Claim OwnershipGrassroots: The Minor Hockey Show
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© 2025 Grassroots: The Minor Hockey Show
Description
A provocative, in-depth podcast that examines the world of minor hockey, from coaching to program development to the myriad of issues faced by everyone in the game.
120 Episodes
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HEO coach and coach developer Brian Gillam returns to share what he'd planned to provide coaches in the coaching seminar he and Richard were going to run for a minor organization. The seminar didn't happen, but the content would have been interesting. He explains in detail what he feels coaches needed to know first about the CLA/ED approach.
richard@grassrootsminorhockey.com
bgillam@rogers.com
This is the final episode from the May 30-June 2 Hockey Research Conference at Laval University in Quebec City as well as the final episode for this season of Grassroots.
Please be advised that, because the discussions were held in public spaces, the sound quality and background noise are inconsistent. Also, all five episodes are with individuals whose first language is not English.
Here is the link to the conference's proceedings:
https://grassrootsminorhockey.com/links/
Thanks for listening. Until next fall...
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
This is the fourth of five episodes of content from the May 30-June 2 Hockey Research Conference at Laval University in Quebec City.
Please be advised that, because the discussions were held in public spaces, the sound quality and background noise are inconsistent. Also, all five episodes are with individuals whose first language is not English.
Here is the link to the conference's proceedings (Gergely's abstract is on page 32):
https://grassrootsminorhockey.com/links/
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
This is the third of five episodes of content from the May 30-June 2 Hockey Research Conference at Laval University in Quebec City.
Please be advised that, because the discussions were held in public spaces, the sound quality and background noise are inconsistent. Also, all five episodes are with individuals whose first language is not English.
Here is the link to the conference's proceedings:
https://grassrootsminorhockey.com/links/
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
This is the second of five episodes of content from the May 30-June 2 Hockey Research Conference at Laval University in Quebec City.
Please be advised that, because the discussions were held in public spaces, the sound quality and background noise are inconsistent. Also, all five episodes are with individuals whose first language is not English.
Here is the link to the conference's proceedings:
https://grassrootsminorhockey.com/links/
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
This is the first of five episodes of content from the May 30-June 2 Hockey Research Conference at Laval University in Quebec City.
Please be advised that, because the discussions were held in public spaces, the sound quality and background noise are inconsistent. Also, all five episodes are with individuals whose first language is not English.
Here is the link to the conference's proceedings:
https://grassrootsminorhockey.com/links/
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
Jim Haverstrom is USA Hockey's Coach-in-chief for Florida. Over 25 years as a coach and now coach developer, he's become an ardent advocate for the Constraints Led and an Ecological Dynamics approaches which he's successfully applied in his own coaching.
The soccer study he refers to in the podcast is:
“Train as you play”: Improving effectiveness of training in youth soccer playersContact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
As minor hockey associations prepare for their AGMs, one key position needs consideration: someone to take charge of coach development. Richard and Dean discuss why this role is crucial, what this person should or should not be responsible for and where to find them.
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
Some years ago, Brian Gillam began to adopt an ecological approach to coaching and teaching the game. Today he is immersed in it as a coach but especially as a "skills instructor." In this episode, he discusses what he does in special sessions, how he does it and why. Brian is the coaching development director for Hockey Eastern Ontario.
His website: briangillamhockey.com
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
Access to rinks, ice time , and cost may be impediments to growing a program in a small hockey market. But not to Chris Benson who helps direct the fortunes of the Bristol youth program in England. Speaking from Riga, Latvia, where his son is attending a hockey camp, Chris passionately describes the challenges and the steps being taken to programming, one of which includes the "management" of parents.
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
"We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience."
Host Richard Bercuson spends this episode providing an overview of his season coaching 10 year olds in a unique house league-type environment. Dean Holden poses some pointed questions that has Richard using the "wayback machine" to reflect on the approaches he's used and why.
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In the introduction, Richard refers to his co-authored novel that was published last year through Amazon: The Burden of Guilt.
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
How to get out of the "tick box" practice scenario. Richard and Dean discuss why coaches need to learn that players have to experience skill and tactical content in ways that are closer to competitive situations. This means moving away from the age-old and time worn approaches we've long accepted.
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
Special guest Dr. Stephen Norris and Dean Holden discuss their recent trip to Kazakhstan as part of an IIHF initiative to grow the game in other parts of the world. What is the impact of this initiative on our own game's leadership? Where are we going? Is it the right direction? An in-depth look at those and other questions.
https://www.iihf.com/en/news/64332/first_asian_general_secretary_summit
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
The modern lexicon of coaching includes terms like transformational and transactional to describe the approaches coaches use. What are their characteristics? In minor hockey, can someone be both? Dean Holden delves into this topic, aided and abetted by host Richard Bercuson who tosses out questions and examples to investigate.
Toward Understanding Youth Athletes’ Fun Priorities: An Investigation of Sex, Age, and Levels of Play: Amanda Visek, Heather Mannix et al
https://activeforlife.com/why-every-coach-needs-a-coaching-philosophy/
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
Greg Revak, an Ohio-based coach and USA Hockey coach developer, has unique and progressive ideas on coaching the game. His podcast and newsletter hit on various topics which are pertinent to coaches at every level. In this episode, he shares with Richard his personal bugaboos and annoyances about practice design and what we can do better.
His website: https://hockeysarsenal.substack.com/
The HockeyIQ Podcast: https://hockeysarsenal.com/podcast
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
However you define "new," Richard and Dean discuss what coaches need to consider at the start of a new adventure and the resources they should access.
Books:
How we learn to move by Rob Gray
The Coach's Guide to Teaching by Doug Lemov
Transforming Basketball by Alex Sarama
The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier
Podcasts:
This one, of course!
The Talent Equation - Stuart Armstrong
The Perception-Action Podcast - Rob Gray
HEO Youtube channel - Brian Gillam (Hockey Eastern Ontario
Web sites:
hockeycoachingabcs.com - Tom Molloy
admkids.com - USA Hockey
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
Season 5 begins with an important pre-season look at how contact and checking need to be taught to take it beyond the confines of the current checking clinic module. Richard and Dean examine an approach using spectrums of skill for different ages and levels of play, built within the current four-stage checking progression espoused by Hockey Canada.
Those who'd like a copy of the spectrums diagram should email Richard: Richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
This episode is a unique collaboration with Stuart Armstrong whose podcast is The Talent Equation. His May 28, 2024, show was called "Coach Education is broken." It struck a chord with Grassroots host Richard Bercuson who felt it reminded him of the famous Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch. He connected with Stuart and here's the result: a tripartite discussion with Stuart, Richard, and Dean Holden about coach education's demise.
Stuart will simulcast the show on his own podcast soon, once he completes his multi-part analysis of the subject.
Listener Advisory: Stuart's script read of the Dead Parrot sketch, portraying Michael Palin, is much better than Richard's feeble attempt with the John Cleese character. Dean plays the dead parrot.
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
Modern coaching approaches include a litany of expressions, phrases, words and acronyms that are sometimes baffling in what they mean. In this episode, Richard and Dean delve into some of the more common ones and relate them to coaches need to understand about them and how to apply them in minor hockey.
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
Brian Gillam, HEO's Coaching Coordinator and Gold Medal Pathways mentor, delves into the myriad of ways in which small or reduced space practice activities are central to how children will develop both their skills and ability to play games on similar sized areas. Gillam is a longtime proponent of ecological dynamics and constraints led approaches. He explains how important it is for children and teens to be trained in space consistent with their developmental stages and what they can learn from the approach.
Contact:
richard(at)grassrootsminorhockey.com
X (Twitter):
Richard - @berky544
Dean Holden: funlearnreturn@gmail.com
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