In recent years, minor hockey seems to have been overrun with private skill development businesses or vendors. Most associations seem to have someone or some group running regular skills sessions with kids of all ages. They do, however, raise a lot of questions about what they do, how they do it, the cost, and whether these sessions truly benefit the players they're teaching. Jim Mercer, an OMHA development leader, coach and instructor, shares his views on the subject.

Contact:

Gregg Kennedy is driving almost clear across the country, from Ottawa to northern Alberta, to take over a junior A team. In his 40th year coaching, it's a challenge he both welcomes and looks forward to. In this episode, he explains what his likely first steps will be when he arrives and what he needs to do to get a handle on the team.

Contact:

This podcast's first episode was an overview of what was going to be discussed in future shows. However, I used Howie Meeker and his book "Hockey Basics" as my introduction since I believed then, and now, that he was one of Canada's most important hockey teachers. During my earliest coaching days, I once had the good fortune to share an instructional session with him in Montreal. Some years ago, we reconnected, both of which I described in Episode 1. When Howie passed away on Nov. 8 at age 97, all I could think of was the magnitude of his influence on how hockey is taught, not to mention what I took from him. It seemed fitting then that I share with listeners some of what he wrote to me in 2006 as well as sound bites from the DVDs he sent me. Keep in mind he was 82 years old when he jumped on the ice with kids at his summer hockey school and recorded those sessions. Jeepers! Howie sure was somethin' else!

Contact:

In this segue from Episode 32 about girls in sport, Jane King discusses how to get them into the sport and coach them the right way. While coaching kids of both genders have certain commonalities, she says, working with girls requires some particular skill sets.

Contact:

Jane King has been a coach, teacher, and advocate for women in sport for decades. She's a featured speaker with the Coaches Association of Ontario and is a chartered professional coach with the Coaching Association of Canada. She pretty much has the pulse of what we need to do to involve more girls in sport, especially hockey. In this first of a two-parter, she examines where we are and where we could and should be.

Contact: