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.
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.
- Update frequency
- every 2 days
- Average duration
- 39 minutes
- Episodes
- 416
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Managing Money In Youth Hockey with Larry Sprung
What exactly are you getting your family into financially when you sign your child up for hockey? Most people don’t know until they’re fully in it. This week we’re joined by Larry Sprung of Mitlin Fi…
Retain Your Training
How can your child keep their newly learned skill sets after they leave a camp or a clinic? Lee and Mike dive into tips and tricks on how help your children retain what they've learned at practices, …
An Interview With NHL Hockey Mom, Juliana MacEwen
What does it actually take to get your kid to the NHL? We're all hockey parents on this show, and this week we've welcomed an NHL hockey mom. Juliana MacEwen joins us to share her family's journey in…
An Interview With American Special Hockey Association Director, Jen O'Brien
How much do you know about the American Special Hockey Associations? Listen up - we had their director, Jennifer O’Brien, on for a discussion and some amazing stories from her work with ASHA!
Be sure …
My Kid's First Year in Mite (8U) Ice Hockey: 2021-22 Season in Review
I’ve been pondering for the past few days how I wanted to share my end-of-season review for my son’s Mite team. Then I remembered that I am privileged to be the co-host of a very popular youth hockey…
Season Wrap-Up
Let's reflect: What did you and your child take away from this hockey season?
The EARLY ACCESS copies of "When Hockey Stops" are going away soon!! Order yours now to receive a limited edition hockey …
Evaluating Evaluations
What are your thoughts on end of season evaluations? How does your organization handle them? We deep dive and evaluate the evaluation process this week on Our Kids Play Hockey!
Be sure to grab an earl…
Interview With Mark Gilman
How can we better impact the lives of youth hockey players? Are select teams really where it's at? Mark Gilman shares his thoughts this week on Our Kids Play Hockey.
Grab your copy of When Hockey Stop…
The Car Ride's Not For Coaching
Do you coach your kid(s) in the car on the way to and from the game? What kind of reactions or response do you get? Is it influencing their attitude toward the team or the game? We explore all of the…
An Interview With Darryl Belfry; Part 2
Hockey's Top Performance Coach, Darryl Belfry, recently joined the Our Kids Play Hockey crew and dropped SO MUCH coaching wisdom that we just had to split it into two episodes!
Tune-in to part two to …
An Interview With Darryl Belfry, Part 1
This week on Our Kids Play Hockey we welcome coaching legend, Darryl Belfry. Darryl has worked with some of the top athletes and biggest names in hockey and joined our panel this week to talk about s…
How To Build The Best Coaching Staff
Building the best coaching staff possible is no easy task, but it is an important one to keep things running smoothly on and off the ice. Lee, Mike, and Christie breakdown how you can build the best …
An Interview With Frank Buonomo
Frank Buonomo, a former NHL executive, and current coach and president for the Pittsburgh Predators Youth Organization and the Vice President at Dollar Bank, joins the panel to discuss how we can mak…
To Yell Or Not To Yell
MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT IN ORDER TO BE AN EFFECTIVE COACH YOU NEED TO YELL AT YOUR PLAYERS...but is that true? This week on Our Kids Play Hockey the panel discusses if you should yell, when you should…
A Clinic On Clinics
The Our Kids Play Hockey Team puts on a clinic for you this week when they discuss everything hockey parents should know about clinics! Listen in for Lee, Mike, and Christie's thoughts on what to loo…
Youth Hockey, Goalie Skills, and BBQ with Former NHL Goalie Mike McKenna
Former NHL goaltender Mike McKenna was fresh off an 8u hockey tournament when he joined the Our Kids Play Hockey team earlier this week! Tune in to hear about the amazing time he spent with his daugh…
A Spring Hockey Discussion
It may be January, BUT spring hockey is right around the corner...or so it would seem by how many people have already begun focusing on it. What's the deal for your athlete or team? Will you be playi…
Stories with Lou Vairo - The Godfather of USA Hockey
Lou Vairo is considered by many to be the Godfather of USA Hockey. In this episode, which spawned from an interview in late 2019, Mike and Lee sit down with Lou and Dave Starman to share some stories…
An Interview With Coach Wendy Glover
How can we help raise our young athletes to be leaders on and off the ice and prepare them for life beyond sport? Coach Wendy Glover joins the show this week to discuss Athleadership and how she is i…
Combatting The Youth Hockey Holiday Lull
Happy Holidays!! This week our expert panel of Hockey Parents and Coaches discuss how to prepare and approach the magical time of the year when things can make or break your season - Christmas! Lee, …