Casey O'Brien

An interesting rule change will be announced by U Sports. Hockey players who have played pro will be eligible to play U SPORTS with no sit out period (was 365 days). It will be effective in fall so there are young players in pro now who would be avail to U SPORTS roster in fall.

Being a Sports Parent is Hard. Raising an Athlete is Hard. Parents: As you start this fall sports season, remember... - What you do matters. - What you say matters. - How you parent matters. As a parent, you impact the culture of the team! Here are 5 Critical Lessons for Sports Parents: 1. It is Your Child's Experience, Not Yours! Remember that this athletic journey is your child's, not yours. Allow them to own their successes AND failures. Support them without dictating their path. 2. Have a TEAM First Focus - As much as you love your child, remember it is a TEAM sport. It's all about the team, not just your child. Teach them the value of teamwork and collective success. Show them how to sacrifice ME for WE. Celebrate their teammates' Successes! 3. Embrace the Struggle of Team Sports - Accept the struggle of team sports. Embrace the highs and lows. Help your child understand the value of perseverance and resilience. Struggles are part of growth and character development. 4. Navigate, Don't Plow - Be there for support, not to clear all obstacles. Allow them to navigate challenges and learn resilience. Being a snowplow parent denies them the chance to grow. 5. Find JOY in the Journey - Find happiness in the entire sports experience. Celebrate the small victories and lessons learned. The journey’s highs and lows are equally valuable. Teach your child to cherish every moment, win or lose. _____ Do you like this post? Then, you will love my free weekly newsletter. 🏆Great Teams - Better Leaders 123. Read by 12,600+ other coaches and leaders each week. Subscribe below.

Great night out at the “Fundraising for Youth Sports” event at the @MelvilleGolf tonight Awesome to catch up with my long-time childhood friend @dseves7 and great to see him getting recognized Hats off to @dkreky & @coachobrien44 for putting it on! #HarvardMediaEverywhere

@HockeyThinkTank 💯

Hockey Coaches: One thing that I've done a lot in my practices when I've wanted to work on the power play is we've shrank the zone making to increase pressure and give our players a little less time and space to work with. It forces players with the puck to have to make quicker decisions and the players without the puck to make sure they are getting to spots of support. And I'm a huge believer in quick puck movement if you're going to have a successful power play. You can take some spray paint or some of those big divider pads and you can put them along the sides by the boards just inside the hash marks about 5 feet from the walls from the blue line down to the goal line. Or you can take those pads or the spray paint and take about 5 feet from below the blue line across the ice from board to board. Whether you are an older, high level team looking at a team that pressures hard on the PK prescout, or you want to get your players uncomfortable by providing pressure at any age, shrinking the zone is a great way to practice getting the puck moving and having to make fast decisions both with and without the puck.

Tom Brady believes the biggest problem with young athletes nowadays is their self-centered attitude. “And I think the biggest problem with a lot of f***ing kids these days is it’s all about them. It’s all about them. Their brand, their social media… when it’s about me and not us, well there’s no way to succeed as a team, if all you’re doing is thinking about how selfish it is for you to get the attention.” Immediately after hearing Brady say this, I think about the incoming prospects and which guys might fit this description — let’s just say he is not wrong whatsoever… (🎥 @DeepCutPodcast) | @TomBrady

“We spend a lot of time focusing on the parents. Are they going to be fans of their son or parents? Are they going to hold them accountable? Have an expectation that when something goes wrong, that it’s not the coach’s fault. Their son has to work harder, do more, earn his role,” Dan Hurley The role of a parent makes a difference in building a TEAM culture. 🎥@aaronwilbur

One more thing re: the portal. For some of these players, college might be the first time they spend 4 consecutive seasons on one team. Youth hockey can be a disaster. Kids play on 4 or 5 different teams in 6 years. Then we expect them to play at the same school 4 in a row? In a lot of ways, the portal is just mirroring youth hockey. Listen to some parents who bounce their kids around to a new program every year. It's always the coach, or the team, or the rink, or this kid on his line, or whatever. For a lot of these players, they're just doing the same thing they've always done. 1-2 years and then bounce somewhere else.

The Ontario Minor Hockey Association suspended a Under-18 player for 7 games last week after an investigation corroborated an allegation the player said, "good job black boy n----." Jordan Jacobs, the U18 New Hamburg Jr Firebirds defenceman who was targeted with the racial slur, responded by calling the other player a "racist piece of s---." Jacobs was also suspended for 7 games. Jacobs's mother Patti told me this was the *sixth* time this season her son has been the target of a racial slur during a hockey game. After I emailed the OMHA about this on Friday, the association on Saturday reduced Jordan's suspension to 3 games. In an email on Saturday to the New Hamburg Hockey Association, OMHA executive director Ian Taylor wrote the OMHA has "zero tolerance for discriminatory slurs of any kind... We have also been consistent throughout the year in trying to discourage any form of retaliation from our participants that involves derogatory or disrespectful behaviour or language..." Patti Jacobs: "It's been heartbreaking. The one positive have been how many people in our organization have been supportive of Jordan finally using his voice. But then look what happens. He uses his voice instead of violence and still he gets seven games." Jordan will likely move on to play junior hockey next season, Patti told me.

HOCKEY PARENTS: Something really interesting we noticed when I was coaching at the college level was a huge correlation between the confidence of a player to walk into our office and initiate a hard conversation…and their overall confidence as a player AND a person. The kids that had an issue and knocked on our door to speak their mind…they were the ones most confident in themselves. It was really amazing to see. Please stop fighting battles for your kids. If they have an issue with their coach, they need to be the one that's going in and having the conversation. Hard conversations are going to happen more and more each level that they go up. And if they have the confidence to go in and advocate for themselves, it's going to prepare them for the higher levels of hockey more than potentially anything else they'll do off the ice. And not only does that lead to more confidence… But if we as recruiters hear from a coach that mom or dad are an issue and helicopter parenting their kid…RED FLAG. So please, let your kids go in and talk to the coach when they have a problem. Stop fighting their battles for them. It’s going to help them in so many ways in the long run.

The average NHL Player began skating and playing hockey after 4-years old & did not specialize until after the age of 14 The age of specialization most often provided by Players was 16 (mode) Source: 2018 NHL/NHLPA survey (more 👇 below)

Sevo is back!!

HV71 Captain and two-time Olympic bronze medalist with Team Finland, Sanni Hakala, was involved in a serious injury on Friday. The team report says she collided with the goal post, injuring her neck and was taken to hospital for immediate surgery. The surgery went well and now a “long rehabilitation awaits Sanni.”

@CJTDevil Culture, and they still have Marchand, pastrnak, mcavoy as well as players who buy in to the structure. Those players had the opportunity to see first hand to see how Bergeron and Chara went about their jobs daily.

The Bruins being this good makes no sense. How do you remove Taylor Hall, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Dmitri Orlov from an already kinda fluky team, and get even better? Is it just bananas goaltending?

@TimCPeel20 @thegoldenmuzzy Officiating was not great last night. Refs missed the Foegele blow to the head late in the 2nd period on Mayfield. No call on this cross check ?!?

@thegoldenmuzzy That’s a sneaky, dirty play that can blow out a guys knee.

Fine him

I did a “connection tour” at Deer Park Cross Country today to check in on some students in my cluster. Good vibes and smiles with some high successes sprinkled in! @GSSD204 @ECDAAsport 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

@_ToddBeane A proper plan with progressions, game application, video analysis and the kids ability to take feedback are all important factors to proper skill development. Also allow the kids to build their confidence in figuring out the skill in game related situations and on their own.

Is it possible that traditional training is utterly ineffective? So many kids after 4-6 years of “skill” drills can still not receive or pass a ball effectively. Imagine six years of training with little to show for it in any other field. 🤔 And yet we persist. #TOVO

Welcome to the 614, Severson fam! @Nationwide | #CBJ

Condolences to the Craig family after Mike’s courageous battle! He was a heck of player back in the day and an even better person. #RIP

@calfilson Congratulations Cal!!

After 14 seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds, including the last 8 as Director of Player Personnel, I have stepped down to accept a new job as an Amateur Scout for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Overheard in grade 3: "Friction makes it more difficult to pull.”