TCS Live 2025 - Getting Out of my Comfort Zone

TCS Live - This has been on my bucket list for the past number of years, wanting to attend this amazing coaches conference. My wife fully encouraged me to sign up for this conference during the Black Friday sale and I did not argue so I gladly and eagerly signed up. As time grew closer to June 12th, my nerves started to grow with excited and fear. I tell my kids all the time that it is good to be nervous so I had to get them in check to make sure I was talking the talk!

I was asked by a couple of people what my biggest take away from the weekend was and I couldn’t really give a good answer as to what it was. I said the energy and the passion from all the coaches in the room, which was so evident walking through the doors at the Power Center on the beautiful University of Michigan campus. I said to someone else that is was bumping into old teammates or guys that I played and fought throughout my playing career. While both of those were absolutely incredible moments, they were not my biggest take away from these 3 amazing days.

Walking through the Detroit airport on my way home it did hit me. I was able to overcome some of my fears that when I thought about before the conference, made my heart beat quickly and was searching for excuses not to achieve the things I wanted to do.

• Going to the Ryan Blank workshop was nerve-racking for me. I think I stared at the computer screen for 5 minutes after leaving the registration page in an open tab for a few days contemplating signing up, before finally clicking the register button. I sat at a table with 4 other amazing coaches who were extremely welcoming and I was able to share an group highlight while also participating in group discussion. Not scary to say the least. Only growth happened there.

• Going up to Daniel Broberg and shaking his hand to thank him for sharing his knowledge with us coaches in his 7 part skating course on TCS which I have implemented many of what Daniel teaches in that course, in my skating sessions this summer. I thanked him for being a mentor to me, both in his teaching and for his clear passion of the game. Of course he was gracious and kind, taking time to speak with me.

• Being able to thank The Coaches Site Founder, Aaron Wilber, for having the vision of this site and conference, which has literally been life changing for me, not only in hockey, but in leadership and life. Stopping Aaron was not easy for me and I passed him more than once, finding the excuse that he would be too busy to talk, before actually gathering the nerves to do it. No surprise that he gave me my full attention.

• Meeting Jill Plandoski, another TCS mentor on skating, to thank her for sharing her work with us and teaching me about skating mechanics that I use at every skating session. Again, very nervous to stop her, but the next thing I knew after asking her about how to teach kick backs, she had her ipad out showing me different drills and how the skating translates to real game clips. Talk about leadership and humility.

• Then listening to the last talk of the day with Brad Larsen. Learning he is a man of Faith with resonates with me in a big way being a man of faith myself. Then gathering the courage to ask him a live question infront of the whole crowd on a live podcast. I missed catching the green cube, but was able to ask him a question which he thought about and gave me a great answer.

Overcome, was the word that I picked at the Ryan Blank workshop to use for this year. I want to overcome my fear of failure, put myself out there more, and if what I am trying does not work with my coaching, hockey business, or life, then  I know it will not be the worst thing in the world if it doesn’t work out. Fear of failure, why do we fear something that happens to everyone, almost on a daily basis?

So, that is my take away from the past 3 days. Because my beautiful wife encouraged me to take time away from our family to attend this conference, I was able to grow to my trust my abilities. I am already looking forward to the next time I am able to attend something like this and be a more active participant and leader like so many coaches were to me this weekend.

Thank you to all the staff at The Coaches Site for putting these 3 days together for us all. Thank you to the presenters for the preparation you put in and your willingness to share your knowledge with all of us coaches. Most of all, thank you hockey, for being able to bring close to 500 people together. We have the best game in the world and these 3 days were proof of that.

David Simoes - DS3 Hockey Development

What Hockey Means to Me

Hockey… just typing that word stirs emotions deep within my soul. What hockey means to me is far more than what I could ever put into words, so where do I even begin to express what this beautiful game means to me?

My dad was born in Portugal and moved to Canada when he was 13 years old. His father picked him, his three brothers, and his mom up at the airport in Edmonton, AB, in the dead of a cold Canadian winter, driving them all in a five-seat Chevy Camaro in 1973. They traveled eight hours to Prince George, BC, where they would settle. My mom was born in the tiny, nearly unoccupied town of Likely, BC, to parents who had come to Canada, escaping post-WWII Germany with only a few dollars in their pockets, searching for a better life in a prosperous nation. My love for this game was not generational by any means.

I start with that because, ever since I can remember, I have had a dream—a dream to play in the NHL and to be involved in hockey for the rest of my life. Why did this game captivate me so much that, at the age of 40, I still imagine myself being involved at the game's highest level in some capacity? Dreaming is in my blood—that is evident in both of my parents—but hockey does something to people that is almost magical.

Hockey is just a beautiful game. The sound of pucks hitting players' sticks during practice, the calls for a pass, the rhythm of play. The smell of each different arena, especially the ones from childhood. I can still walk into the Vanderhoof, BC, arena, breathe in that arena air, and almost be transported back to when I was a young boy playing this beautiful game. Each arena has its own unique scent and feel.

The feeling of your blades on the ice—scraping, sliding, gliding. Making something external, steel blades, become part of your body. We almost turn into superheroes, wearing a special outfit. I mean, what other sport has steel blades 3 mm thick, where players are moving anywhere from 10 to 20 mph around a frozen sheet of ice, smacking a 3-inch diameter rubber object, crashing into boards with plexiglassth? I think about that often and laugh at the uniqueness of our beautiful game.

So much more can be said about the game itself and its uniqueness, but what is truly special about hockey is what it can do to a person's soul and the endless opportunities it provides.

• It’s the fierce competitiveness—sticks smashing, fists flying, words exchanged—only to find appreciation for your opponent's willingness to battle and say, "Good work."

• It’s the bumps and bruises that hockey players wear like a badge of honor. As Dave King would say, it’s about “loose pucks & ice bags.”

• It’s forgiving. Hockey moves too fast to dwell on mistakes. There are too many of them during a game to hold onto. Make a mistake, correct, repeat. Hockey begs you to play.

• It’s the crushing feeling of a hard-fought loss, knowing every one of your teammates feels the exact same way. Like the Vernon Vipers’ 2007 RBC Championship team motto, "23 Hearts, One Beat"— hockey players move in unison for the betterment of the team.

• It’s the peaceful feeling of stepping onto the ice for a 6:00 AM skate, hearing only the arena lights humming, the nets waiting for the fresh sheet to be carved up. So, so peaceful and calming.

I have been around many different athletes and sports teams, and I can say without a doubt—hockey people, whether players, coaches, or managers, have no greater love for their sport. How could someone not be completely in love with this beautiful game?

Just watch the NHL playoffs going on right now—Jets tying Game 7 with 1.7 seconds left and winning in OT, VGK scoring with 0.4 seconds left in Game 3 of round 2—epic, epic sports moments. Look at the emotion in those players. Watch their interviews—it’s all about the team, never about themselves.

Man, I just love this beautiful game. Every time I step onto the ice, I try to honor everyone who has skated before me—past, present, and future. I hope I can continue to show this game how much I love it for many more years to come.