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
The Ride To The Rink - Overcoming Obstacles In Youth Hockey with NHLer Chris Therien
How do you bounce back from massive adversity in your life?
On today’s episode of Ride to the Rink, NHL veteran Chris Therien joins Lee, Christie, and Mike to inspire young players with wisdom drawn from his 12-year professional career. As kids and families head to the rink, Chris shares advice on the importance of having fun, competing with effort, and being a great teammate.
💡 Key Highlights:
•The Core of Hockey: Why fun and friendship should be your foundation in the game.
•Overcoming Adversity: Chris’s personal story of being cut from a team at 14 and how it fueled his NHL career.
•Effort and Motivation: How putting in 110% on and off the ice can help you achieve your dreams.
•Life Lessons: The value of being a good teammate and responding to challenges with resilience.
Chris reminds players that hockey is about more than just wins and losses—it’s about the friendships you form, the lessons you learn, and the effort you put into every moment.
🎧 Tune in now and get inspired as you head to your next game or practice!
#YouthHockey #ChrisTherien #RideToTheRink #HockeyLife #OurKidsPlayHockey
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Key Discussion Points
- Enjoying the Sport of Hockey
- Balancing Fun with Competitiveness
- Overcoming Setbacks and Team Cuts
- Rewards of Determination in Hockey
- Importance of Being a Good Teammate
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Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
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Lee MJ Elias [0:08 - 0:29]: Hello, hockey skaters and goalies around the world. Welcome back to another edition of the Ride to the Rink. It's Mike Lee and Christie with you today. And we're joined by NHL Chris Terrian, played 12 years in the league. And Chris, I want you to talk directly to the kids. They're on their way to the rink right now. Give them a story, give them some knowledge about what they need to be thinking about mentally, physically as they go to their game or practice today.
Chris Therien [0:29 - 1:38]: All right, kids, you know what? I think first of all, the most important thing is when you're heading to the rink, what are you doing? Why, why are you going to the rink? I think that big first thing that you have to ask yourself is, are you having fun? Do you love the sport of hockey? That's the first thing, right? Do you love being in that locker room with your friends, without, with the other kids you're going to go out back out in the ice with? So number one, have fun. That's the most important thing when you're out there, make do things that are different. Try to make good plays when you're practicing with the puck, have fun. That's most important thing. Second thing, I guess when I look at it in terms of what you're doing out on the ice is your competitiveness. You know, if you're out there playing a sport of hockey, it, at the time the games start, as much as you want to have fun, I think it's also important to make sure that you compete hard and give it your all out there to make sure your team has the best effort. And that's the other thing that I always tell people. Have the best effort that you could possibly have. You know, 110% effort will overcome a lot of the mistakes that you make. And I think that that is really, really super important. So have fun, work hard and do all the little things right when you're out there with your teammates. If you have anything else, guys, I mean, I know you're editing this.
Christie Casciano [1:38 - 1:39]: Is there anything happens?
Christie Casciano [1:39 - 1:49]: You know, kids, kids can get pretty depressed and upset if they get cut from a team. Maybe you could just give them some advice and how to prop themselves back up.
Chris Therien [1:50 - 4:14]: Yeah, so, so I don't know if you, some of you kids know, but when I was actually 14 years old, I like telling this story. I ended up getting cut from a hockey team and I was really, really upset. Really, really, really upset. And you know, part of my life story was when I, when I, when I got cut from that team, you know, I Left, I went home. I was pretty sad talking to my dad. And I realized that I wanted to keep playing hockey, but I didn't feel like I wanted to be there because I lost my friends, you know, like in terms of the team I was on. So one thing I did do is I realized that even though there are things that change in life sometimes, they're not always perfect. You have the opportunity to be around your friends. So if you do get cut from a team and you want to keep playing, go on and play for the next team, there's always an opportunity for you to go play for another team and to not make it as possibly as serious. Nothing is as important as your development, your mid age, as in your teens. And when I say when I got cut from that team at 14, that message that I put on myself from that made my whole career afterwards, I use that as my motivation from getting cut to say to myself, I'm going to try to be the best hockey player I can. I don't know if I'm going to be the best hockey player out there, but I'm sure going to give myself a chance to do it at every single step. And every time I went to a hockey rink, I remember the pain that I was in from getting cut from that hockey team. And I used it as motivation for myself. And that's a pretty good feeling for me to have as even an adult now that I never gave up on my dreams as a kid. You know, I tell you kids out there one thing, if you work for whatever you want, you put the determination, you're determined and you care enough, you will be rewarded in this sport. And I promise you, you'll get, you'll get great gifts from it. If it's college you want to play, if you want to play pro hockey after, you could probably do that too. But it's going to require motivation, it's going to require a lot of effort, and it's going to require being a good teammate. That's the most important thing. If you can be a good teammate to your, your, your friends out there and be a great friend as well as a teammate. Well, I'll tell you what, you're going to have a great experience as a hockey player because ultimately, at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. Being one member of a hockey team is a really, really important job. And I can't stress that enough to you guys.
Lee MJ Elias [4:14 - 4:42]: Well, really special message here from Chris. My friends remembering kids too, that it's not really just the great moments that define you. It's really how you respond to the tough moments and those adversities that you face during your time playing hockey. That's what makes you who you are. And we'll end the show by saying what we always say to the kids, Chris, which is we believe in you. You should, too, too. It's not just enough for the coaches and the parents. You got to believe in yourself, kids. You got to have that self esteem. Chris, thanks so much for sharing your story today, guys.
Chris Therien [4:42 - 4:44]: It's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much.
