304 Parents: Dan Stewart on Helping Your Kids Learn to Read the Game

Let's slide over to our parent segment. We're gonna change things up the order a little bit just to keep everybody honest. You you you can't just go through life doing the same thing.

Oh, I was cheating on my Reads, Daren.

I know you were. I could tell you were you were already you were grabbing it. So I'm gonna make an audible here. The Stop It Goal Tending U, the app parent segment with Hutch, but it's Woody with the explanation of Stop It Goaltending U the app and how you can benefit from it.

Success starts with discipline, boys. Maybe that's why I've had so little of it in my life. Success starts with discipline. That is the topic this week in the five one minute primers from Brian Daccord and the Stop It Goaltending U app, and this is your reminder that every subscription to the Stop It Goal Tending U app gets you five new videos every week from Daccord. They're called daily primers.

They're just quick hits to help you become a better goaltender. If don't want to invest too much time, get up in the morning, watch a one minute video. You'll be better for it from a guy who spent over twenty five years at Stop It Goaltending U, building that goalie mecca of instruction, but also in the NHL as a as a goalie coach, as a director of goaltending, as a goalie scout. So you get that advice in a quick hit format. Also, week, goalie systems, they're gonna take a look at low slot line plays with video and a drill of the week on backdoor quick transition.

So all of that this week at the Stop It Goaltending U app. Just a sample of what you get every week with the Stop It Goaltending U, the app, and, of course, a subscription to InGoal Magazine premium. So in addition to all their great content, you get all our great content, which is normally behind the paywall at ingoalmag.com. The best of both worlds in goaltending, Stop It Goaltending U, the app, and InGoal Magazine. Make sure you check it out on the App Store or wherever you get Android apps.

I don't know because I'm not an Android user, but find it there.

You know, when we started this podcast, way back when, there's a couple of elements in the program. And slowly, it's evolved, to have a bunch of different sections. And the parent segment is one of my favorite ads to this wonderful offering, through the eyes of Hutch and through the interaction of parents out there.

I'm glad you're enjoying it. But this time, it's not so much through the through the eyes of Hutch. We changed things up this week a little bit with our feature guest, Dan Stewart, who is the development coach for the Saint Louis Blues. And Woody and I did the interview together. I've known Dan for quite some time and thought it would be great to hop in on it.

And very organically, one question came up from me that, in retrospect, stood on its own as a really great parent segment. And I was tempted to hang on to it for one of those weeks when I wasn't quite sure what I was gonna do. I could parachute Dan in for the parent segment, but we decided this one's too good. We're just gonna bring it out right away. It's a really powerful suggestion for parents whether you're experienced or not.

And and I'll warn you if you're not experienced as a as a goalie parent or as a goaltender, the beginning of it can sound a little intimidating, but but hang in there and you'll get the piece that's there for all of us. It's a it's a deep dive into something we hear almost universally from our guests and that's the kids don't watch enough hockey. So we're just gonna roll it here. We're gonna let Dan talk to you about how we as parents can help our kids learn to read the game better. And now if I put my goalie parent hat on, how do I help my young goaltender learn to read the game, especially if they don't have that support in their team like you're able to give your goaltenders.

The biggest thing to me today is the kids don't watch enough hockey. Like, they watch highlights. Mhmm. And they watch this, you know, really boiled down version of of events, and they and they just focus on what's cool or whatever too often. I'm not saying all of them, but I would love to see kids watch hockey.

The biggest thing to me today is the kids don't watch enough hockey. Like, they watch highlights. Mhmm. And they watch this, you know, really boiled down version of of events, and they and they just focus on what's cool or whatever too often. I'm not saying all of them, but I would love to see kids watch hockey.

And if you're watching it with them, I would be like, hey. You know, watch through through the neutral zone here. Right? Tell me tell me the numbers of the rush as it's coming in. If you were playing that, what would you be thinking?

What would you be looking for? What would be your keys in terms of the things you work with your goalie coach on? If there's a a power play scenario and and, you know, they've they've got a setup and they've got a one three one setup against, say, a diamond, let's say. Right? You I would say to the way, look how this setup is.

Look where the puck is likely to go next. Right? Look how the goalie reacts to it. Now look how this other goalie reacts to it. And then, again, ask the same question.

Like, in this scenario, what would you be doing? What would your goalie coach say you do? Right? And that helps also get an idea of what the goalie coach is actually doing with your son or daughter as well.

And that questioning, you can do that as a parent without being a goalie coach.

100%. You're you're just asking questions, and and you don't you don't need to give any response to the answers at all. Right? It's you're even if well, I mean, my stepson is a a 21 year old goalie. And if if we were watching hockey or whatever, I wouldn't comment on his answers to that stuff.

Right? And and I'm a goalie coach, but I have the call. Okay. I had school.

Kinda reflects on what you talked about with your video sessions, how much less talking you do now and more just asking them.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I certainly try.

Kevin does too.

I don't try. I just talk all the time.

Wow. Look at you. You're like late night talk show bringing clips along with you. Nicely done.

Yeah. I'm not sure what's in this clip, Daren, but we'll just, we'll The studio sends something along.

Exactly. Set this clip up. I'm not sure what it is, but, okay. Just roll it.

Yeah. I'm definitely never gonna be the star on the talk show. That's for sure. But it's it's fun to pretend like we do.

So what what's your takeaway from what we just heard?

Well, what I what I need I'm to

sorry. Woody's gonna hop in because he he is want to do. Daren's laughing his ass off right now. But you know what my takeaway is?

We were almost having a conversation

a fantastic answer. And we haven't yet told people that Dan Stewart is also our featured guest this week on the InGoal Radio Podcast. So folks, you like that, stick around.

Were you not listening to the beginning of me?

I never said feature guest this week. You said we interviewed him, but you didn't say he was the feature guest in this week.

Oh, he might have might have you on semantics, but I was following what you were saying.

With our feature guest, Dan Stewart, who is the development coach for the Saint Louis Blues. Think most people are picking it up. Most people probably read the headline when they clicked on their podcast. It's okay, Woody. Thanks for clarifying.

So what what what's your takeaway there?

Well, what I loved was that it it went beyond the standard answer, which is just kids don't watch the game enough. They only watch highlights. And he got into specifics about how they can watch the game. And the message that I deliver so often in these parents pieces is we need to be involved, right alongside our kids. And it doesn't mean you have to be the expert.

It doesn't mean you have to know, much at all frankly, but you need to be involved in their lives because to just say go watch some hockey, not many kids are gonna do that. They're gonna take the method of least resistance. But if you sit down and do it together and you ask them to give you some feedback, if you ask them to teach you, you know, it's like the old one when our kids come back from school all the time guys. Hey, what'd you learn today? Nothing.

Nothing. Don't let that be the answer because that's a whole bit of the education right there is them telling you what they learned in school today so they can reinforce some of that. Well, let them teach you about the game and and I would add to to ask them to tie it back to what they're doing with their goalie coach. Whether it's as you watch the game together or you simply ask them, what did you learn today from your goalie coach? Teach me, help me learn to be a better goaltender.

I do that with my son all the time. Not so much, what did you learn today in practice from your goalie coach, but, we'll be watching a game together and tell me what you saw there. Why did you why would you do it that way? And quite often his thoughts are different than mine, and I get to learn something.

I love that approach. Experience. Teach me. Like, help me understand what you were doing. And that, I would probably guess more than half the time, will get the child excited to be the one sort of in charge, the the teacher.

Yeah. Yeah. But also don't be shy to maybe raise the the opposite. Well, would you not have thought of doing this? And it doesn't mean I'm right.

I'm just asking you the question. And I I actually say it that way quite often. I'm not telling you I'm right. I just wanna hear your opinion. Why wouldn't you do this?

And make them think even a little bit more deeply about what they're doing. A lot of fun talking to Dan again this week.

And he asked them why. Right? Like, he just asked just asked them. Why? Why?

Why? Why? I would have done this. Why?

Yeah. I would have done that. And then he would have said because. And or what did you learn? Nothing.

This. And then it would be over, and then I'd be frustrated. But that is brilliant stuff. I love that, Hutch. Again, such a great add.