Our Girls Play Hockey - Developing Champions With Cherie Piper

In this episode of Our Girls Play Hockey, we’re joined by none other than Cherie Piper—a three-time Olympic gold medalist and the Senior Manager of Scouting and Player Development for Hockey Canada. Fresh off another gold medal win at the U18 Women’s World Championship, Cherie shares her journey to becoming one of hockey’s most accomplished athletes.

Together with hosts Lee MJ Elias, Sheri Hudspeth, and Mike Bonelli, Cherie dives deep into what it takes to succeed in high-performance hockey, both on and off the ice. Highlights include:

•The Pathway to Playing for Team Canada: Cherie breaks down how young players can get noticed, starting with provincial programs and the importance of staying consistent.

•The Role of Parents and Coaches: Insightful advice on fostering a supportive, high-performance mindset from a young age.

•Hockey IQ and Leadership: Why being skilled isn’t enough—Cherie shares what separates great players from good ones, including hockey sense, work ethic, and positive body language.

•Behind the Scenes at U18 Worlds: Cherie gives an inside look at the challenges and triumphs of coaching at the international level and preparing athletes for the pressures of competition.

•Her Love for the Game: Cherie reflects on her career, the mentors who shaped her, and her passion for helping the next generation of players thrive.

Cherie also discusses why “pressure is a privilege” and how her team helps athletes navigate social media, mental performance, and the emotional rollercoaster of competitive hockey. This episode is packed with actionable insights for players, parents, and coaches alike.

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Chapters

• 4:00 Hockey journey and Olympic experience
• 8:00 National team pathway for young players
• 13:47 Key qualities for national team prospects
• 20:23 Body language and positive attitudes
• 24:30 Cherie's Role With Hockey Canada
• 26:42 2025 U18 World Championship Experience
• 32:34 Post-U18 gold medal: What's next?

Transcript

Lee MJ Elias [0:00 - 0:35]: Hello hockey friends and families around the world and welcome to another episode of our Girls Play Hockey. I'm Lee Elias and I'm joined by Mike Bonelli and Sheri Hudspeth. And today's guest is a three time Olympic gold medalist with Team Canada. And today is the senior manager of scouting and player development for Hockey Canada. She is fresh off another gold medal performance for Team Canada at the U18 World Championships. My friends, please join me in welcoming Cherie Piper to the show today. Cherie, welcome to our Girls Play Hockey. 

Cherie Piper [0:35 - 0:36]: Thanks for having me. 

Lee MJ Elias [0:36 - 1:08]: Oh, it's great to have you. Like first off, I want to say it again. Congratulations from an American. Congratulations on the 10 Gold and the U18 team success at the world. It is really the highest level of competition. We're really going to dive into that later in the show. But let's start with your hockey journey. You have a long history with Hockey Canada. Three gold medals as a player, others in world championships. I read even you have a gold medal in the roller hockey world. How did you find the game? How has it shaped your life? Just give us that quick overview of your life because it really is an amazing resume. 

Cherie Piper [1:09 - 3:00]: Yeah, hockey has been my life and I attribute that to my family. I have two older brothers and I was for sure that annoying little sister that just followed them around, did everything that they did and probably annoyed the crap out of them, to be honest. But you know, they were great role models for me. I remember watching my brother's first game. I was four, he was six. And just the smile he had the whole time, he was, you know, not very good. It was his first game ever. But just remembering that smile and thinking, I want to do that too. And you know, our journey as older females in the game was not smooth. There weren't female programs to play in. So for me, I started off in the boys game, but by the time I was in what was formerly known as Peewee, So like a U13 program, there were girls programs and I was able to play them both. So for me, that's where the real fun began. Being in a room full of girls and just seeing their passion and excitement and just, just having commonalities with other other girls in the game and their passions. And then in 98 when it became an Olympic sport, that's when it became a reality that I want to do this, I want to go to the Olympics one day. And that's where I was really driven to transition into being a true high performance athlete. And you know, I got up every morning, watched those Games, you know, disappointing final for us, but it pushed me even further and drove me to say, I want to be an Olympic gold medalist, not just an Olympian. And you know, I was able to play with a lot of those players. The Geraldine Heaney's, Angela James is of the world. Sheri and I played together in the Toronto Arrows program and that really solidified things. Playing with those players that were already at the level that we wanted to achieve and, you know, just them being good role models and what it takes to actually be a high performance athlete. 

Sheri Hudspeth [3:00 - 3:06]: Yeah, Cherie, thank you for being here and yes, congratulations from a Canadian on your gold medal win. 

Lee MJ Elias [3:07 - 3:12]: It's a joint show, Sheri. We can all be happy. Let's take the world juniors. 

Mike Bonelli [3:12 - 3:12]: Yeah. 

Sheri Hudspeth [3:12 - 3:29]: So I want to dive into your role with the national team. And for our girl listeners out there, like, where do they start? What age do you start looking at them? How do they get into that national team pathway? Like, does it start with provincial camp? Can you dive into? How do you. How do we get on that pathway as a young girl? 

Cherie Piper [3:30 - 4:47]: Yeah. So the provincial programs is the key for, for our programming. You have to be a good standing member with one of the provincial programs. So I strongly encourage athletes to get involved. Most provinces have U16 programs now. That's where we start to identify athletes. Doesn't mean you can't be identified later. We continue to watch all athletes. We realize that there are some athletes that stand out when they're younger. That could just be because they physically matured earlier, but doesn't mean we write off the smaller player at 14, 15 years old. So provincial programming is the first step. Go to those camps, the identification camps they have within their provinces. There's myself and seven regional scouts as well across the country. So we, we go to all of those provincial camps. We do cross scouting within the the provinces. So, you know, myself, I travel around a lot, but we have other scouts that will travel around just to make sure that it's not one person's opinion, it's multiple opinions. And then once athletes are identified, once they get into the U18 programs, we have a national championship. So there's a domestic championship where most of the top athletes are identified within their provinces and by us. And that's where we would select our world championship team from. 

Sheri Hudspeth [4:47 - 4:56]: So from provincial. So you get invited to your provincial camp and then from there, where do you go? Is there a national camp in the summer or what happens next after provincial camp? 

Cherie Piper [4:57 - 6:18]: So yeah, there's the provincial camps that generally happen through the summer. We will have identified athletes. We brought 46 athletes in this summer in August. So a lot of them will have their provincial camps May, June, July, which is a bit of a struggle because we preach for athletes to have time off, but then we have camps all through the summer months as well. But at the same time, we have our camp in August, but the door is open. So even if an athlete isn't one of the 46 that comes to our summer camp, if you make your provincial team, the nationals are held in November. And after that national championship is when we select our team. So we realize, especially at the U18 level, these players are surpassing each other on a weekly basis. So you might be a top 46 one week, but if you're not putting the work in a month later, there's an. There's athletes that are way ahead of you and there's just so much growth at that age. It's not like the senior national team level where they've been playing for 20, 25 years and it's really hard to continue to get that 1% better. So at the U18 age, with the growth of the athlete physically, there's so many gains that can be made off ice and on ice that the door is open. So if to nationals in November and you're one of the top players, but you weren't one of our top 46 at camp in August, you can make our team. 

Mike Bonelli [6:19 - 7:05]: Yeah, you know, I think as a scout and a recruiter, player development specialist, I think one of the most exciting parts of that position is the hunt, right, Is finding the player. And there's no shortage of players in Canada in these provinces. Obviously these players are, you know, you're finding these players, identifying these players at 12 and 13 and 14, as you're saying, they're, they're ebbing and flowing, right? They're just, they're up and they're down and they're in between. But what are, what are some of the. The other qualities that you look for in a prospect? Obviously, when you're building a national team and you're building tournament teams, there's a lot of different dynamics there. Different than a university team or a full season team, things like that. What are some of the qualities that you're looking for in those prospects to help you fill your rosters? 

Cherie Piper [7:06 - 8:16]: Yeah, obviously we have a lot of great players. And that's a key point that you just made. There is, you know, just being a good player doesn't get you in our program. It doesn't get you in the door. It's being a good person as well. We have to be able to trust you. We're traveling, you know, across the world at times, so we have to be able to trust that we can take you to airports and you're not going to get lost and wander off on your own. So just being a little bit responsible, but also being a good teammate in person. Right. Like everybody is a good hockey player. So what do you bring that's different to them? Do you have consistency in your work ethic that we know what we're going to get every time you step on the ice? Or are you a player that is the best player on the ice one game and invisible the next game? So there's the consistency piece. You know, I preach to parents, be the role model that you want your, your, your kid to be. So if you're the parent that is talking smack about other kids in the car ride to and from the rink, your kid is going to learn those behaviors and they're going to talk poorly about their teammates. And if you're not, if you're not a good teammate, we don't care how good you are as a player. There's no room in our program for you. We want good people first and great hockey players. 

Mike Bonelli [8:17 - 8:57]: Yeah, I mean, we probably don't. I mean, sorry, Lee, I just, just to kind of pull the thread on that a little bit more too, because of our audience and because of the parents and the kids that listen to us on a regular basis, maybe outside of the 18 and 19 and 20 year olds, maybe tell a little bit about, you know, how impactful it is, the decisions you make at 11 and 12 and 13 years old on social media, in the locker room, in Snapchats and team, you know, team conversations. Can you talk a little bit about like, and maybe some real life examples of, you know, where you've seen players and you're sitting in the room on the big board saying it's going to be hard to put this player here because of this, this, this and this. 

Cherie Piper [8:58 - 10:08]: Yeah, I think everyone says they want to be high performance until it's time to be high performance. And that goes along with just lifestyle and choices. Right. Like, we realize young athletes don't necessarily have control over diet and things like that. That, that's more to the parents. Like what are you feeding your high performance athlete? You spend tens of thousands of dollars for them to play the game, but you're grabbing McDonald's on the way to the rink, like that's not fueling their body. So, you know, if you give young kids choices, they don't know what the correct choices are. So it's our job as adults to help lead them. And you know, it's, it's tough when parents think they're coming from a good place. They think that they're doing what's best for their kid. But at the end of the day they, they need to do some research and understand what true high performance is and what gets you there. It's putting spending the money on extra skills coaches and the off ice trainers and stuff. It's a whole lifestyle. So Sheri, you can attest to this. When we were young athletes, we didn't get to go to all the parties we wanted to go to, whether it was birthdays, family events, just high school parties. 

Sheri Hudspeth [10:08 - 10:10]: Yeah. Graduations, all that. 

Cherie Piper [10:10 - 10:30]: Yeah. Like you, you have to make those sacrifices. And that's what I mean. Everybody says they want to be high performance until it's time to actually be high performance. And it doesn't mean you can't do any fun things. But it can't always be fun and it can't be focused on Snapchats and tick tocks and whatever else if it's got to be about the game. 

Mike Bonelli [10:30 - 10:39]: Well, I think, I think the high performing athlete would argue that the fun is the high performance. Like that. And that's what separates us. Right? 

Lee MJ Elias [10:39 - 11:38]: Well, that's, that's the key word there, Mike. Like that's the separator. Right? Right. Cherie, is, is that, you know, if it's, if it's hard and maybe hard's not the right word, but if that dedication, if you're really fighting that, you really should probably be questioning, like, is this for me? Because in my experience, Mike, actually everyone on the, everyone on the call here feels this. Right. It was always fun to be working towards my dream and my goal. I was so focused on that. Obsessed with it, if you will. That, that was. I loved it. I didn't, I don't want to say I didn't mind missing parties, but it, it was fine. I was okay with it. Were sacrifices. Everything you said, Cherie, is correct. I'm just saying that the drive that, that grind becomes the obsession and that becomes fun. Cherie, I'm going to break up my next question. Actually, several, few smaller questions. Okay. I think before I even ask this question, we should establish this for the entire listening audience. What is the youngest age you would even begin to evaluate a player at the U16 age. 

Cherie Piper [11:38 - 11:43]: That's where we would start to identify them. Prior to that, if people are telling you we're going watching 11, 12 year old. 

Lee MJ Elias [11:43 - 11:45]: We're not exactly. 

Mike Bonelli [11:45 - 11:45]: All right. 

Lee MJ Elias [11:45 - 12:46]: I wanted to establish that for the audience because how you approach hockey at 11 and 12 is different than how you approach it at U16. Now, it doesn't mean you're not building the blocks towards making a great U16 player. All right? But they're not looking. And you gotta. You gotta know that they're not looking at your kid when they're 12, no matter. No matter how good that they are. So that was the first part of the question. The second part of the question is this. And. And I'm gonna say what Mike's. I want to pull a thread on this. We've gone over kind of how evaluations and selections look, but I want to dive deeper into the evaluations itself. Right, so 16 and up. Now we're talking. Right. What are the specifics that you do during an evaluation? If you're willing to share, obviously, how do you gauge skill, personality, mentality, all of those things? And then if we can, along with that, questions, what roles do parents and coaches play below 16 to help develop those skill sets? 

Cherie Piper [12:47 - 14:01]: Yeah. So we definitely have specific criteria we're looking at. You know, some are glaringly obvious. Skating, you know, can you skate the game? And I'll be honest, it's. It's a gap. Now in our game, a lot of kids don't want to do it because you can't put it on Instagram when you're learning to fix your stride and whatever else. It's not the fancy puck trick. You know, there's puck skill, obviously, that matters. You have to be handle the puck, make plays, you know, shoot the puck, skate with the puck. One of the biggest gaps, and now that I'm finding in the game and we're finding in the game, is hockey iq. So it's. They know how. Like, they know these skills, but they don't know how to apply them in a game. They're working with these skills coaches all the time, but these skill coaches are just teaching them a skill or a trick or whatever. But there's no application to the game and why they're learning it. So for any skills people out there, please teach them the application and how it applies to the game. Parents get them to watch hockey. There's pwhl, there's NHL, there's hockey on all the time, every day. Be a student of the game. It's a. It's one of the biggest gaps is that we have players that are super skilled, super fast, but actually can't play the game. 

Mike Bonelli [14:02 - 14:04]: Insert. Insert past episode here. 

Lee MJ Elias [14:04 - 15:49]: Well, I, I was gonna say, like, we might want to make a spin off show our kids have IQ or something like that, just to dive into that a little bit more. All right. And again, I love to give examples like I'm, I'm part of a 10U double A team right now. Okay, Squirt. Using the old terminology. Okay. The amount of times that we have to explain to the young kids, do not skate with your puck and stick in front of you directly at a defenseman when coming into the zone is insane. I mean, that is, that is base level hockey iq. You are putting yourself at a disadvantage. And to your point, Cherie, as well, they're seeing Connor McDavid highlights which are, which are fun. I'm not telling anybody not to watch them. And they're thinking, well, hockey is. I go one on one, beat five guys and get to that and score. And Connor McDavid may be the only player in the world that can do that like Connor McDavid does. So those fundamentals of, you know, gap control and understanding how to use your body to protect the puck and going wide and not putting yourself in a danger zone, to me, at the 10U age, that's a bit of hockey IQ. And as coaches, we feel the responsibility of really having to teach them that. And it goes beyond the ice, right? It's, it's, it's not just we're telling you to do this, to tell you to do this, watch some games, right? Parents look at this stuff. And I think again, the separator at the younger ages is your ability as a player at 10 years old, 12 years old, to recognize those patterns that the coaches are trying to teach you and then learning them. Right. And taking those in. I think that the current young generation is, is struggling with that. I don't think it's their fault. I think it's, it's just because that's where we live right now. But I always like to reinforce that and it shows. This is why you have the job that you have, right? Because, because you're the person in charge of that. 

Cherie Piper [15:50 - 16:29]: Yeah, I would agree completely. And you know, even looking at another, one of our criteria is playing with speed. Everyone assumes that would be just being able to skate fast and stick, handle and whatever. Like playing with speed is having your team be able to play with speed. So how quick do you transition the puck up ice? Are you scanning? Are you next play ready? Is a, is a term we use a lot, is that, you know, are you looking and scanning for your options before you even receive the puck. On a breakout, like, do you know where your teammates are? Are you just going into corners blind, trying to be first to the puck? That's not playing fast because you're turning the puck over because you have no idea where to put it. 

Lee MJ Elias [16:29 - 16:31]: Right. Right. 

Cherie Piper [16:31 - 16:35]: You know, so there's, there's all those things and then a big one is compete level. 

Mike Bonelli [16:35 - 16:35]: Yeah. 

Cherie Piper [16:35 - 17:16]: Obviously that's the toughest thing for younger players is they are a lot more up and down. They're, they're, they're trying to figure it out still. They're impacted by so many other things in their lives. Whether it's just a bad day at school or they're tired, they had too much homework. Like that can make them very inconsistent. But we just ask them, that's the one thing that you can control is we can tell if you are trying hard. Right. Like your body language is different. Even if you don't have your legs that day. We can tell if you're trying to work hard. And so finding that consistency of compete is huge. Especially in a short term competition. You can't disappear for four games out of the competition because you're just not feeling your best. 

Lee MJ Elias [17:16 - 17:43]: I'm going to say it again too. For the players specifically listening Cherie is telling you they can tell. So the, the question, like great questions demand great answers. We always say that the question should be spawning in your head, okay, you know how to work on your stake handling skills. You know, you know, like we know how to do that. How do you work on your compete? How do you work on that side of the game? That is a skill that you need to develop as well. I love that you brought that up, Cherie. 

Sheri Hudspeth [17:43 - 17:56]: Same with body language. Body language is huge. That'll get you scratched in the tryout. So quick, slamming your stick, eye rolling, you know, like coach says that you're going, you're not going. They eye roll. Like. Can you talk about body language for a quick second? 

Lee MJ Elias [17:57 - 18:02]: Oh yeah, I just read your body language on that one. 

Sheri Hudspeth [18:02 - 18:17]: Yeah. Oh, I mean with girls too, like and with, I see it a lot with boys, like with the young ages, like I coach U10 and kids are slamming sticks and you know, we got to stop it. But it's hard like from maturity standpoint. But when they're doing it 16 years old too, that's. 

Cherie Piper [18:18 - 19:23]: Yeah. I think it's our responsibility as the adults. Right. Like we even in our camp in August, we, we had conversations with athletes. A lot of times they don't even realize they're doing it. So we're even talking 16, 17 year olds. When coaches are giving them information and they're like the big eye roll, they don't necessarily realize they're doing it because they're so used to doing it. It wasn't a corrected behavior when they were young. So, you know, we decided as a group that we were just going to stop and remind the athlete, hey, I don't think you meant to do this, but we're going to restart the conversation so that we can both feel respected and you know, and that we can, we know that you're actually listening to what we're saying and you know, it takes time to break down those behaviors because they've become habits by the time they're 16, 17. So if you're working with younger kids, remind them we understand you're going to get frustrated. We're all human, we all have emotion. You know, a non call, you're mad at the ref or whatever. You know, it's the. As much as we can work with those athletes when they're younger, they can curb those behaviors more easily when they're older. 

Lee MJ Elias [19:23 - 20:59]: Yeah. And if I may dive in, it's so important that coaches also recognize that at a young age. And I think what happens is sometimes our egos can get in the way and you'll see a young kid, like you said, roll your eyes, slam your stick, and our first reaction is, what are you doing that for? Why are you doing that? And really what they need is you to put your arm around their shoulder and say, hey, what's going on? Right? Or hey, I understand you're frustrated. I don't want you to ruin the whole practice for yourself because you're frustrated about this one thing, that, that 10 second interaction of the kid knowing the coach cares, that is a way of teaching this, right? Even after games, like a great scenario. We had a kid, we lost the game, kid scored an empty net on us. And right before that, one of our top players hit the post with the goal. He pulled and he was devastated. Right. He was having a hard time after the game and I, I was watching him put the loss on himself, right? And I, I went up to him purposely and said, hey man, look, I, I don't. You can be disappointed at the loss. I, I don't have any, I don't have any issues with that. But I don't want you to leave this locker room thinking you let the team down today. And I think he really needed to hear that. I'm not patting Myself on the back. I just. I believe he needed to hear that, and it totally changed his ability to come back the next time. Boys, girls, I think this is important along the way, is that as coaches, we help reinforce the positive behaviors at the younger age. So that, as you said at 16, there has to be some self sufficiency in this. I'm not saying you can't do it at that age either, coaches, but we want them prepared for that age, not. Not having to pull them aside there. So I just think that's a really great point, a great discussion and learning, Learning topic for our audience. 

Mike Bonelli [21:00 - 21:07]: Yeah. Cherie, I think, you know, in your evaluation process too, you know, discussing, you know, positive body language as well, it's not always, you know, banging the stick and. 

Lee MJ Elias [21:07 - 21:09]: Great point yourself. 

Mike Bonelli [21:09 - 22:46]: It's like, you know, are you the player that gets off and pats a defenseman on the, you know, on the back and says, oh, listen, I'm gonna get you next time, or goes to the goalie after a bad goal and be like, listen, that's my fault. That's on me. Like, I. I've got to do better in the corner. Like those, Those are. Those are qualities that we look for in players that don't necessarily translate to the score sheet. Right. And. And I think even in, like, when I watch players, like, let's say we're doing a line drill and I see that player kind of sneak to the back of the line every time. Not once, every single time. That then tells me, like, okay, that that body language is telling me that this player lacks some confidence. They. Maybe they lack understanding of what we're trying to do. Maybe they weren't paying attention earlier. Like, all these little things, you know, help you, you know, kind of define who the player is. And. And unfortunately, or fortunately, I guess, but unfortunately for a lot of players, that time frame may be one practice that you get to see them play. So being in that moment and being in that time and. And again, I'm not saying to go over the top, be like, every single time you get off the ice, you're patting your teammates on the head. But you need to train, as Lee talked about and Sheri talked about a little bit there, that we can train that. Like, we could teach that negative piece into a. Into a. Every time you get off the ice, you're saying, like, I know we have a little rule with our kids. Like, you have to say something positive to your teammates every time you get off the ice. Like, you get off the ice. Something like, love that. That was a Great play, great dump in. You know, hey, way to throw that puck out of the zone. You know, whatever, whatever it is, just change that language. I think for a small, you know, we try to build a national team, you better have not. Not. It's not that you can't have passionate players, but you better have positive players. 

Cherie Piper [22:47 - 23:28]: Absolutely. And that's about being a good teammate. And part of it is we want our athletes to be their authentic selves. Right. Not everyone's going to be a rah rah leader and, you know, running up and down the bench and being vocal, and that's okay. We don't need 23, 24 players being that same person. We need people to be their authentic self. And if you feel comfortable that you can be yourself, you're going to perform at your best. If you're feeling insecure or not confident, that's. That's tough to perform under those conditions. So it's a big thing within all of our programs is we want people to be their authentic self and feel that we create a safe environment where they can be that as well. 

Sheri Hudspeth [23:28 - 23:29]: Awesome. 

Cherie Piper [23:29 - 23:30]: Sure. 

Sheri Hudspeth [23:30 - 23:39]: You've been with Hockey Canada a really long time. Just wondering how you got into your current role and how you like it and. And what do you like? Yeah, what do you like most about it? 

Cherie Piper [23:40 - 24:55]: So I'm actually a teacher by trade as well. I taught middle school for a couple years, and then there was an opportunity that opened up with the Ontario Women's Hockey Association. So I went through that application process and got the job there as the high performance director and worked with the provincial programs for seven years. And that's why I'm so passionate about what that pathway is and how important the provincial programming is. And then Covid hit and, you know, there was a lot of people laid off, actually, in, in sport in general because kids weren't allowed in the rinks. Ontario was shut down longer than, than most places. And then this, this job opportunity opened up with Hockey Canada. And honestly, I love it. I have the greatest job on earth. I. I keep telling people all the time, like, I get to watch hockey for a living, you know, and there's, there's not much better out there to just watch hockey, be a part of these young athletes journeys through to our national teams. I know how impactful the game was on. My life, my whole life has been hockey, and I've met my best friends through hockey. I've just met great people through hockey that have, you know, it's a dream job to be able to work in the sport. That you love so much and has given you so much. 

Lee MJ Elias [24:55 - 24:59]: And now you get to appear on award winning podcasts about hockey as well. 

Cherie Piper [25:00 - 25:02]: Exactly. Full circle right there. 

Mike Bonelli [25:03 - 25:41]: Yeah. I'll tell you. So you talked a little bit about, you know, when you're selecting your team and traveling. Traveling and you know, having a, you know, having the, the ability for a young woman to walk through the airport without getting lost and things like that. And you know, so you are doing a lot of traveling, you're doing a lot of world stuff that maybe a lot of kids haven't done. Can you tell us a little bit about the U18 World's tournament, like as a whole? And you know, the, the exposure it's getting now and you know the, the accolades is getting and the eyes that are on these women and girls that, that have, that weren't there, you know, when you were a player growing up. Right. So you talk a little bit about that whole experience about being on that team and what that looks like. 

Cherie Piper [25:42 - 28:02]: I think the key there is the visibility of women's sports. Now you can Turn on the TV and there's PWL, there's the U18 world. All of our games were televised on TSN back here. And you know, for those kids to be playing on TV for the first time, you could see early on in the tournament, it was a little nerve wracking for them. And you know, it's, it's an interesting thing for them because it's the first time that it's happening for them. As much as they live their lives online, it's different when it's on national TV and all of their friends and family and just random strangers are watching them. There's some, a lot of people cheering them on and a lot of those trolls that we know sit behind screens as well. So it was a new thing for them to, to be able to manage that. We also travel with a mental performance. Coach is on our staff as well. We have a large staff contingency that helps these athletes through all of that stuff. And you know, it was a great experience. Over in Finland, the double IHF hosts world class events. They always do, they always will. I find they continue to elevate what they're providing the experience for our athletes. And you know, at the end of the day though, as much as it's nerve wracking for our athletes, we also remind them it's another hockey game. Even when you're getting into a gold medal game, you can be nervous and you know, we use the whole thing. How many Games. Do you think you've played in your life at this point? You know, you're 16, 17 years old, probably played at least 500 games at this point. So you've played now like, how many games in this tournament is it any different? Is the ice any different? You put skates on, you skate around, the puck weighs the same, you're using the same sticks that you always use. So just reminding them that they've gotten here for a reason. There's like, we've selected them for this team, so there's, you know, it's just another hockey game and it's supposed to be fun. I am a big proponent on fun. If you're having fun, you're loose, you're playing your best. And you know that for our staff, it's a big deal as well. A lot of them have ambitions to go to the Olympics one day and this is their pathway. Whether you're becoming the best therapist you can be, the best coach you can be, that's their pathway to the Olympics as well. And this is just one of those steps in that journey for them as well. 

Mike Bonelli [28:02 - 29:09]: Yeah, sure. That's one of the great things about, you know, when you go into these international events or any kind of high level event like that. At the end of the day, you walk onto the ice and the doors close behind you and it's the same, same thing. You know, it's a field or a court or the ice and, and if in fact you've made it to that level, you probably just play and you know, the more players, they could just play and, and, and kind of wipe out all the other noise. But it is an interesting dynamic right now that there's so much social media impact, especially in Canada. You know, if you're in the Czech Republic, maybe you're not getting, you know, people, you know, writing blogs about the left winger and who's playing on what line and what goal you put in. Right. But in Canada, you're probably getting a lot of that feedback, you know, for these girls. So I mean, what is, what does that mental performance coach do as far as sort of setting them up and like, what are you preemptively doing with the players to kind of be prepared for the fact that they are, you know, like in the US Like, I honestly, like, the only people that know the US is playing in a world tournament are hockey players. Like, it's not like the country doesn't surround it where in Canada the country's surrounding what those players are doing. And you know, how do you Prepare them for that. 

Cherie Piper [29:10 - 30:10]: Yeah, I think pressure is privilege and it's part of putting the logo on is, you know, you're representing your country. It's the Canadian way that we want to do it with class and dignity. And for our athletes, we do a lot of work preemptively going into the tournament. So we have sessions, online sessions just like this. Now technology is great that we can bring the team together, you know, not physically, but we do sessions with them, talk about distraction, control, have the kids actively involved in that. Like, what are, where do you think pressures are going to come from when you're at the tournament? Like, what are concerns that you have going in? And we deal with a lot of that away from the ring. But then once we're there, our mental performance coach is always available. He does a session at the end of every night that's optional if you want to take part in a relaxation session to help them go to sleep after a game. That it's just methods to help them. If we use the term brain Zamboni, just clear their minds. 

Lee MJ Elias [30:10 - 30:11]: I like that. That's good. 

Cherie Piper [30:11 - 31:02]: Yeah, it was a great term that was just brought up this, this tournament. So, you know, there's, we have to remember that they're just kids, right? Like we know that they're, they're always going to do their best and you know, their reactions to certain situations are not always going to be ideal. But they're just kids at the end of the day, so we surround them with a great support staff and we have world class athletes, but we also have world class staff. And when you look at our head coach, Vicki Sanahera, she's also a three time Olympian, she just was inducted into the double IHF hall of Fame. Like, what a better or like there's no better person to lead that young program of young athletes that they can look up to her. She's lived it, she knows it. And you know, for our kids, I think there's just so much respect there that they're like, wow, like we're so lucky and privileged that we have people like this fighting for us, you know. 

Lee MJ Elias [31:02 - 31:33]: It'S a cool thought. So again, U18 gold medal. So now what happens? Right? I don't know how many of us had achieved the gold medal in the double IHF at 18, but for a lot of these young women, the path continues, right? This is actually almost just the start. So obviously some of the players will remain on that U18 path in that program. But for your graduating players, what does the next step look like, what is the path for them to the U22, you know, or the Olympics? How does this progress from there? 

Cherie Piper [31:34 - 33:08]: Yeah, so they are all back with their club teams now. We continue to scout them through the rest of season and then our graduating players will be off to university next year. So whether they're playing U Sport or ncaa, we'll continue to track them through those programs. You know, we're very clear. We also had a parent meeting while we're at world championships, and if you look at the stats for an athlete to go from our U18 program to our senior national team, the. The numbers don't lie. It's 8.6 years. There's outliers within that, and that's why we have a development program as well. But even then, most athletes are not going right from our U18 program to our development team, and that's okay. And it's our job to educate them that the pathway is not going to be linear. Not every player is going to go just straight through. There's very few, Marie Philippe Poulin of the world that are just going to make our national team at 18. Right. There's always exceptions, but they're very few and far between. And to the parents out there, your kid is not the exception everyone thinks that they are. But it is very, very rare. And we're very clear with that. So we just continue to monitor them on their journey. A lot of athletes, it takes two to three years to come back into our program at the development level. And for some of the athletes, the reality is, is they won't wear the jersey again. And that's why we emphasize to the parents at that tournament at the U18 level is this might be the only time they wear the jersey. So enjoy it. You know, you've put a lot of money and time into your kids, so it's important for you to enjoy the moment as well. 

Lee MJ Elias [33:08 - 34:42]: You know, it's always funny about. Glad. I'm glad you brought up the. The exception, right? The exception player. At least in my experience, the exceptional player does not act like they are the exceptional player. They actually end up putting in more work than anybody else. We go, we're going back to the obsession side of things, right? They may be unbelievable, but they're putting in unbelievable work to their mind, to their body, to their skill sets. So I always say, Cherie, with. Well, my kid is exceptional. It's like, okay, like, well, let's prove it then. Like, you don't. You shouldn't need to tell me. If you have to tell Me, maybe they're not right. And that's okay. Like the broad point. And this is so great to be talking to you about this. Wherever you're at on the journey is fine. It's like, enjoy the moment a little bit. You know, you just want a U18 gold medal. Take a moment and live in that because you're right. You never know. And it might not be by selection. There are a hundred reasons you might not make it to the next level. There's also 100 reasons that you may. But you can't live in those what ifs. Right? You have to be present. You've got to be there. I. I love again you brought in. It's the same ice. It's the same place. The ice should be a place of peace when you go there. I know it's a violent sport at times and it's a chaotic sport at times, but it is a piece for hockey players. Right. And I. I always try and explain, as you did too, just try and find that place, because when you change that aura of the game, you're gonna play differently. All right? And it. And typically not well. Right. In my experience. Just my thoughts on that. So. 

Sheri Hudspeth [34:42 - 35:07]: Yeah, I got one. Hey. So our last. Our last episode of our Girls Play Hockey. We had one of my favorite hockey players on there, Cassie Campbell. And we talked to Cassie about her days with the Senior Arrows and playing in Toronto. So we had Angela James on that team. Geraldine, he yourself just want to know, like, growing up, we had a lot of female role models. We were pretty lucky. Was there anyone that inspired or helped shape your game from growing up? 

Cherie Piper [35:09 - 36:06]: Yeah, I. I would say that whole Arrows program, like, we were pretty lucky as young kids to have those role models that had to break down all the barriers for us to have those opportunities. And I'm so grateful to the coaches, the management of those teams. They're still close friends to this day. Shout out to Geraldine Heaney. We still get together whenever we can and hang out. And, you know, there's not one person that I can attribute it to, but just with the lack of visibility of female sport back then that it wasn't on tv, there weren't necessarily professional leagues. You know, just being able to sit in a dressing room with those people four or five days a week and learn from them and learn what it truly was to be a national team athlete or true professional in the game like those. We were. We were beyond lucky that we had those opportunities when other girls didn't. 

Lee MJ Elias [36:06 - 36:22]: Well, look, we were beyond lucky to have you here today. I'm not a professional evaluator at your level, but I can say that you are a great podcast guest and we are very happy that you were here today, today. So. So triple marks for me, Mike and Sheri. Anything before I close this out? 

Sheri Hudspeth [36:22 - 36:24]: No, this was great. Thank you again for being here. 

Mike Bonelli [36:25 - 36:31]: Yeah, no, thanks for taking the time. And I know you guys are super busy, so appreciate the. The effort to be here. 

Lee MJ Elias [36:32 - 36:52]: I just love interviewing Olympians. Cherie, thank you so much for your time today. Again, congratulations on the gold. You know, I wish I could say some, like, continued success. I'll just say continued competition as someone from the United States, but I know, I know Sheri Hudspeth up there is continued success, but no joking aside, we're all hockey friends here. Thank you so much for being on the show today. We appreciate your time. 

Cherie Piper [36:53 - 36:54]: Appreciate the invite. Thank you. 

Lee MJ Elias [36:55 - 37:45]: All right, that's gonna do it for our Girls Play Hockey. Remember, if you have a question, a comment, a thought that you want to share with us, you can share that in the episode description. There's a link. You tap on it and it texts a message right to us with your question. Or if you want to do it, Old school team. At our kids playhockey.com there's always open for you. But for Sheri Hudspeth, Cherie Piper, and Mike Bonelli, I'm Lee Elias. We will see you on the next edition of our Girls Play Hockey. 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, our Kids Play Hockey dot com. Also, make sure to check out our children's book, When Hockey stops@when hockeystops.com 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.