Does a higher-level team always mean better development? Should your child leave home for hockey? And could fewer games create more opportunities to improve?
USA Hockey’s Bob Mancini joins Coach Drew and Coach Jared to explain the thinking behind the new USA Hockey Development League—and why the conversation matters beyond the players selected for it.
Bob breaks down the roles of 15U and 17U hockey, how Tier I fits into the development pathway, and why players need room to progress at different speeds. We discuss the pressure to chase AAA labels, the value of developing closer to home, and what coaches can accomplish when weekends include time for teaching, recovery and individual attention.
The conversation also explores USA Hockey’s grassroots coaching initiatives and a question every hockey family should keep asking: Is our child still enjoying the game?
Then, Jeff Gross takes us back to Sioux Falls, where his father and a determined group of families helped build a hockey rink. Parents put their homes on the line. Kids picked up shovels. Together, they helped create opportunities that reached far beyond their own teams.
Two conversations connected by one idea: growing hockey starts with giving kids a place to play, a chance to improve and a reason to keep coming back.
Plus, hear about our new partnership with One Hockey Tournaments.
Follow 2 Many Men on the Mic wherever you listen, share this episode with another hockey family, and watch the show on YouTube.
Learn more about the USA Hockey Development League:
https://www.usahockey.com/developmentleague
Presented by Vantage Credit Union. A Netfront LLC production.
With thanks to Afterlight Recovery and Five B Designs.

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Does tough coaching actually create tougher hockey players?
Following last week's discussion of the incident involving St. Louis Blues prospect Matthew Mayock at Arizona State, Drew and Jared turn from what happened to a bigger question facing hockey: Are we teaching mental toughness the right way?
Therapist and hockey mom Jenny Hoffman of Therapy & Wellness Collective joins the show to discuss fear of failure, confidence, self-advocacy and how coaches can challenge young athletes without creating a culture where players are afraid to speak up.
Then Jeff Brown of Mindful Hockey Club returns with the perspective of a former professional player and mental performance coach. Jeff breaks down the important difference between high standards and shame-based coaching, why fear doesn't equal mental toughness, and how accountability, communication and even fun can help produce more confident, resilient players.
🏒 When does "tough coaching" go too far?
🧠 What actually builds mental toughness?
💪 Can you demand more from players without coaching through fear?
🗣️ How do we teach athletes to say when something isn't right?
👥 Who should determine a team's culture — coaches or players?
🔥 Why sometimes the answer to a struggling team isn't pushing harder.
And because this is still 2 Many Men on the Mic, things eventually deteriorate into Drew and Jared challenging producer Grant to determine who actually knows more about their sport — hockey guys or the Mizzou football guy.
The result is far more competitive than anyone expected.
🎙️ 2 Many Men on the Mic — Presented by Vantage Credit Union
Hockey is more fun the better you get at it.

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Youth hockey season is officially back — which means parents everywhere have once again become unpaid Uber drivers with very expensive passengers.
This week, hockey moms Nicole Zellweger and Angel Milne join Coach Jared and Coach Drew to talk about the reality of raising high school hockey players.
We get into balancing school and hockey, homecoming conflicts, sleep, homework, club vs. high school hockey, player advocacy, off-ice development and how parents can help without managing every decision for their kids.
And then comes the big one:
💃 Homecoming or hockey game?
The coaches weigh in — and this might be one of those rare moments where hockey doesn't automatically win.
Also this week:
💰 NHL teams are handing out 8-year contracts like Halloween candy
🥅 Why goalies — and goalie parents — are just a little different
💪 Jared unveils the highly sophisticated homemade training device known as “The Brett Hull”
🧠 We introduce the coaching philosophy of “agency and advocacy”
🏖️ Jared apparently wants everyone to “soften the beaches”
🧓 Grant's Trivia Time reminds Jared and Drew exactly how old they are
🏆 And Coach Drew attempts the three-peat
Plus, we're getting ready to hit the porch at PorchFest STL!
🎙️ Too Many Men on the Mic — hockey talk for the families actually living it.

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Stay connected with 2 Many Men on the Mic:

📸 Follow us on Instagram
@twomanymenpodcast

🌐 Download coaching resources, drills, and practice plans
www.2manymenonthemic.com

▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel for full episodes, clips, and coaching content
http://www.youtube.com/@2ManyMenontheMic