke said, capture Saul's mom. Go to the gym every day. That's a healthy parenting habit that has now gone to him. Saul is dad cooking Now you're a nutritionalist. Basically, we haven't talked about that, that'll be another episode as well but you're heavy into nutrition. Your dad served in the military. I'm sure that had a lot to do with regimen and understanding things and respect you know. So these are the ways, parents, that we can share with our kids, those types of habits. But if you're not doing them, you can't fully expect them to do them and you can't force them.
Speaker 1:Luke, I always tell this story on this show about how I used to my my dad and I had a great relationship. But I remember the day when I was 14 years old. He came up to me and he said you know, I'm not going to tell you to go outside and practice your shot anymore. And I was almost like why? Why won't you do that? I like that you tell me to practice. He says if you want this, you'll just do it. I shouldn't have to tell you. And every day after that, my entire time playing, no one had to tell me to go practice or go work hard. To the point, people were making fun of me for working so hard, which I didn't care about. But that's the point. That's the difference make. So I love that you're sharing stories like that with our audience, with our parents, and I love.
Speaker 1:The overarching kind of topic of this episode is you don't know what's going to happen. You don't know what's going to happen. Everybody wants to know. Where's it going to end up? Where's my kid going to go? What are they going to do? What's the ROI? Just live in the damn moment and enjoy the process, because the process, as you said, luke, it ends. All roads, every one of them leads to adult league, every single one. I play adult league at the rinkink. This kid plays college hockey for now. Newman's getting a new ice rink. That's awesome, but I play at the rink he plays at. I would say my, my adult league team is probably not as good as newman. All right, I would not expect him to challenge us any time soon. But sorry, I didn't mean to get on a soapbox, I just love what you're saying, man. You are wise beyond your years, kid. I hope you, hope you know that.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that and thank you for sharing those kind words to me, as well as Mike as well. Thank you, I really do appreciate it. Well, look, I'm going to say I honestly didn't expect anything to come of it.
Speaker 1:honestly, when I started out, Well, that's probably why it's succeeding, buddy, is, there was no motive. I told you it's a, it's a service channel, and look, look, I'm going to say it again when I watch your videos, it it makes me feel like I did when I was chasing that dream at 15. There's not many people that have done that Right. I think that that you tapped into something there. That's that's really cool. Look, before we go, we only have a few minutes minutes. I did want to give you an opportunity here. Um, you've recently started a free hockey community via school, uh, called my hockey training. I would love for you just to tell the audience about that and maybe what your goals are long term here. I don't even know what you're studying at newman, now that I mentioned it yeah, um so, uh, I study, so this is like way left field.
Speaker 2:I study accounting at newman. Um, it is way left field.
Speaker 1:Field wasn't expected I was like entrepreneurship or something like that.
Speaker 2:The way you're talking right, they just uh opened up an entrepreneur entrepreneurship program there and I'm kind of like I always got to fight against them for internships because I'm like, oh, like you gotta do some type of accounting, but I'm like I don't really want to do much.
Speaker 1:You're built for entrepreneurship. I'll tell you that right now. But go ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 2:Basically, um, I also minor in strength and conditioning, so I'm actually going through that process. I kind of like switched how I want to do that and all that good stuff, but I realized like, hey, like, if I'm going to provide fitness knowledge, I better like just instead of just doing it and showing you guys like fancy videos like I gotta actually know the knowledge behind it. Um, so with this free hockey training community I call it the my hockey training community I'm honestly just trying to make it a safe haven for like hockey players who just want their questions asked. A lot of the time, instagram DMs and messages are like so hard to like keep on top of um, I keep that for like social networking and more so like business opportunities and stuff like that. So I've moved everything to this platform where they'll have like classrooms, calendars and right now I'm running a seven day calendar.
Speaker 2:So every day of July and also a little bit, very little bit, of August, I'm posting a free calendar. So every day there's like a half an hour to a 45 minute event, whether that's like. So Mondays are like motivational Mondays, so it's just like Q and a stuff. Just like if we were to sit here and just ask hey, I'm struggling with this. Here's my two cents. Here's what the rest of the audience says.
Speaker 2:And my whole goal is just to honestly build a community. That's like pretty fired up about, you know, having fun with the process. Um, at the same time, I have classroom settings.
Speaker 2:I'm actually building a stick handling program right now that's awesome in the midst of like having it monetized, slash um a free community because, at the end of the day, like people don't realize, like how much work it takes to actually build something like this. Like Like I've definitely bit my tongue a bit, I've sacrificed this summer to like not work at all and build out this community.
Speaker 2:So I bite myself on the lip to do this, but knowing that if this works it's going to set me up for you know, set not even myself up of players for the rest of their careers. They're going to know what to do, what they need to do, how they do it, all the programs that they need. So building out some stick handling programs, workout programs and I have that seven day calendar that I'm just trying to build some buzz around the community, get questions asked and hopefully it helps them going into their season. Hopefully it helps them going into their season.
Speaker 1:Well, we'll definitely cut this clip for you and we'll share it, because you know it's at any time. We can help someone young like you try and accomplish what they're going to do. But I'm going to tell you this too, luke just as someone who's been down this road to you know whether it works or not, it's going to work for you because the stuff that you're learning, the sacrifices you're making, it takes an uncommon passion you're making. It takes an uncommon passion. Most hockey players understand what I'm talking about but it takes an uncommon passion and drive to believe I'm going to try something, I'm going to do it and that the people that try and do things like this succeed long-term.
Speaker 1:It doesn't, like I said, whether this one does or not and I hope it does it's not going to stop you from dreaming. It's not going to stop you from pushing forward. That's just a part of who you are. That's in your DNA. That's why I think you're succeeding at the things that you're doing as a hockey player, as an influencer, as a teacher, as a student, as a human because you're not afraid to dream. You're not afraid to fail, right.
Speaker 2:Or the fear of failure does not overcome your need to do it, to just do the work. That's it. That's why uh have my own podcast, but uh obviously one, one brick at a time yeah, well, if you need any help with us, that let us know.
Speaker 1:We'll be here to help you with that man. We like to enable good people, but mike anything before I close this out, buddy no, I mean, I'm a newbie.
Speaker 3:Uh to the, to the uh instagram, hate labels and just, you know, I think it but I do. But I am looking for things all the time and, and you know, recommending places for players that I work with just to go and check out, and you know, kind of to your point, like, like, maybe there's a voice that you like as a player, it doesn't have, it doesn't have to be the one person, like there's always different people presenting in different ways, you know, and then finding that person that you like, you feel comfortable with, that is offering different means to reach out and and get better, is all with all these players need to do. I mean, all these kids have access to their phones. You know, I always say you know, use it in a good way.
Speaker 3:You know, if you're watching videos on hockey and you're getting the joke of my younger guy my 11 year old is always, you know, when it's bedtime I'll hear down the hall like you got to get to bed. He goes oh no, I'm watching hockey, and my wife's like, oh, it's hockey, I guess it's, I guess it's okay to watch it. So it's, but it's, but again, it's, it's just. It's just one of those things where if you're a player, you're listening to this on the car ride home or you're with your parents. I mean, if you find you know, get a chance to take a look, take a look at luke's site and and if you have a connection there, great, watch it and grow with you. And if you don't, you don't. And I think that's just the beauty about having all these different influencers and people that are, that are taking their time, and I can't imagine what goes into setting a camera up and making a scene and resetting this up and making it work.
Speaker 3:Mike, it's a lot of work. That's why nobody's following. I'm not following. Nobody's following me around with a camera.
Speaker 1:I follow you, Mike.
Speaker 3:I just go here and Caitlin Caitlin just sets all this up for us, so it makes it easy for me. But I mean, I think it's just like you know for what you're doing and putting this all together to your point it takes a lot of work and the effort you're putting into it, and I think that you know other parents and players that get to you know you know use this service really can benefit from it, and I think it's just another great way for players to develop.
Speaker 2:It's just, it's bang on. I guess the last thing I would ask is like is there a topic that you think I should?
Speaker 1:tackle that you might have. Oh, he's reversing the interview on us, so you are going to be a podcast host one day, I can tell you. You know, luke, what I find is this is the number one concern of youth athletes right now is mental health and mental fitness, and I think that there's very little this goes into the work that I do too. There's very little out there to help them understand their feelings, understand their emotions and identify them.
Speaker 1:I think sometimes, when you're young and you you talked about it when you were after 13, you know that feeling that grips you of unconfidence or whatever it is. A lot of times you don't realize that's a temporary thing. That feeling will end when you're 12 years old. You think it's going to last forever. You don't know how to get out of it. You don't even know what's happening, that you're in your head. So I think that anything you can do to express to the young players of you're going to have this emotion and this is one way to deal with that or how to identify it.
Speaker 1:Um, and what it means. You know, after a bad game, good game uh, you know you look, feeling great can be equally as, um, uh, a tough. You know you think you're invincible. So I think anything in that realm, especially from someone your age, is really helpful. I don't think we talk about it enough. I think too many young people construe mental fitness as weakness. But I do think that tide is changing very quickly and I think you could have a role in that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think in that same, that same vein, is watching people like you you do and I say this all the time to all my own kids and the players I work with Like when you see somebody do a trick shot and flip their stick and catch the puck on the butt end Like they did that thousands of times. And I think that conversation that this didn't happen once, like I didn't do this, like I didn't just become a nutritionist because I, you know, watch my dad cut a tomato.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the process of failure is so you know, it's just not seen in social media, right, like I haven't seen anybody post like I know when kids lose tournaments on weekends because their parents don't post anything on sunday, like, and you know if they won, it's like I, I my phones were blowing up my god.
Speaker 1:Here's the champion?
Speaker 3:is it because? Because losing is as important as winning, and it's like you know.
Speaker 3:The fact is, you made a comment, it's more important, mike, it's more important to comment, like I love what the guys I work with a bunch of coaches, I work with all these old timers and, like you know, we don't lose, we learn. And I think that's where you know people like you. You know that the the saying that, um, you know with with great power comes great response, responsibility. I mean you think about as you as a player and as a young person in this world that that's working with you know basically probably has every 14 year old AAA hockey player in the country watching your site the importance that you fail a lot. And you know and you've overcome those failures by persevering and working hard. And I don't think and again you said it like out of 1000s of videos you take all day, you only get 1% of them out there and I don't know, I just happen.
Speaker 3:I'd like to see the failures more than you know and say, hey, listen, I failed at this 16 times so I could get this clip for you. And I think that's important for kids to see that, because I think most kids just see just as parents, right, I see somebody on their, on their European vacation and I'm like, oh, my God, I wish I could do that. I'm like oh, I do, I do do that actually. So I think it's still or that's just a choice that people make, so it just is. It's just so important to Lee's point the mental health piece, but the reality piece, that that everything that happens in that 15 second clip is not the reality of what your day looked like. That's all 100%. But other than that, it's great and I think it's I's well, you're adding to the hockey, you know, I guess genre in on Instagram.
Speaker 1:The lexicon. Yeah, Mike, by the way, we say channel, now not not, not site, but that's okay when I say site when I dialed up this morning to get out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, when I use my rotary phone to get on the interweb this morning. I still have an AOL account.
Speaker 1:So I was just going to say look, if we haven't convinced you to at least give this kid a look, I don't know what we were doing here today, but make sure you check him out. His name's Luke Croucher Again. If you search for him online, you'll see him and he's making people notice again, not just our podcast, other shows, other people and Luke again. Just in closing, I just want to thank you again for coming on today. It's not easy in the busy life that you have to even just give us a couple of minutes. So thank you for being here today and talking with us 100%.
Speaker 2:I'm more than happy to, at least even if it just talks to one person today. I think that's the most important thing is to do my part and give them back Well, in person today.
Speaker 1:I think that's the most important thing is to do my part and give them back Well. Luckily, we have a massive audience, so you're talking to more than one person today, I know that. But look, that's going to do it for this edition of Our Kids Play Hockey. Make sure to check out the website ourkidsplayhockeycom for all of our episodes and join our group on Facebook, our Kids Play Hockey, where the conversation continues, and make sure to follow, once again, lou Croucher and my hockey community, which he's created for all of you for free. So that's going to do it. Take care, have a wonderful weekend, everybody. We'll see you on the next Our kids play hockey.
Speaker 1:We hope you enjoyed this edition of our kids play hockey. Make sure to like and subscribe right now If you found value, wherever you're listening, whether it's a podcast network, a social media network or our website, ourkidsplayhockeycom. Also, make sure to check out our children's book when Hockey Stops at whenhockeystopscom. It's a book that helps children deal with adversity in the game and in life. We're very proud of it. But thanks so much for listening to this edition of Our Kids Play Hockey and we'll see you on the next episode.
