Offside - September 30, 2026

But first, I just wanna go back to the youth sports, uh, topic we were just addressing very briefly, Ryan.

Hockey season-

Mm

... has started now.

You have parents, uh, who have enrolled their kids in hockey, and those kids, some of the kids are playing competitive or rep hockey.

Uh, those kids can be on the ice between four and six times a week.

There's some dryland training.

You coached, uh, AAA hockey, um, and you have a sterling reputation in the community when it comes to the manner in which you coached.

If you're gonna speak to a coach today, and that coach is coaching, say, 12-year-old kids, what is your advice to him in so far as the most important thing that you want to do with those kids on that team? Top of the list, what's number one?

One word, engagement.

Uh, at the younger levels at, you know, 10, 11, 12, these kids have to feel engaged.

Too many times, parents are driving the bus, so to speak, in, in what they sign their kids up for and how they try to frame the game for their kids.

And so too much of it's being dictated by parents.

And so as a coach, you have to create a certain level of engagement at the young ages, and I think that's being lost.

As you're saying, these young, these young players are on the...

You know, they've got, not only are they on the ice more these days, but there's way more touch points for these kids.

So they're doing dryland, they're doing team mental performance coaching.

They're, there, there's just so many reps, right? So many days of getting in the car, rushing after school, running from one thing to the next.

And, you know, parents are more and more now stacking sports on each other during certain seasons, so they're just busy.

So as a coach, I, I think the, the lost art here is creating engagement, making it challenging, making it fun, um, you know, focusing on, on the right things and having a plan.

So tha- that's, uh, it's an art as a, as a coach.

A- and it takes good assistant coaches and great support from families.

But, you know, setting the tone on day one with a clear parent meeting to, to tell them your plan and tell them what your expectations are right out front and center.

So that's always my number one.

You know, you talk about engagement, and the word that comes to mind is frequency.