In June 2018 on a Saturday morning, I found myself at the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s annual Vermont State Clinic at the University of Vermont.  I was especially excited for one of the morning’s speakers, Devan McConnell. Familiar with him through podcasts and websites like hockeystrengthandconditioning.com, I was drawn to his accumulated hockey wisdom, … Continue reading What I Learned From Devan McConnell

(Updated Preface: If this sounds juvenile, it's because it was written by a 20-year-old boy aka 20-year-old me.) My first visit to Spain was in July of 2017. I was 18, fresh out of high school, and lucky enough to be able to spend one month of the summer living in Barcelona, with my former … Continue reading How to Conquer Fear: Developing Courage at the Beaches of Barcelona

Learning a Language is a long process. But, it’s just like learning anything else. Going through the process of learning Spanish over the last two years, I’ve discovered a blueprint to learn anything. I grew up in a bilingual family. My dad was born in Latin America. But, when I was little l didn't speak … Continue reading Three Steps to Learning Anything: My Language Learning Journey

In part one of this series, I talked about the common patterns I saw among the most successful junior hockey players. But hockey is a team sport. At the highest levels, it’s not about individual accolades, it’s about who’s holding the trophy at the end of the season. At the junior level (20 & under), … Continue reading Reflections on a Junior Hockey Career Part 2: Patterns of Successful Teams

Although a lot of people think that power training is reserved for athletes trying to perform at their peak, adults also need to train for power. In our context, power (force over time) is essentially training to be more athletic. An athletic person is able to respond to and absorb fast moving forces more effectively. … Continue reading Power Training for Adults

This March, my fifth and final season of junior hockey with the Vermont Lumberjacks ended. Reflecting on this journey, I’ve thought a lot about a lot about my teammates, numbering in the hundreds. The relationships we shared and the memories made are at top of my mind. But I’ve also thought about the habits and … Continue reading Reflections on a Junior Hockey Career Part 1: Patterns of Successful Players

Note: I re-wrote this article for hockeystrengthandconditioning.com. The writing is way better (obviously I'm so much better at this shit now) and the lessons easier to takeaway. So, just go read this over there. I was incredibly lucky help my hockey team more than just on the ice this year. I think my biggest role … Continue reading What I Learned Training My Own Hockey Team

Going to college has become a big, expensive decision that most families are automatically saying yes to. Anytime we see decisions as large as this without questioning it we should pause and reconsider. As Mark Twain said, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” There … Continue reading Why College Is Overrated And You Should Take a Year Off

With more organized youth activities and the rise of technology, unstructured free time has come more and more out of children's lives. Many have lost the time to explore their environment and their authentic interests, or if they have time they use it to excessively play video games. They aren’t throwing bouncy balls off the … Continue reading Play More Games – Why Unstructured Play Makes You a Better Athlete