Our Girls Play Hockey - A Guide To Girls College Hockey Recruiting with Boston University Women's Ice Hockey Team Assistant Coach Megan Myers

Dive into our essential guide to college hockey recruiting with hosts Lee MJ Elias, Mike Bonelli, Christie Casciano Burns, and Sheri Hudspeth in this episode of "Our Girls Play Hockey." Joined by Megan Myers, assistant coach for the Boston University women's ice hockey team, the discussion covers everything from the ideal age to start thinking about college hockey to crafting the perfect email to catch a coach's attention. Megan shares her expertise on navigating NCAA rules, the importance of balancing academics and athletics, and the value of both official and unofficial visits. This episode is a must-listen for players, parents, and coaches looking to understand the recruiting process and make informed decisions about their hockey futures.

Key Discussion Points

• Starting the College Hockey Recruiting Process
• Contacting Coaches
• Importance of Academics
• Emailing Coaches
• Video Content for Coaches
• Decision-Making Factors for Coaches
• Handling Social Pressure and Early Commitments
• Tournaments and Showcases
• Advisors and Recruiting Platforms
• Official vs. Unofficial Visits
• Balancing Academics and Athletics
• New Women's Hockey Programs

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Transcript

Lee MJ Elias [0:08 - 0:53]: Hello, hockey friends and families around the world, and welcome to another edition of our new series, our girls play hockey. I'm Lee Elias, and I'm joined by Mike Bonelli, Christie Cashiano Burns and Sherry Hudspeth. Our goal with this show is to tackle the topics and discussions surrounding the girls game to better the game for everyone. So if you're involved in hockey in any way, we're going to provide value and insight to create both a better environment and experience for everyone involved. For this episode, our topic is a guide to college hockey recruiting. That's going to be a popular one, and our expert panelist is someone who knows those pathways very well. She is the assistant coach for the Boston University women's ice hockey team. And as a former collegiate and professional player, please join us in welcoming Megan Myers to the show today. Megan, thank you for joining us on our girls play hockey. 

Megan Myers [0:54 - 0:57]: Thanks, guys. Happy to be here. This is awesome. Pumped. 

Lee MJ Elias [0:57 - 1:07]: Yeah, it's awesome to have you here. And I was reading, Megan, that you hail from the great city of Las Vegas. Our very own sherry Hudspeth is in Vegas right now. It's a small world, eh, sherry? 

Sheri Hudspeth [1:07 - 1:09]: Good morning, Megan. Thank you for being here. 

Megan Myers [1:10 - 1:10]: Yeah. 

Sheri Hudspeth [1:10 - 1:28]: Nevada's becoming quickly becoming a hotbed of hockey. We are pretty new to hockey, though, so our audience here, we want to inform them today this is going to be a very informative episode and we're really looking forward to diving into it. If our kids are interested in playing college hockey, where do we start? Like, what age do we start thinking about playing college hockey? 

Megan Myers [1:28 - 2:38]: Yeah, it's a good question. I think it's changed a lot since. I mean, I was even going through it. The rules in the NCAA have changed. Like, even when I was in school, it was like you couldn't declare or commit until your senior year. So it started a little bit later. Obviously, researching starts around junior year, but now to play division one hockey, you're getting recruited right after your sophomore year of high school. So it's a little bit earlier. There was a rule a couple years ago, too, that you can be recruited at any age, which I found a little bit wild. So you can recruit 8th grader if you want. So I do think a good time now is freshman year of high school. I think high school is a great place to start. I don't think girls put too much pressure on themselves in middle school age to get those scholarships and play college hockey. But at the end of the day, those are growth and transformative years of your career that skills more important focus on that freshman year, maybe start doing research. But don't get too hyped up about it. Just play hockey wherever you are. And me, I'm coming from Las Vegas, so I can say this. They'll find you. So I think, like, freshman year is an easy start. I think girls now start way too early. We freak out a little bit easier than the boys do, but that's what I would say. Freshman year, high school. 

Lee MJ Elias [2:38 - 2:46]: So, Megan, my daughter's in second grade. Can we schedule a phone call sometime soon? She's a really standout defensemande. And now. Go ahead. 

Megan Myers [2:46 - 2:51]: Yeah, we'll get her an Nil or NLI and Nil she wants. We'll set her up. 

Sheri Hudspeth [2:51 - 3:01]: All right, add one more on there, Megan. Like, who do you recommend that they contact when they do start getting of age to contact coaches? Like, is it assistant coach? Is it head coach? Is it admissions? Where do they start? 

Megan Myers [3:02 - 3:52]: I think the good place to start because you're obviously doing research. So you're on the school websites, you're on the athletic websites. Every school has a questionnaire on their women's ice hockey website. So basically just ask, like, your home address, where do you play, what teams, how old you are, what's your grad year? It's a good place to start because that comes directly to us. And then when we start looking and contacting you, after you email all the coaches, I think it's important to email everyone. We get a lot of emails, and I'm answering emails one day and our head coach is answering another day. So I think it's good to get eyes on all of us. But once we come watch you play, we have all your information already from the questionnaire. So I feel like that's a really good first step to start. You can fill out questionnaires, as many as you want, so you can reach out to a broad range of coaches. And then, obviously, as coaches start reaching out when they can, you start narrowing down your search. 

Christie Casciano [3:53 - 4:27]: All right, we'll talk more about how to get on a coach's radar, but let's talk about something really important. And parents and kids need to listen to this. Academics always needs to be the priority. And we always told our kids, especially with our daughter who ended up playing college hockey, if something were to happen, if you got injured, let's say you got cut from the team, are you still going to be happy on that college campus academically and socially? I think sometimes that gets clouded with kids, especially when you got the lure of playing college hockey. 

Megan Myers [4:28 - 5:26]: 100%. I mean, it's crazy now with the June 15 rule. So with June 15 role, we can start contacting Soph after the sophomore year, going into their junior year, and we can't have them visit until August 1. So it's this weird space in July where, like, we're kind of courting them. It's very weird. We're, like, dating them and, like, trying to keep them interested, and it's very weird. But I always preach to the girls. Like, I've seen girls commit before August, and I'm like, how have we never seen campuses? It was so important, my process, to get on campus. Love the city I'm in. Love it even if it snows there. Love the coach. But understand the coach isn't the biggest part of your process. Um, love it academically, because you're right. A lot of broad things can happen in your career. Um, you're not gonna like the coach every day. You're not gonna like school every day. Hockey could suck some days, but you have to find a way that. That is an all encompassing experience. You get a gut feeling when you visit school, and it's like, I could be here for four years, regardless of hockey's in my life, um, which I find super, super important. 

Christie Casciano [5:27 - 5:56]: I'm really glad you're talking about this, because I have seen kids, you know, because my daughter went through college, so obviously, you know, I saw a lot of kids who committed, and then in the middle of the season, they're finding out. This doesn't feel right to me. I don't like where I am. I don't like the fact that I can't go out on the weekends. There's so much to take into account, and kids really need to carefully think about all the aspects of college life, not just hockey. 

Megan Myers [5:57 - 6:50]: I wholeheartedly agree. I think one of the biggest things that I'm seeing a lot and the reason why girls are committing so soon and nothing taking the time to do visits, and believe me, like, we've committed girls who haven't visited. So I'm not saying that I'm any different, but I think it's the social pressure that these girls are getting. Social media. You see your best friend on your club team that's committed to Ohio State, like, where am I doing? Or even division three. Like, they just have this social pressure of committing early and not being left behind. And I feel like it's kind of, like, fast tracking their process where they're not taking the time to actually enjoy it. Like, they earned it. They played hockey their whole career. They're good at it. That's why you're being recruited. They have good grades, they crush it in the classroom. And now they should enjoy this whole process where they get to come on campuses and get treated like a professional. So, yeah, the pressure of it all, I can't imagine back in our day, like, having social media like this, it would be awful. 

Christie Casciano [6:51 - 7:13]: You're absolutely right. There's a lot of pressure. Let's talk about now, how to get on a coach's radar. Email is very important. How does a college high school student, prep school student draft the perfect email that will get a coach to communicate back with you? That you'll get an email response. 

Megan Myers [7:14 - 8:55]: So the perfect way. Let's start from the beginning. So subject line straight into the point. First and last name, grad year and where you play. Birth year is okay, too, but grad years more. What we go off of in terms of talking to kids on June 15. Next part, the dear or hello to so and so coach. Make sure we get the right coach. It's. It's hard sometimes. We get a lot of emails from, to coaches ourselves, which I understand kids are nervous. Or an email, it's no big deal, but just make it important. And then the subject email, short and sweet. We get emails from girls all the time. And I was one of those kids. I made a hockey resume like it was a full long leg attachment. The email was very long. And if I'm a coach now, I probably wouldn't read those emails. It takes a lot of time to go through them. I think short and sweet, the better. Hey, this is who I am. This is the position I play my grad year and this is my team's schedule for the year. Or if you just have an upcoming tournament and you just want to update the coach and then list all your coaches contact information, it's crazy how much we communicate with the coaches on your behalf because you're one of your biggest advocates besides yourself. So if you can include your club coach or your prep school coach, or even like a mentor or resource, that's always helpful. And then leaving your phone number and email. So yeah, very short and sweet. That's how I personally see it. I think it's important. Just a quick hit. And I was always discouraged by not getting replies. But if I don't reply, don't get discouraged. I get a million emails a day before every tournament. Send one out, quick hit, one out every time. That would be my approach. 

Christie Casciano [8:55 - 8:59]: And how often do you follow up with a coach? If you don't get an email response. 

Megan Myers [8:59 - 9:35]: I try when I was during a tournament. No, I think it's important to send an email out before every tournament. If we don't reply to you, not necessarily say that we're not interested but also doesn't say that we are that very interested either. So it's like that tough balance but we're more than likely talking to your club coach already. So maybe using your club coach as a resource, be like, hey, I've reached out to bu or wherever a million times. I haven't heard back. Have you heard from them or is there any way that you can help me out and reach out to them? I feel like it's important to use your resources. 

Lee MJ Elias [9:35 - 10:39]: You know, Megan, I do like to always equate hockey to the real world, right? I think that that's something that we need to do more of like with our kids. This is really no different than looking for a job in a lot of ways, right? So that 1718 year old kid or if they're in prep school they might be a little bit older parents, they're going to have to do this out of college, right? And it's, you never put all your eggs in one basket and email a job and say, hey, I'm ready to work here. You emailed. You know, the rule I had at a college was like, look, you're going to send ten resumes out a day and you're going to get 99% nos. You might get a few interviews. So I think if you're, if you're wanting to play college hockey and Megan, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not saying you should email every college coach in the country, but diversify. Send them out. It's not so much about putting all your eggs in one basket and just getting a yes. It's about like you said, hey, okay, I got a tournament. Who's the five or six people I got emailed? All right, moving on. It can't consume your life but it also can't be something you don't do, right. But this is a skillset for life later on, right? You don't just put all your eggs in one basket. 

Megan Myers [10:40 - 11:40]: 100%. Even when I was going through the process, I remember I reached out to every division one program out there and I didn't get, I maybe got one response, didn't even hit the division three market which is where I ended up playing. But I think it's so important like you're saying to kind of like I think the research, research is so important. Find the schools, do your research, even if you can go on campus early and check it out for yourself and your parents. But when you're writing those emails, like, it could go a long way. Like, hey, I love Boston University because your business school is one of the best in the country. That's why I love it. Personalizing those emails, it kind of makes you kind of reflect on what you want in your process and what you're looking for, too. So writing it out an email to ten schools is going to help you kind of narrow down. Okay, I've reached out to ten schools that all have business programs. I guess I'm telling myself something. You know what I mean? I think helps with that, too. But, yeah, I agree. I think you don't want to. You want to throw a wide enough net, but you also want to understand yourself in this process and what you're looking for. Because not every school is different. It's a great point of your school's different. 

Sheri Hudspeth [11:41 - 12:00]: Every rank. Now we're seeing parents with elite video setups. At what point do you request video from kids? Or do you want kids attaching video to that email? What kind of content are you looking for from parents and players? Is it compete? Is it goal highlights? You know, what are you guys looking for? 

Megan Myers [12:00 - 13:19]: Yeah, that's a really good point. I mean, that's a great ads to the email if you have it. I have seen these elite, like, camera setups, like production crews, that rink sometimes. Yeah. It's 100% changed since COVID We used it a lot during COVID in terms of recruiting players. We even still use it now. So I do think, like, if you are to put video in an email, it doesn't hurt. If you don't have it, it's okay, but it doesn't hurt to have it. In terms of, like, what we want in those videos, I think shifts are important. We don't want highlight real goals. I know we can all toe drag and score goals. It's awesome. But I also want to see you back check. And I want to see you pick up a puck off the wall. I want to see how you skate. So I think even if you have a shift where you're not really doing anything, you're kind of just in the d zone reading the play IQ. Like, we want to see that, too, see what we're going to get. Because you think about in a hockey game, we're probably touching the puck personally for like a minute or two minutes. Not even. So I think it's important to add shifts in there. Goalies are a little bit difficult. You probably need a whole game to watch a goalie. I love how they put the camera, camera behind the net from their point of view. It's harder just to watch shifts for a goalie. We kind of like to watch them how they prepare for, even if the puck is in the opposite zone, how they're getting it ready already when it's coming back the other way. So be my advice. That's a really good point. So I forgot to mention it. 

Lee MJ Elias [13:19 - 13:48]: Well, I'll say real quick, my son's a goalie. So now we're talking about recruiting both my children. Of course. I'm just joking. It's funny. Sherry brings out the cameras. Recently, I saw that Apple has found a way to connect multiple iPhones to record one video. And as a coach, I'm thinking, oh, my God, I'm gonna get different views of the same play from the same kids pairs. No, we set up iPhones all around the boards. You can see it from every angle. Like, I don't need that. 

Megan Myers [13:48 - 13:50]: That's so funny. 

Lee MJ Elias [13:50 - 14:56]: Right? Look, Megan, you bring up a good point, too, when we talk about this on the show a lot. And you said, I'm going to reiterate it. Everyone can show highlights. Right? It's what you do away from the puck is so important. Right. And I think, too, and I'm going to turn this into a little bit of a question. You know, we're talking about some of the things that maybe can differentiate you. Right. My question's going to be, when it comes down to decision time for you. Right. There's, you know, look, some players are probably easier than others, but I. There is a point where, okay, I got to make a decision between a, B, and C. I want to talk about what are some of the standout differences that you're looking for? Is it just talent? Is it personality? Is it the parents? Right. Um, and again, we're not talking about anybody specifically here, but. And then kind of a follow up question with that. Right. The type of player you are. Right. I mean, everybody loves to be the goal scorer, but I said, man, there's a lot of value in saying to a coach, I'm a playmaker, and I enjoy being a playmaker. And I know you need a playmaker. So what are the things that, at the decision moment, you look for to maybe pick between a, B, or C? 

Megan Myers [14:57 - 16:59]: All right, so let's say we have a player. I've watched them play, they've come to visit, and they've come to visit already. So I think when I'm watching them play, the biggest thing and I'm different where all college coaches are different in terms of what we need and what we're looking for, its impact. If you're making an impact on the game, whether it's you're good defensively, like I like D, I don't think there's a difference between offensive d and defensive defensive anymore. As long as you're making an impact in every zone, shutting down the neutral zone, you have an impact. If you're a forward that brings the puck low and cuts back, that's a Gretzky turn and makes a great play, that's an impact play. And also someone that can keep the play in front of them. If we're not skating the puck up all the way up the ice and losing and turning over, now it's going back the other way. Someone that can control the play that way and have an impact by controlling the pace of play, controlling how our teammates can change, because if you go down and turn it over, no one can change. Now, everyone's kind of on the ice all the time, but so impact and keeping the play in front of you is huge for us, like for me on the ice, and obviously hard work, I don't think that's hard. When you get a player at the college level to kind of turn around. I think that's ingrained in them at a youth age. That is hard for us to change around. So it's nice to see when players have that. And then the other two things I would say is we love their personality in the visit. They are engaged, they're professional, they asked all the right questions. They knew their research when they came to bu. They knew what they wanted to study. They knew the city a little bit, obviously would answer questions for them on the visit. But we love players that are engaged and ready to go. And then obviously, when it comes down to that, you have a really good hockey player and they're great on the visit. Do they love bunk and do they love it here for the right reasons? What we talked about earlier, it's everything, whether it's the city we're in, the academics, the coaching staff, and the hockey program, I think it's important you want players on your team that love where you're at. And I think it makes a difference in your, not just on the ice, but in your locker room. The way it's going to gel the pride in the community, on your campuses. I think it's huge. So that was a very long rant, but I hope that. No, no. 

Christie Casciano [17:00 - 17:37]: You know what helped us to narrow down? Cause we had a couple of options. We actually went to a couple of games and watched the team play. That sold Sophia on where she ended up playing. She loved it. She loved how the coach interacted with the kids. She felt the vibe, you know, with the team were in the stands, and it just felt really good. And then afterwards, we walked around campus, and it just felt to her, in her words, it feels like home mom. So that's how what really helped us now is actually watching the team play helped narrow down our decision. 

Megan Myers [17:38 - 18:25]: The gut. The gut feeling. That's all the funny. Like, you can get that as a recruit, get that gut feeling on drive home from campus. Or it could be like, two weeks later after you see another campus, you're like, yeah, I still love the other school, but it's funny. You talk about going to live games. Like, when I was growing up in Vegas, I never saw a live college game. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The only women's hockey game I watched was, like, when the 1998 Olympic team, they came back after they won the gold medal, and they played the fire department team at, like, the Santa Fe hotel in this casino. Really? Yeah. So it's kind of. It's kind of funny now, like, how these girls have so much access. You come to Boston, you have five schools to go to. You go to New York, you go to, like, Minnesota. Like, I think. Yeah, I think that's such a cool way to do it. Obviously, we're selfish, too. We love more fans, so the more we can get out these youth programs, the better. 

Mike Bonelli [18:25 - 18:55]: I. Yeah, I think knowing that, Megan, you're coming from an area where there weren't a lot of opportunities to get seen to now being basically, I think, like, in the mecca of opportunity to be seen. Can you talk a little bit about your favorite tournaments? When you like to go to tournaments, showcases, where are players that you're finding? Like, how are you picking and choosing which ones you want to go to and which ones that you don't feel maybe would be as irrelevant? 

Megan Myers [18:56 - 20:14]: Yeah, for sure. I think it's a little crazy. We're a little bit everywhere. We have four members of our coaching staff now, so we're a little bit everywhere. And even Labor Day is nuts. There's three, four tournaments at one time, so you kind of have to pick and choose. That's a really. That's not an easy question to answer, because I feel like we could get out more, like, we could get out to West coast more and be a little bit more expansive that way. Obviously, East coast is easier for us. There are great tournaments around Labor Day here in the Boston area, Pittsburgh area, east coast that we always go to. They're staples for us in our program. We go to a lot of holiday tournaments here in Boston. They do a great one round after Christmas. I remember back in when I was playing, it used to be Connecticut. Polar bears used to run this huge tournament. And then we try to branch out to Canada and Europe. We're really trying to be more expansive that way, but we're not perfect. I wish that we could say that we go to the same tournaments every year, but I think it bases too on the emails that we're getting from recruits and where they're going. If we see the big players that are recruiting or the big teams that we're going, we're going to go to those tournaments and we're going to be there. So I think that's another reason why the emails are important, because email alone will get me to go to Long island on a Sunday, you know what I mean? For a tournament. Yeah. That's not an easy question to ask. We're a little bit of everywhere crazy. 

Sheri Hudspeth [20:15 - 20:33]: I got two. I just have two more questions to add on that. We just did an episode on boys hockey. Are you guys watching any boys hockey tournaments or boys hockey games? And also for the coaches listening, can you name some of these girls tournaments that you guys are going to where there's a lot of coaches, like, make some recommendations of which ones they can sign up for for exposure? 

Megan Myers [20:34 - 21:26]: 100%. I'm watching boys a little bit more. So if I get an email from a girl that's playing on boys team, I watched a girl play last year and I think she was in Colorado playing for boys hockey. So that's those one offs that I'll be watching boys in terms of tournaments that I think are great. Naha. Here in Boston, they do a great one in Labor Day. Very popular for all levels. They do, I think up to this 14 year or 16 year level. Kathy Pippi does a Labor Day tournament here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also a very big tournament. I think it's from 14 U to 19. Uh, there's a whole bunch of rinks in Pittsburgh that they do. Wizards, East coast wizards. In Boston, they do one right after Christmas. It's a pretty big tournament, I think, from the twelve U level up. And then I'm trying to think of the other. There's a bunch in Michigan. 

Christie Casciano [21:26 - 21:27]: Do you like? 

Megan Myers [21:28 - 21:29]: Downtown's a great one. 

Christie Casciano [21:29 - 21:31]: We used to go to that one over here. 

Mike Bonelli [21:31 - 21:31]: Yeah. 

Sheri Hudspeth [21:31 - 21:35]: What about Stony, Canada for Canadians? Where you find the Canadian? 

Megan Myers [21:35 - 22:08]: Yes. Stoney Creek. Every year we go to the 18 U, the U 15, the U 18 and the U 22. Three weeks in a row. Us Canada Cups. They have one in Kitchener Waterloo, and then they have the Brampton Oakville bestow nest. We do that one a lot. We did go to all their provincial camps this year. We did. We did our best. So if their girls are ever in a provincial camp where they're trying out for either team, Alberta, team Ontario, team Nova scotia, we make our, make our best to try to go to those ones as well. But all over the place. Guys. 

Sheri Hudspeth [22:08 - 22:11]: Do you guys go to the USA hockey camps too in the summer? 

Megan Myers [22:12 - 22:24]: I. Yeah, so I worked 15s camp this year. Tara and I went to 1617 and then. Yeah, I went. We went to 18th camp as well. Most coaches do go to all those in some sort of capacity, whether they're working them or going to watch. 

Lee MJ Elias [22:25 - 22:34]: You know what's amazing from what I'm hearing here is that. And this is one for the parents listening. Bu recruits. You go on trips, you look for trips. 

Megan Myers [22:35 - 22:36]: I want that hoodie. 

Sheri Hudspeth [22:36 - 22:37]: That's a hoodie right there. 

Megan Myers [22:37 - 22:38]: Bu recruits. 

Lee MJ Elias [22:39 - 23:33]: Here's the deal. The reason I'm bringing that up is because I actually do think, and this is actually going to merge perfectly into Mike's question, that there can be a misconception of like, oh, everybody wants to go there. I have no chance. Right? And again, look, if you have the talent and some of the other prerequisites that Megan's talking about, I think you always have a chance to. Right. But the assumption that, like, because it's bu. Well, they. They probably don't have to recruit as hard. That's just not true. All right. You know, these bu recruits, they're working. They're working hard. Now, Megan, the way this is going to merge into my next question is this, right? I think most kids would want to go there. All right. I mean, it's. This is a well known hockey place, you know, in a lot of ways. Like, as Mike said, a mecca. But let's just say a player wants to go there and they're not getting recruited. What should a player do if they're not getting recruited by the team that they want? 

Megan Myers [23:34 - 23:40]: It's a really good question. You're more saying, like, if we're not communicating with them, but they want to come to Bu. 

Lee MJ Elias [23:40 - 24:08]: Yeah, I think there's two parts. Let's. We'll make up a character here, right. This person wants to play for Bu. They've had their heart set on it their whole life, and for whatever reason, they're not getting a lot of traction. Right. Um, I think there's. There's two parts to this question. And, you know, I'm asking you as a coach, but also a hockey mentor, as a coach, maybe there's a way for them to stick out, but. But in this scenario, more likely than not, you're not looking. Right. So what should they start to do? They're discouraged, you know, do they look at other schools? How should they approach that situation? 

Megan Myers [24:10 - 25:40]: Yeah, I think they need to use their resources, using their coach to get. If they can't get ahold of me, if I'm not answering emails or any phone calls, text, whatever, maybe, which would never be the case. We're always on our phone. But if use your coach, have your coach reach out to me or to another coach, whether it's be you or not, like, reach out. They're one of your biggest advocates. They're going to fight for you. They want to help you as much as you can get to college. Not only does it make them look good that they produced a division one or division three hockey player, they also want to help you. They generally are there for you. They wouldn't be working youth hockey. They didn't love it and wanted to help. So I think doing that, and then if you love a school and maybe you love hockey, you can walk on. People walk onto programs every year. Not to say that those trials ever really work out. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. But almost every school has club programs as well. So if you truly love a school for what it is and varsity athletes, athletics is not for you, then look, make sure they have a club program that you have backup plan to try and. But, yeah, that's a tough one. I feel like it happens a lot, but I think, like, I wanted to go to Bu and I was being recruited and didn't happen, so I kept my options open, I kept looking, and I found the right place for me. Yeah. So I think, like, we always. Yeah, I think we always have that one goal in mind. And I wanted to go to Harvard originally, be a doctor, but I couldn't pass chem, so I don't know how I thought that was gonna happen. So, like, when one dream kind of, like, shifts and changes as you get older, you kind of have to shift and find a new, and it always works. 

Lee MJ Elias [25:40 - 25:40]: Out. 

Christie Casciano [25:40 - 26:02]: Regardless of it, you gotta adjust the sales. But I'm glad you mentioned the club teams, because I know some of Sophia's high school teammates who played club hockey and had a fabulous experience. Don't discount these club teams. They're competitive, they're fun, and sometimes it's the right balance, too, for you. 

Lee MJ Elias [26:02 - 27:23]: And before. Yeah, Mike, I'm gonna throw it to you in a second, too. Like, it looks like you had a question there, but I think it's also important, too, to take a moment. And by the way, Megan, that was a great answer. Yeah. Take a moment, sit back, and actually, like, look at your priorities here, because I think what happens is a lot of time in the recruiting process, you get lost of. I'm a hockey player. Right? I'm a hockey player. And so you're so much more than a hockey player. Right. Part of developing hockey players is you're developing people. That doesn't stop at the college level either. Right. This is part of the broad scheme. I think better people make better players anyway. So, you know, I think. And I guess I'm putting this out to the panel. We're all hockeyologists here, by the way, Megan, you might not become a. A medical doctor, but we're hockeyologists on the show is that, you know, if you're discouraged or you're not, you're not getting recruited by a place. It's not. That's not necessarily what defines you. Right. If you don't go to the school you want it to go to. And Christy brought up academics. It's a huge part of it. If you love the game, you'll play the game like. Like, again, no one. No one's built for one place or one team. I mean, we all know that, right? So I think a lot of times it's sitting back. I love that you mentioned I leaning in on your coaches. Right. I. Sometimes I think players don't do that enough. Right. Is that they are an advocate. Right. And they probably have the connections that you need. But if you have tunnel vision, there's only so much someone can help you if you can't see outside your own. Your own, you know, the horse stuff on your eyes. Mike. Sorry, did you have a question? I saw you kind of leading up. 

Mike Bonelli [27:24 - 27:28]: Well, just. Just because I think the landscape's changing a little bit. Right. 

Megan Myers [27:28 - 27:28]: Too. 

Mike Bonelli [27:28 - 28:27]: In women's hockey, we talk about what schools you want to choose. And I know for the men's game, it was always for the top players. It was like, well, I'm going to go to be you, because I want to go play pro hockey. And the piece of choosing a school, to Christy's point, I think in the women's game, I just want to get your opinion on how do you feel that's changing a little bit now that there is actually an opportunity to play professional women's hockey and earn a living from the school you choose to go to rather than ten years ago. Just saying, well, the academic piece I have to have, even if I, you know, so I'm going to choose a school, maybe I'm a lot better, you know, ability to play at, but I'm choosing it because this is where I want to go because it's the courses that I need to take in order to go out, move on with my life anyway. Have you seen a little bit of that? Because obviously bu is one of those places, right. The women that play there are, you know, there's large percentage of them that are getting drafted and gonna play, get to play pro hockey. 

Megan Myers [28:27 - 28:32]: Yeah, it's definitely part of landscape now. Can we agree that that's a really cool thing? 

Lee MJ Elias [28:32 - 28:33]: That's the greatest thing ever. 

Megan Myers [28:33 - 29:55]: That's cool. That's unbelievable. But yeah, it's definitely part of the landscape now. I think for. I think that could be overshadowed by the recruiting process a little bit. Kind of how the men, like, they had the tunnel vision for professional hockey where like, you have four years in between that, that you need to spend and enjoy. Um, and I'm, and I might be biased because I played professional hockey out of division three, but I think you can go anywhere and if you're good enough, you're going to get drafted. If you're good enough and have a great career and go to a professional tryout, hopefully when all these girls graduate will have eight to twelve teams. You're going to play professional hockey. And if you play division three or you play division one and say, like, PWHL is not what you want to do, there's plenty of pro leagues in Europe, so it doesn't say like, PWHL is NLBLA. We have players that just left. BU are going to go play in Europe for a year. Like, professional hockey is professional hockey. Anyway. I don't think we can be judgy in terms of like, I'm going to pick the u because I'm going to PWHL. No, like, you should go to Trinity College because they're great at academically. And then you can go play pro in Sweden or even still play pro in the PWHL. I think that tunnel vision mindset is going to start to creep in on the girls a little bit. I agree with you in terms of picking schools to play pro, but I hope the mindset is if having confidence in yourself, I'm good and I can go anywhere I want and enjoy my process and play pro regardless of where I am. Sorry. I hope that answered your question. 

Lee MJ Elias [29:56 - 29:59]: Before we throw to Sherry here, I do want to say you went to Utica, correct? 

Megan Myers [30:00 - 30:00]: Yes. 

Lee MJ Elias [30:00 - 30:01]: And you captured. 

Christie Casciano [30:02 - 30:02]: I love Utica. 

Lee MJ Elias [30:02 - 30:24]: Captained a professional team. You captained the professional team. You didn't just play pro like you went there and you became a captain and was very, were very successful. Look, I'm qualifying that for the audience a little bit. Not that they didn't know that, but I can tell that you're humble and I wanted to make sure. Go ahead, Sherry. Yeah. 

Sheri Hudspeth [30:24 - 30:42]: I just want to talk about sort of your thoughts and what you're seeing around players having advisors and any sort of platforms that you guys use internally. Maybe it's NCSA or websites that you can recommend. What are your thoughts on this? Or kids, can they do the recruiting on their own or, you know, what's. What's best for everyone here? 

Megan Myers [30:43 - 32:05]: I think a lot of programs are different and they're trying to like their. Their thoughts on advisors. I personally think that other girls can do it on their own. I think the way that I talked about sending an email, you can do that on your own. And we talked about earlier, it's a life skill. I think it's important to be able to do on your own. And even said, like, advisors and parents, I have parents emailing me on behalf of kids, too. Like, it's on the player. Let's. I want to hear from a player that is, you know, wants to come to a high academic school. I hope they could write an email. And I think that's a good life skill. NCSA and all those platforms, we do not use one of our. We do use like, instat. Most people use Instat just to watch video, but it's not a recruiting platform. I think that we advisors take away the component of the girls being their own advocate and fighting for themselves and having those conversations with coaches where the advisor reaches out on behalf. I mean, and I could be saying this because I get a lot on the east coast, with east coast, because I think. I don't think they need advisors. There's so many resources out here. But with Vegas being said, like, maybe players in Vegas need an extra advocate where they have Sherry and they have great coaches, but maybe someone that is not being seen needs a little bit extra help. That'd be my only other reason to have an advisor is if you need someone that has more networking elsewhere that you do not have or your coach does not have. But in my general opinion, I think that girls can be able to do it on their own. 

Sheri Hudspeth [32:05 - 32:42]: Can you touch too on parent involvement? Like do you want to see emails from parents or do you want to see emails from the girls advocating for themselves also? Secondly to that, Lee talked about ABC player. You're looking at three players. C player is excellent, probably your choice. But their parents behavior, you know, they're well known that the, the parent is a nut or they're like hard to deal with, but the kid is really good. Can you talk about parents behavior, you know, affecting kids chances of recruiting and then also like, who do you want to hear from? Do you want to hear from parents? Do you want to hear from kids? 

Megan Myers [32:42 - 33:59]: Definitely want to hear from the kids. So super important. And we're having these tough conversations about obviously, like money and scholarships. Like, I think the parents are involved in this. I think the parents are involved in the process. But in terms of hearing from that side, I think it's the player. We do involve parents in the visits. We do involve parents in the zooms. We have the conversation about financials with them and I think it's important to have them on board, too, because who's the first person that our players going to talk to after a game? It's mom and dad. So you want to have mom and dad on board and I think that their impact is huge. Obviously you don't want to judge a player by their parents. If we were, I don't know if I'd be able to do that, but I think it's important to have the parents on board. We're not going to not recruit a kid because the parents are way too involved. Obviously, that'd be a conversation with the player. Hey, I need you to take more economy in your process. Hey, I need. You're here in college now. You're doing your own laundry and you're cooking your own meals. Okay, you're going to do this now. Like, mom and dad are going to step out, but it's a hard balance, right. Because they are part of a huge piece of this and we want to be a family atmosphere. We want them to feel connected to the program as well with their daughter in ithood. Um, but, yeah, I think it's hard when. When parents make it harder on their kid. And I think that, you know, that happens way too often. 

Lee MJ Elias [33:59 - 34:50]: Well, and look, I'll say this too. Uh, you know, we're using the word kid. Like, my. My second grader is a kid. My. My fifth grader's a kid. If you're actively in the college recruitment field that time period, uh, even if you're a little younger, you're young adults now. Right? And I think. I'm not saying that to this, but I'm talking to the parents listening. Like, you gotta look at it like that. Right? Like, no, this is. We're developing a young adult. What would a young adult do? All right, because you're. Again, I've heard a crazy stat about parents going to job interviews now, and it's an immediate no. I mean, it's just an immediate no. Those of you listening can look them up because they get a change. They're staggering that parents are going to job interviews with their kids. Like, I don't want to hire that person. All right? So, like, we talked about being an advocate. You're a young adult. Be a young adult and listen. How about we say this, too, like everybody on board here? It's scary. 

Mike Bonelli [34:50 - 34:51]: Yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [34:51 - 35:16]: It's scary when you're 1920, whatever age you are, it's scary to email someone asking for something you want more than anything in the world. And you might get a no. But I'll tell you what, it's a lot scarier when you got two kids and you need a job 15 years later. So you better have that skillset built up now. Right. So I also just want to normalize that anxiety. Right. It's not easy. Christy, you went through it with your daughter. 

Megan Myers [35:16 - 35:16]: Yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [35:16 - 35:17]: Not an easy time. 

Christie Casciano [35:17 - 35:18]: It's not easy. 

Lee MJ Elias [35:18 - 35:19]: Lessons are important. 

Megan Myers [35:20 - 35:21]: Very important. Right. 

Christie Casciano [35:21 - 36:10]: And it's so tempting as a parent, you know, you don't want to see your kid fail, but please let them experience this. It's going to benefit them on so many levels. Also, I wanted to talk to you about, there's so many new women's programs starting up, and we went through this where, you know, these coaches need players, and they. They want as many players as they can get on this brand new program, and they'll sell it to you saying, you're gonna be a part of history. You're gonna be one of the first women's hockey programs in the history of the school. Super tempting, but there's a lot to be said about starting up a new program, especially in Boston with you. Exactly. 

Megan Myers [36:10 - 36:11]: So, yeah. 

Christie Casciano [36:11 - 36:26]: So that's what a lot of young women are facing now, too, is that these coaches are coming on strong because they want you to play for them. They're trying to build these successful teams. So you gotta. It's tough now, you know? 

Megan Myers [36:26 - 36:26]: Yeah. 

Christie Casciano [36:26 - 36:34]: What can you say? What kind of advice can you give to the girls who are trying to figure out where to play? And you got all these brand new programs popping up 100%. 

Megan Myers [36:34 - 37:01]: Yeah. And I started two programs, so I understand how difficult it is just to run it, not alone a player in it. I think for new programs, like, it's definitely something to think about. Do you want to be a part of the process? Year one's not going to be perfect. Year two, year three, it's going to take two to three years for it to be dialed. And some schools do it better than others. Like, I hope the new programs have figured out where it's going to be. Clean cut. The rank is perfect. 

Lee MJ Elias [37:01 - 37:02]: Locker room. 

Megan Myers [37:02 - 38:00]: We have a good roster size. We have a good league, but that's not always the case. So it's. As a student athlete in a player, I know I want to go be the start. I want to start something. I want to be the first. And not everyone wants to do that. A lot of people want legacy, and they want something that's lasted and that's timeless. And where, when I was recruiting at Stonehill, like, we had girls that just want to be the first, and that was really cool, and that was something that they took pride in, that they wanted to build a legacy. They were the first class, and I think that's a special thing to have and not a lot of players want it, and that's okay. And I hope that players don't feel pressure. If coaches that have all these open spots, which isn't very often, are offering you spots and you don't want to take it, it's your process, and if you don't feel like you want to be a start of something and be a part of it, that's okay. Not everyone's like that. So that was a really good question because it is interesting. There's at least, like two to three programs coming up every year, which is awesome sport, but. 

Christie Casciano [38:00 - 38:00]: Right. 

Megan Myers [38:00 - 38:02]: Makes you go to players. 

Christie Casciano [38:02 - 38:10]: You can also get beat up pretty badly that first year, so you got to have the metal for it. You know what I mean? 

Lee MJ Elias [38:11 - 38:16]: Christy, are you secretly starting a division one women's program without telling us? Is that what you're doing? 

Megan Myers [38:16 - 38:18]: Keep us in the loop here. 

Lee MJ Elias [38:19 - 38:40]: Hey, last question for me, and then if anybody on the panel has any more questions, dive in this. Actually, I've been writing notes the whole episode this came up going back to the meeting process. Right. Maybe you could give a little bit of insight on this one. What questions do you love getting from incoming players? And what questions do you hate getting from incoming players? 

Megan Myers [38:41 - 40:25]: I don't think I hate. I love all questions. I think all questions are good, because if they're like, it could be a weird question for me, but the kids probably super passionate about the question, like, what kind of gloves do we get? Which I find, like, doesn't matter, but the kids probably fired up about it, which I would have been fired up about it when I was in their age. But favorite questions, like, just even questions that they're just engaged. Hey, what's the day in life? That's a big one that the girls ask, which I appreciate, because you want to get kind of a sense of, can I handle this balance of being a student at a student and an athlete? What are. What are hobbies that girls do on the weekends? I like that they're thinking about not just hockey, not just school. How can I fit in this community and do something different, meet new people, take advantage of where I am? How are the professors? How are my resources? I love explaining to girls that they have no idea, and a lot of players don't have any idea till they get to college, maybe not even then. How many people it takes to run an athletic department in any school. And they're all there for the student athletes well being and to make their student athlete experience the best that it is. And I think it's important for everyone that's coming through this process to know there's an athletic director, there's an assistant. There's an assistant assistant. There's an assistant general manager, everything in every department. I think it's important for them to know that they're supported. And then I think what else is important is the sports psych, mental health. I think that it's huge for them to be up with all of that. It's in our world, and it's definitely in hockey. And I think it's important that they're not afraid to ask that question anymore, which I find is cool. They're not afraid to ask about what our mental health resources are on campus or within our hockey program. Um, so I think that that is a cool question. But again, like I said, all questions are great. I like to rant on my visits and talk to way too much. So it's good for the. 

Lee MJ Elias [40:25 - 41:13]: Perfect for podcasting. It's perfect. And I'll say this, too, that, you know, you bring up a good point. Like, look, recruiting does kind of go both ways, right? It's not just the school recruiting. It's like the players trying to be, I guess, convinced as well. I think there's a lot of power. And you actually, you tell me this and saying, can I meet the assistant? Assistant? Can I. Can I. Can I meet the. The. You know, the manager? Can I. Can I meet these people? Because then you can see how the culture is. Now, look, obviously, someplace bu has a great culture, like, there's no doubt. Right? But I think that's a great question to ask sometimes of, if there's time, can I meet your team? Right. I want to feel that. Right. And I think that goes both ways. Just like meeting the family. Can I meet your crazy parents to see if they're sane? Okay. And we always say on the show that it's. You're not crazy. The hockey world is crazy. Sherry, you look like you had something to add to that. Go ahead. 

Sheri Hudspeth [41:13 - 41:40]: Yeah. I want to have Megan talk about unofficial visits and official visits. It's like, what. What can players expect on an official visit? Are they meeting the team? Are they seeing the dorms? Are they going to admissions? What can they expect when they're preparing to go on an official visit? When do you get that invite? What age? And, like, where do you have to be at your point in the recruiting process to go on an official visit? And if you're on an unofficial visit, when can you schedule that? How do parents reach out? Is it admissions? Is it coaches? How do you go on an unofficial visit? 

Megan Myers [41:41 - 42:58]: So you can go on a visit to a school without coaches or players present anytime you want. You can go on campuses all over the country and just walk around in your own or do an admissions tour. Like, that's technically not an unofficial visit. There's an unofficial visit and an official visit. They all happen after June 15, after your sophomore year. So you can. Which is unofficial visit. An official visit. The only difference is we're not paying for you on an unofficial visit. We're not buying a meal. We're not buying your hotel, your flight, or your transportation to get there. And official visit, we can buy all those things. You can pay for your meals, but unofficial and unofficial, you can meet the team, that you can come to a game. You can see campus. We can walk you around. We can talk to you. We just not paying for anything in this whole process. That's the big distinction of it, to schedule those things that would come through the coaching staff if you wanted to do an admissions tour, that's great. And wanted to catch up with me 100%. That would just be an email, and we take the visit off our plate. But sometimes those admission tours rock. Like, they know way more fun facts than I do, so sometimes they're better off. But admissions tours usually don't hit up athletics as much. That's why unofficial official visits are better. I hope that answered your question. 

Sheri Hudspeth [42:58 - 43:01]: What about home visits? Do you do any home visits? 

Megan Myers [43:01 - 43:25]: Our head coach handles all the home visits. Yeah, those. I have never done one. I feel like I would break under pressure, like someone else in my manners and their table, eating dinner. But they are a thing. They are a thing. They were. They went away during COVID They've come back. So I think it all depends on the. On the player and obviously location and all the timing and stuff. But those people are doing those, right. 

Christie Casciano [43:25 - 43:52]: I did like the unofficial visits. I have to tell you, the official visit. Sophia had a ball. And, of course, you always put your best foot forward for the players. You know, the unofficial visits are fun because you're kind of getting a real feel for what it's like on the campus, what the kids are like. You know, you really get a good perspective of what life would be like every day on that campus when you do it unofficially. So I would definitely encourage that. 

Sheri Hudspeth [43:52 - 44:37]: I had an official. Yeah. When I was being recruited in the school that I. The first school to recruit me. Like, very, very first school. So I was. I was going to that school, right. The first to show interest. Saved the official visit to my birthday, went on my birthday, and ended up getting really sick from a seafood allergy in an area that's. That's a heavy seafood area. So. Found out the hard way of a seafood allergy. So got home. That was it for me. I was like, I can't go to the school. Picked up the next school. I said, I'm coming next weekend. Did an official visit, and ended up going to that school. But, yeah, you really have to go see, you know, that's something you would never know from playing hockey. Research, admissions school. You'd never know that. It's like, maybe that environment is not where you want to be. 

Christie Casciano [44:38 - 44:43]: Excellent point. You can learn a lot from those unofficial visits. And no seafood for you. 

Sheri Hudspeth [44:43 - 44:55]: Actually, a coach. A coach saved my life, honestly. Like, I had anaphylactic shock, and I would have died, like, if he didn't. He didn't answer the phone. If he came back and took me to the hospital. So he ended up saving me. It's like, I'll forever be thankful for that, coach. 

Megan Myers [44:55 - 44:57]: But a story. 

Lee MJ Elias [44:58 - 45:04]: We know what Sherry tells in her, you know, secret facts competitions when it's like, here's something no one knows about me. All right? 

Sheri Hudspeth [45:04 - 45:06]: Yeah. Almost died on a recruiting visit. 

Megan Myers [45:06 - 45:15]: I got. I got a crazy recruiting story. So my recruiting, like, I didn't commit till may of my senior year. So very, very late. 

Christie Casciano [45:15 - 45:15]: Wow. 

Megan Myers [45:15 - 46:12]: School was starting in end of August, so I went on a visit to Utica. And I get there, I'm with my dad, and we go through this unofficial visit. Unbelievable. I fall in love with it. By the end of the visit, Claustine goes, hey, I'm going to leave you with one of the teammates for the night. I'm like, what? No one told me it was an overnight visit. I have nothing. I've never left my dad, like, this whole time. So now I'm with this random teammate, and she walks me to this dorm room, and we're hanging out with some girls on the team, not on the team. And one of the girls is having a beer. It's noon on a Thursday. And I'm like, going to the bathroom. I gotta go to the bathroom. Calm. And I'm like, dad, gotta pick me up. They're having a beer at noon on a call. He's like, megan, just have the beer. It's okay. Ended up not staying freaked out. My dad picked me up and I committed the next day. But kind of crazy story. Like, sounds like a great start. Have the beer, Megan. It's okay. 

Lee MJ Elias [46:12 - 46:16]: It sounds like the great start to like, a national lampoon film or something like that. 

Megan Myers [46:16 - 46:17]: I hope you pick you up for. 

Christie Casciano [46:17 - 46:24]: Some italian food after that, which you're famous for. Yes, he did got us some chicken riggies after that beer. 

Megan Myers [46:25 - 46:26]: Oh, so good. 

Lee MJ Elias [46:26 - 46:33]: Do any of the other hockeyologists have any more questions before we end? Yeah, I do have one question. 

Megan Myers [46:33 - 46:33]: Megan. 

Christie Casciano [46:34 - 46:51]: Megan. And this is really important for kids to understand. I mean, it's so exciting when you think about. I get a chance to play college hockey, but the kids have to realize how much work is involved in being a student athlete. It's like having two jobs. 

Sheri Hudspeth [46:51 - 46:52]: You gotta. 

Christie Casciano [46:52 - 47:16]: You're on the road a lot. You gotta figure out how to balance your academics with your plane. There's the physical aspect of it, too. So I think kids have to put all of that in perspective before they come in. Like, am I ready to do this? Because it's a lot. 

Megan Myers [47:17 - 48:23]: 100%. I think that's where the research comes in. The good questions about resources say, I am struggling in school already as it is. And I'm going to a high academic school. I want to know what my resources are, what is going to be available at my fingertips that I can use so I can succeed here. I'm going to a school that's way far away from home. Who can I lean on here? Who do I have in my corner? I think, yeah, I just think it's so important to understand when you're going through recruiting process, ask all these questions to understand that's going to set you up for success. That's what we want. We want student athletes that are coming into our school that we know are going to be set for success and aren't going to drown under the balance. And obviously, at the end of the day, parents leaving us with their children, they're young women, as you would say, and we are going to do our best to take care of them. But we also have to have some autonomy on their end to understand their resources and help them out. But yeah, there's a balance to it for sure. But I think if you know your resources and you balance your time well, which all freshmen will learn in one semester when they get to college, I think it's definitely doable depending on what school you go to. 

Sheri Hudspeth [48:23 - 48:24]: Excellent. 

Christie Casciano [48:24 - 48:25]: Thank you for sharing that. 

Lee MJ Elias [48:26 - 48:57]: She is the pride of Las Vegas, Nevada, the stand up Utica. She is a wonderful coach from Boston, and she is an all star podcast guest. Megan, I want to thank you on behalf of the team for joining us today. This really was a great episode. And again, we always try to provide value. If you're listening to this and you have a young lady that's looking to go to college, you got value today. Right? And in ten years, I'll be calling you. I'm sorry, my daughter will be calling, assuming she's even in the realm at that point. But Megan, thanks so much for joining us today. 

Megan Myers [48:58 - 49:01]: Yeah, thank you, guys. Great questions, a good conversation. I appreciate it. 

Christie Casciano [49:01 - 49:04]: All right, well, thank you for this. 

Lee MJ Elias [49:04 - 49:43]: Edition of our girls play hockey. For Mike Bonelli, sherry Hudspeth, Christy Cashiana Burns, Megan Myers, I'm Leah Elias. We'll see you on the next episode of our girls play hockey. Remember to skate on. Have a great time. We'll see you soon. Take care, everybody. 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, ourkidsplayhockey.com. also make sure to check out our children's book when hockey stops@whenhockeystops.com. 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.