Rolly gets us all ready for summer. It's time to hang up the microphone for a month and get back at it in the fall. He will recharge and be better than before.

Randall talks about bubble players and bubble parents. Are there ways to make sure you kid is not on the bubble? Are there parents who you wouldn't mind if they don't make the cut for the next year's team? It's partially in jest, but there is some truth in it.

Lance talks about how his kid misses shifts for penalties. It can really affect a kid lower on the roster.

We love all of the listeners. Thank you for tuning in. We will be back in the August.

Coach talks about the update to the Gladwell examination of hockey players in Outliers. There is science to the idea that maturity has a statistical advantage.

Lance examines the break between kids who have hit their growth spurts. The scoreboard is merciless.

Randall tries to give balance to the idea that kids with late birth months are going to always be disadvantaged. They will have their day on the ice!

Lance talks about the best bantam programs in the nation. He also digs into the SoCal programs. Is there a program that is consistently the best in the region? Are there programs on the rise?

Rolly talks about how programs grow and fade back east. He seems to know every program Lance brings up on the list. It's a bit frightening.

Randall gets questions about the girls. They have some great programs growing across the country. The future feels bright for the women's side.

Lance takes a strange stance. He backs the refs in youth hockey. He tries to make the case that they are just doing their job and deserve universal respect and patience for a hard job.

Coach modifies this to be a little more in line with the product on the ice. Are they doing the best job possible? Shouldn't we expect the effort to match the level of professionalism they seek to be treated with?

Randall moves on to talk about what it takes to get thrown out of a game in California. Refs have actually thrown out the wrong person in the stands too. It's hilarious.

Randall looks at the So. Cal landscape and decides to zoom in on the club hoppers. Who are they? Why are they hopping? Will they ever be able to just walk to another club rather than jumping?

Lance decides that it is often about moving up. Lateral moves are not the way to club hop in his humble opinion.

Rolly gets into the stats of how many slots are really open on a given team. The numbers are often disheartening.

Rolly brings skating guru Jason Yee onto the program to talk about video feedback, shin angle, Finland, Mckinnon and more. He credits this coach as the best resource in hockey for a young player in his developmental years.

Lance asks about the corkscrew. It turns out to be one of the secrets of the game for Yee.

Randall knows when he's out of his depth and stays quiet. You heard right. It's like I'm barely even there. That should improve our ratings. :)

Randall digs up a hockey league for kids that is totally outdoors. It's the kind of thing that CA kids can't even imagine, but it sounds like the kind of place most of our kids would love.

Lance talks about the way hockey without coaching can be the best idea for a kid who has only seen the game as a structured event.

Rolly talks about how enthusiasm goes hand in hand with pond hockey. There's no pressure. There are no parents. It's just the kids and the sport.

Rolly brings up some of the classic "coach speak" moments from his time with his kids in the sport. He can't believe how long the deceptions can last. Honesty brings confrontation. Is that the right way to do it?

Randall takes on the idea of how defensive coaches sometimes put the defense in the spotlight. This means they sometimes want to involve the defense in ways that favor the position.

Lance is tired of recruiters talking out of both sides of their mouth. He is not taking any prisoners with his opinions. The story about being told there are no first, second and third lines don't hold up in games.

Lance has a take on how to gauge success in a hockey season. He wants his kids on the ice at the important moments. That's necessary for a good season.

Coach agrees and talks about how merit can play against a player in some circumstances.

Randall wants his kids to fit onto the team. It's a difficult thing to quantify, but fitting in makes for a good season in his experience. Fairness is almost impossible to expect. So, go for a situation where he or she is comfortable and happy (this is a bit of a unicorn, but it sounds good).

Welcome to Laura, our guest host for the week.

Laura keeps her sense of humor as she talks about youth hockey. She knows the ins and outs of social media and how hockey seeps into a family dynamic. It's hard to let go of the experience, but she talks about that too.

Lance is a big fan. He read her book and loves the way it conveys the hockey landscape to an audience of experts or newbies.

Randall is just trying to keep up. He does get in some questions about how Laura's experiences have brought up interesting comparisons in his own life. He also brings back the end of the podcast "Character" to the delight of Lance.