Crazy Hockey Dads Podcast

The pressure meant to help a young player succeed may be the very thing holding them back.Scott and Jamie sit down with Princeton women’s hockey head coach Courtney Kessel to talk development, recruiting, team culture, and the role parents should play as the game gets more serious.Courtney shares her path from multi-sport athlete to Team Canada, including being the final cut from the 2014 Olympic team and returning to practice with the players who were going. She explains how that experience shaped the way she helps athletes handle disappointment, separate hockey performance from personal identity, and respond productively when they are not getting the role they want.She also gets into what Princeton evaluates beyond talent, why culture matters more than winning, and why being the best player at a lower level may offer more development than sitting at the bottom of a stronger team. For parents, her message is direct: give players a voice, let them take ownership, and recognize when pressure is taking the joy out of the game.In this episode:Why taking time away from hockey can renew a player’s love for itWhat Princeton evaluates beyond skill and statisticsBeing a top-six player versus the twelfth forwardWhy character and kindness matter during recruitingSupport the player, protect the joy, and let them own the journey.Princeton Womens Ice Hockey: https://www.instagram.com/princetonwhockey/Partners:https://www.pacificrink.com/https://hockeytraining.com/https://sparxhockey.com/https://www.instagram.com/bigjohndangles/https://www.titanbattlegear.com/crazyhockeydadshttps://howieshockeytape.com/https://www.athleticperformanceinsight.com/Socials:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@crazyhockeydadspodcastX: https://x.com/CrazyhockeydadsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/crazyhockeydadspodcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Crazy-Hockey-Dads-Podcast/61578631923150/

Your young athlete may not need another workout. They may need better recovery and a smarter definition of strength.Bill Parisi went from an undersized high school athlete to a two-time Division I All-American and Olympic Trials javelin competitor. He later built the Parisi Speed School from a van and his parents’ basement into a youth performance system that has trained athletes for more than three decades.Bill explains why sleep, hydration, nutrition, and tissue care can matter as much as the next practice. He also shares why recovery is one of the biggest things parents miss. Then he challenges the idea that strength is simply a bigger squat or bench press. For hockey players trying to become harder to move around the puck, traditional lifting is only part of the equation.In this episode:Why Bill tells athletes to make sleep more important than practiceWhat parents misunderstand about overuse and recoveryHow properly coached resistance training can benefit kids before pubertyWhy bodyweight exercises aren’t automatically safer than weightsHow “farm-boy strength” prepares players to stay strong in awkward, off-balance positionsMore training isn’t automatically better. The right stress, recovery, and coaching are what move an athlete forward.Bill Parisi IG: https://www.instagram.com/bill_parisiParisi Speed School: https://www.parisischool.com/Parisi Speed School IG: https://www.instagram.com/parisispeedschoolParisi Speed School YT: https://www.youtube.com/user/ParisiSpeedSchool1Partners:https://www.pacificrink.com/https://hockeytraining.com/https://sparxhockey.com/https://www.instagram.com/bigjohndangles/https://www.titanbattlegear.com/crazyhockeydadshttps://howieshockeytape.com/https://www.athleticperformanceinsight.com/Socials:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@crazyhockeydadspodcastX: https://x.com/CrazyhockeydadsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/crazyhockeydadspodcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Crazy-Hockey-Dads-Podcast/61578631923150/

What does a coach who’s spent decades developing elite players actually look for?Scott and Jamie sit down with longtime North Jersey Avalanche coach Jamie Cahill to talk player development, hockey IQ, coaching, and what separates players as they move into the highest levels of youth hockey. Jamie gets into why he’ll take hockey IQ over size, why players need the freedom to make mistakes, and how coaches can teach creativity instead of creating robots. He also explains why developing the person matters just as much as developing the player and why kids need to learn to advocate for themselves instead of having their parents do it for them. The conversation also gets into body checking, puberty and development, position specialization, video work, player advancement, crazy hockey parents, and the changing path from youth hockey to juniors and college. In this episode: Teaching hockey IQ by allowing players to fail When kids should start learning body contact Developing the person - not just the hockey player Navigating the changing path through elite youth hockey This one gets right to the heart of development: give players room to think, make mistakes, and learn how to play the game.North Jersey Avalanche: https://www.icehousenj.com/north-jersey-avalanchehttps://www.instagram.com/nj_avalanche/Mo's Smile: https://mosmilefoundation.org/CHD/MSK Donation Page: http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/chdmsc2026Partners:https://www.pacificrink.com/https://www.instagram.com/bigjohndangles/https://hockeytraining.com/https://www.titanbattlegear.com/crazyhockeydadshttps://howieshockeytape.com/https://www.athleticperformanceinsight.com/Socials:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@crazyhockeydadspodcastX: https://x.com/CrazyhockeydadsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/crazyhockeydadspodcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Crazy-Hockey-Dads-Podcast/61578631923150/