From Strength to Mindset: How Total Empowerment Training Shapes Young Athletes

Foreign.

This is Sharpening youg Edge with Chuck and Eric.

Today's guest is Tony Cosenza, widely known as Coach Tone.

And he's a seasoned fitness professional with extensive experience spanning decades in the health and fitness industry.

And now our interview with Tony Cosenza.

Welcome to episode two of Sharpening youg Edge, presented by CV3 Hockey Development.

I'm Chuck Vertolino along with my co host Eric Malanson.

And with us today, we have the owner of Total Empowerment Training on Long Island.

And notice I did say on Long island and not in.

That's a big no, no for people on Long Island.

It's on Long island, not in.

But.

But he owns a Total Empowerment training on Long Island.

Tony Cassenza.

Tony, thanks for joining us on episode two.

My pleasure, my pleasure.

Good to be here, Tony.

Interesting times for hockey fans in Long island, right?

With Schaefer coming on board and netting his first point.

What, last night, right?

Oh, yeah.

Pretty.

You did it.

Pretty legit.

You did it.

You said in.

Yeah, you said in.

There we go.

See?

Educated.

He did.

You can always tell when someone's not from Long island when they say in Long Island.

I will tell you, that is the first time I've actually heard somebody say in Long Island.

Oh, well, first for everybody.

Not to embarrass you, Eric.

No, I don't get embarrassed, but it's a learning experience.

It's all about development.

Yeah.

So electric times on Long island for those fans.

How did you fall in love with hockey?

And, you know, when was that?

When was there a point where you fell in love with hockey?

I fell in love with hockey, you know, around 8 years old.

I remember I got my first Chicago skates and I had balance and, you know, growing up, pretty athletic, being on those skates felt so free that once I got the stick, it just made sense to me.

It all clicked.

It was just one of those games that just lit me up, you know, the speed, the intensity, team energy.

It hooked me right away.

I just loved, you know, in that in street, once I got the ball, we played with the ball, then it evolved into like an electrical tape, you know, like for a puck.

But I just loved, you know, trying to get creative and scoring goals and, you know, mirroring Gretzky after watching, you know, how he passes and everything.

And I just tried to, I don't know, it was.

We played all year round.

And the one thing I loved about it is that it pushes you, like, not only physically, but mentally, you know, for that creativity, it's the emotion Excitement after scoring or hitting a nice pass or, you know, even back checking and, you know, stealing the ball at the time or the puck was amazing.

So, you know, I don't know, it's.

It's lessons and stuff that you learn, you know, like, such as discipline of resilience and how to handle wins and losses.

It shapes you.

I feel, as a person shaped me anyway, but it made me so competitive.

I just wanted to be like as.

I wanted to be better than I was every day when I was on it, the street, and then eventually the ice.

But that's how I fell in love with it.

That's awesome.

I mean, there's no better game, right, than hockey.

No, Call me biased, right.

But I think it teaches kids, teaches everybody a whole lot life skills and everything else.

Right.

I think, you know, it's that it's that one remaining game where it's, it's, it's encouraged to fight.

Right.

And you only get five minutes for it.

Whereas, you know, you snatch somebody's chain in the NFL, you're, you're getting fined and games missed.

Yeah, it's definitely an interesting culture, and it's.

It's the greatest game on the planet.

Yeah, it's a little bit of a backstory.

I met Tony about five years ago on Long island when our sons played together for spring travel hockey.

Tony, how has your interest in hockey re energized since you had your son Anthony and speak a little bit more about his hockey journey and how you currently stay involved with him on the ice?

So that's, you know, it's so interesting, Chuck, because I just found his first team picture of the Mavericks.

And I remember when he first started, my intention was just to get him involved in sports and to keep him active, you know, mostly intending for to be physically strong.

So, you know, I was happy that he was going to learn a team aspect.

But, you know, he was six when he started, or he had his first lessons at five, but I think he was six when he first started the playing.

And I remember the one summer where I play softball every weekend and I went to all this winter games, but sometimes I had conflicts over the summer.

And you had decided to coach this summer team and he played with your son.

And my wife called me up and said, anthony has, like five goals.

And I'm like, get the heck out of here.

And she's like, no, he really did, because, you know, we took it seriously, like, you want to support him, but we just didn't know where it was going to go.

And I didn't want to pressure him, telling him how I played hockey and, you know, whatever it was, I kind of wanted him to feel, you know, find himself and just, like, feel his way.

And she's like, no, him and Charles are like the dynamic duo out there.

So I said, I remember leaving the game, and I said, I got to watch the rest of the game.

So because it was at Newbridge, the arena in Free Pine, Belmore, and I went to the game, and sure enough, I'm like, what?

It's just something happened that clicked.

So he came off telling me how much he loved it.

And in watching him fall in love with the game has just reignited my passion tenfold.

His journey, you know, from then until now has been amazing.

You know, from learning to skate to becoming the player he is, you know, through great coaches like yourself.

Been incredible to watch.

So just by being at the games with him, you know, cheering him on, but more importantly, by supporting his development off the ice, not only as a father, but as a friend and a coach, because I believe, you know, in these days, we wear different hats, much more.

You know, I grew up with, you know, another great father.

He was amazing, but he made it clear.

He's like, listen, I'm your father.

Your friends are out there.

And there were times where I kind of needed a friend, and it wasn't really there until I got a little older, where my dad wanted to kind of bond with me on the friendship level, but he was there to teach me right and wrong and, you know, grow up with, you know, teach us his, you know, core values.

But for me, it's.

I like to be a father, a friend, and a coach, and I help him with his mindset for the games, leadership and accountability.

In a soft way, though, not so hard on him.

It's just been so special to share the game that we both love and use it as a way to bond.

It's really been amazing.

That's awesome.

I can 100% relate on that.

I moved away from hockey, just traveling to locations that there weren't a lot of hockey going on.

And then once I had my kids and got them on skates, man, my energy just went through the roof.

My passion was found again, renewed, and I would much rather, I found myself, you know, much rather wanting to watch them play or even practice than play myself.

There's no better joy I get from that.

So that's awesome.

You know, you talked about his on ice development, his off ice development, whether that's in the gym or whatever, but you know, can you talk to us a little bit about when you found your love of fitness and strength training and human performance and what led you to really opening the facility you're at now?

Yeah.

So this could be a podcast on its own, but I'll give you the short version as much as I could for the listener's sake.

But I've been in the fitness industry for years.

I always wanted as a kid to be Superman.

That was like my, my dream.

And growing up, you know, I realized that I'm not going to fly unless, you know, I guess watching Michael Jordan, quote unquote fly, I said, you know, maybe I can jump as, as high and as long as him to be considered flying.

But I've been in the fitness industry for years, ever since I was 17 years old.

When I graduated high school, I was hired at a gym based on my energy.

The, the owner pulled me aside and said, you know what, I want you to work here.

I don't know what you're doing for work, but whatever you're doing, quit and work here.

You're always smiling and you're always, you know, happy.

So I want that.

So I learned the business from that and I loved helping people.

And as my career, I continue that career through college and got into management and then working for major organizations in Manhattan and then into partnership and then finally on my own where I owned the CrossFit, trained athletes and multiple certifications of CrossFit kettlebell training.

I decided that, you know, a lot of this like, you know, the physical fitness helps with mindset.

So I really wanted to dive into how to have a resilient mindset, strength and mindsets.

You know, people like Tony Robbins, Bruce Schneider, Luke Iorio, and especially Joseph Russo, you know, that inspired me.

I decided to become a certified professional coach through IPEC and learned energy, leadership.

But what inspired me to start Total Empowerment training was seeing the gap in like the youth development.

The kids were getting skills training, but not the mindset leadership.

And for hockey, the off ice development that they truly needed.

So I wanted to create a program that trains athletes from the inside out.

Physically strong, mentally tough and emotionally resilient.

That's awesome.

Perfect answer.

Especially the last part.

That's fantastic.

Yeah, I mean, I think there is obviously a growing fitness industry.

Right.

It's like a, it's a tremendous industry.

Everybody's got a platform now though, right.

So there's also just as much misinformation out there.

But I think finding a good quality strength coach is something that I know I've Looked for in my boys is I valued the human performance thing that, you know, I was first exposed to it in special operations, where our strength coaches were former NFL or collegiate Division 1 strength coaches.

They brought a totally different training experience to us and a focus and a love for that.

So that's awesome.

And I commend you for trying to instill that in some of the kids today.

I think it's huge.

You talked about the metal piece leadership.

I mean, I get all wrapped into training, especially if you can find a quality strength coach.

My oldest boy lives in Massachusetts now.

He's fortunate enough to train under Mike Boyle.

So I'm extremely jealous.

But I know he.

I know he's getting a great product.

You know, he's going to have a great experience in there, and he has his training accelerated, so he can do wonders for kids.

Yeah.

I mean, you know, just one thing that just came to me as you're talking, I remember actually going in and I'm, you know, 59 on paper, but not 5 9.

And I was at the time, I think 190 pounds.

And I remember going under a barbell.

375.

And I remember talking to myself, you know, and I would say things that had a, you know, stay focused.

You know, people watching.

You're gonna, you know, you're here to inspire others.

Because, you know, I worked at the gym and I knew that people were watching me, like, oh, there he goes.

Like, what is he gonna do?

I remember the muscle mind connection that I used to actually tell myself, and I would tell people, and I didn't really know that I was actually working on their mental strength.

I would just say to them, like, think about doing what you're doing.

See yourself doing it.

Feel what that feels like.

Get under the bar and do it.

And I said, let's go.

And I would spot them.

And I remember, you know, feeling that.

So it's.

It's interesting that literally just came to me now on the podcast, so I may have been doing this longer than I have been certified for.

This podcast.

Tony encompasses all aspects of development.

Mental, physical, on, off ice.

You touched upon it a little bit earlier, but can you.

Can you go into a little more detail about how you would describe total empowerment's training's philosophy or approach when specifically developing young athletes.

Yeah.

So as a company, we believe that every child already has a greatness inside of them.

And I felt that, you know, I feel like I have that connection with everyone that I meet.

I just.

I see their potential.

I can't really Describe it.

It's just a, it's a connection that I, that I have.

And so I like.

My philosophy is about unlocking that through a combination of physical fitness, the mindset, coaching and leadership training.

In CrossFit, they have the 10 general physical skills.

So I blend the 10 general physical skills such as like speed, agility, balance, strength with what I call the empowerment essentials.

With the empowerment essentials, there are things I created such as confidence, awareness, authenticity, being 100% energetically engaged.

So I create a program based on the general physical skills and the essentials, combine it and deliver the product.

So it's not just about creating better athletes for me, but it's about helping kids thrive in life.

And I feel like this is what separates me because they're not just taking this here or on the ice, off the ice, on the field, it's in life, building that confidence, that strong core, you know, with my philosophy is, you know, core to extremity.

So it's not just your physical core, it's also that emotional core, that mindset, that strength, the inner strength, the inner man or the inner woman in you, whoever.

We're training here to develop that and that, that carries with you throughout school and then when you get older, throughout work and you know, as a parent, eventually as a friend.

So it's, it's, it's something that is, I feel really connected to.

That's good points.

And so I wanted to circle back and, and touch on, just make a comment about one thing you said.

That's, that's definitely.

I'm going to take away with me the, the here that first boss letting you know that, hey, you're here to inspire others and I think that's awesome.

Think that kids need to kind of approach as they get older, approach the game that way.

Right.

Like they're here to expire the next generation.

You know, there's a great leadership book about the All Blacks called Legacy, right.

The New Zealand rugby team where it talks about, you know, plant seeds for trees that you'll never see grow.

And I think, you know, that kind of touches on that quote as well as, you know, your entire philosophy.

So when you speak to specific off ice training and for me, off ice means the physical, the mental, nutrition, sleep, all of those kind of human performance factors.

You have parents now that over the summer will shell out tens of thousands of dollars for travel and et cetera for their kids to go play in every tournament, but they won't shell out the 500 or $1,000 a month for their Kids, kid, to find a quality trainer or a mental performance coach or what have you.

So from coach Tone's point of view, why is off ice training such a critical part of that, you know, for US Hockey players development, but really, as a.

You could take it a step further as a child, as a young adult, you know, overall development.

Yeah, I mean, you.

You touched on it.

I mean, you mentioned, you know, the on ice training.

Right.

It builds skills, and that's very important.

But off ice training, it builds the engine, you know, speed, strength, power, and resilience.

It all comes from what players do away from the rink, in my opinion.

And my program, you know, stands out because we don't just focus on workouts.

We integrate mindset, accountability, and leadership.

That way, when a player hits the ice, they're not just faster and stronger, they're mentally sharper, more confident.

I have kids that on the ice, at times, they're might be a little bashful or afraid to go into the boards because now, you know, hockey's getting, you know, they say there's no checking, but there's checking.

There's checking at all age groups.

You know, sorry, refs, I know you're.

I know some.

There's.

There's contact.

I mean, there's contact.

There's a.

There's clean contact, and then there's.

Oh, my gosh, did he just do that?

Contact.

So a big win is actually working with someone who's, you know, timid even on the ice.

And the coaches are doing their best to say, you got to go in.

And they're showing and they're doing, but there's something holding that kid back.

And what I teach is how to go in, in that boards.

Even it's off ice training, but we're still doing it.

And there's a particular exercise that I do where I literally take out a pad, all right.

And I'll have them run into the pad.

But it's.

I.

What I do is I watch how they hit the pad.

Are they hitting the pad and they're continuing to go forward, or are they hitting the pad and bouncing off and just running?

So I added a little bit of a little gist to it, a little shove back to see, and some of these kids almost fell back.

And I said, listen, that's, you know, and I believe how you do anything is how you do everything.

So if I'm watching their behavior going into the pad and they're not going through that pad to come and get the puck, you know, there's a virtual puck behind me or even if I take a puck and throw it behind me and say, get the puck, I want to see what they're doing before I correct them, before I even tell them how to do it or show them how to get through the puck.

And I'm not, you know, teaching like how to kill the guy, but just it's, it's to get through that, to get through that fear and to, to believe in themselves.

Because all these kids that I work with have the ability to do it.

I mean, they're capable.

But I think that's one way that, you know, that is I've developed on how to really see, you know, how to strengthen their mindsets and kind of build that courage to kind of get through and get that puck, quote, unquote, you know.

Yeah.

Going into the boards.

Oh, absolutely.

And you know, I've never seen the data or the studies, but I've heard them quoted often that the biggest loss of registration for USA Hockey is when the kids make that leap from pee wee to bantam.

Right.

When they start hitting.

And I would almost be interested to look at those and pull those kids that decided to kind of self select out of that because they didn't like the contact and the checking.

How many of those had had some previous level of, you know, training, whether that be in the gym or some form of off ice.

Right.

That prepares them just like you are right now.

So I think that's awesome.

Yeah.

Thanks.

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We mentioned or you mentioned, the big umbrella.

Mental, physical, nutrition.

I want to focus now just a little bit on the physical quality.

So if you ask a hundred different people, you might get a hundred different answers on this.

But in your opinion, what physical traits or qualities should youth players focus on improving the most specific to hockey?

Speed, strength, mobility and balance.

And why do you think that you're.

You all right, I know it's a, it's a loaded question.

No, no, it is.

But you know what, I'm glad you asked it because it is.

This is something that, when I was developing the program, you know, I'm like, should I follow this?

Should I look at this theory?

Should I look into this?

This guy's saying this, this girl saying that.

This one's saying this, this, this, you know, niche is saying to do that.

I said, you know, what I want to observe.

So what I did was I tried my best to just be open minded and to see, like, what these kids do, how they behaved and like what made someone better at my program or what skills and qualities that these people had, like these kids had.

So for me, after doing, you know, about a year and a half of research and just, you know, creating programs and adjusting, you know, according to the, the overall group of the class, I feel like for the young players, the foundation is built on power, speed and strength.

I feel like those are the three pillars that drive all athletic movement.

You know, we build strength and power first as a company and as my program, because I feel they create the base for speed, agility and confidence.

So, like, when an athlete feels strong, they move with more intention and belief.

So the strength and conditioning, like, oh, I know it's vague in general, but I really feel like if, you know, it's, it's can be fast, but if you're strong, you know, we can always teach you to be much faster.

I just feel it's like a very important quality to have as a youth, you know, and then at the same time, you know, as, you know, we're not just training muscles, you know, we're Training mindsets.

So confidence and fearless and fearless engagement mirror the physical training.

And I feel like an athlete must believe before they can achieve.

And I guess that takes me back to the previous question of remembering that, you know, I'm going to lift this weight, you know, people are watching me.

You got to get this up like it's focus time and you know, having that great self talking and you know, training somebody to lift that, that heavy load.

So when you combine that physical power with the inner belief, I think that's where the true performance comes from in those physical qualities.

Going with the theme that we've been talking about here.

Now when you're training these players, obviously it's a different focus when they're out of season vice in season.

Right.

So I think a lot of kids are kind of wrapped around the axle that they've got to continue to see these games no matter what's happening during the season off, you know, in season, wherever they're at.

How do you keep kids motivated when they're training with you specifically in season and they may not be seeing the same level of gains that they saw over the summer.

Right.

When they're on a totally different program, how do you keep them motivating?

What is your words of advice to them and how do you approach that?

Well, we try to set intentions for every session so the kids know what they're focusing on.

And I try to remind them that progress is about consistency, not instant results.

So I'll use fun games, challenges, mindset tools like commitment cards and confidence deposits to keep it engaging.

And I feel like the key is showing them like small wins along the way.

And once they feel it, the motivation builds naturally.

So for example, I'll remember and I'll, you know, people say, do you track their progress?

I mean parents, yeah, of course I track that progress, every single one of them.

In addition, I track progress not only for the physical markers that we have that are obvious, such as, you know, how many push ups sit up, squats, Superman's can they do in a minute, broad jump, we do a tenure dash speed.

So to just see how quickly they're, they're moving and then eventually we'll move that back and we'll get like, how fast are they accelerating?

10 yards.

How fast are they accelerating from 10 yards to 20 yards?

But I remember a kid getting the perfect push up or I remember a kid, you know, doing any type of form correctly, you know, like squatting when they have tight ankles and it's been like, you know, two, three weeks and they're not sitting, you know, trying to sit down on their butts, and it's pushing back and hinging, not working.

You know, squatting on their toes versus their heels where they're supposed to.

And I'll remember and I'll point it out in the class and say, hey, so and so.

You know, let's stop for a moment.

Let's give everybody.

Let's give so and so the attention right here.

He just did his first perfect squat.

Hey, get in the center.

Let's show everybody.

And they really feel everyone's clapping.

So it.

It creates and sets the tone.

And a lot of kids look, you know, they look for it.

I also hold, like, athlete of the month, you know, and what I do is I have, like, a sweatshirt or, like, what kids are mostly talking about is ultra rare.

So I'll be like, this is one of one, you know, or I try to get them, like, you know, a different type of shirt each month to keep them motivated because, you know, everybody wants that shirt.

You know, I remember Anthony skating with Chuck, you know, and his camps, and, you know, Chuck doing something similar.

But I think, you know, it's really important.

And also bringing the child to the parent at the end when it's pickup time and letting them know how great the kid did.

And I'll tell them, like, listen, I want to know, you know, when you go home, you know, do a few of these movements throughout the week.

Send me a text on how he did, you know, or how she did.

And they look forward to coming to the next class to tell me, like, hey, Tony, Tony, I did 10 push ups.

Ask my dad.

And I said, did he?

Yeah, he really did.

And then the kid will come away, like, all right.

He did like eight and a half.

But we counted the next two and said, all right, listen, let's get.

That's great.

I mean, eight and a half.

I mean, he was barely doing one, so we keep him motivated.

That plus I'm pretty motivated myself.

I mean, I mean, I'm lit up with these classes, so I. I just have really.

I have a lot of fun.

I, you know, I know they say, like, you know, it's not work when you're doing what you love.

I mean, I genuinely love doing this.

I get excited by programming.

So when I'm demoing, even at 46 years old, it's.

I feel like I'm Barry Sanders going through these obstacles.

I create and, you know, do my head fakes for when we play the father son game.

When I'm going up Against Chuck, you know, I gotta go.

You know, I gotta really, you know, work on my moves when I go up against him now.

But it's.

It's just a lot of fun for me.

And we usually end each sessions with like a.

We call it like a deke session.

So I'll set up an offensive line, a defense line, and then they come up and when you get to the cone, you gotta kind of fake out your opponent while, like, right as you get to the cone and commit to a movement, commit to a side, and it's really cool.

These kids, they love it, they look forward to it.

You know, there's sometimes the kids act up, but you know it.

Within a couple of minutes, everybody's back engaged because the general energy of the group is pretty high fun and positive.

That's awesome.

I mean, making it fun and showing them, you know, that everything they get from working out and taking care of themselves, physically, mentally, it's huge.

I think you're changing lives, right?

You probably don't hear that enough, but you truly are.

And I think that we still have some folks out there, like some of my kids, PE teachers are like, why are you working out?

You're going to stunt your growth.

And I'm like, wow, that's been disproven so many times, so many years ago, that maybe that's why we're in this epidemic now or we have a relatively obese society.

But I think you're doing your part, obviously, to make working out fun again and to make sure they're doing it the right way.

Right.

So we don't have folks getting out, getting injured.

You know, the other thing that you kind of brought up in my mind is like, the aggregation of marginal gains.

And, you know, I'm not somebody that coined that term.

That was David Brailsford.

And if nobody on this podcast is familiar listening with him, I would encourage you all to look it up.

There's like a five minute long YouTube video about his whole theory on the aggregation of marginal gains and how 1% better every day is way better than just doing a little bit here or there.

Yeah, I think all the things you're doing is definitely that aggregation of gains.

You read my mind, Eric.

I was going to bring that up as well.

That's a big message I send kids, especially at the younger ages.

I ask them how many people think they're gonna leave this lesson or this clinic or this camp and you're gonna be Connor McDavid.

And none of these kids raised their hand.

And I try to Send the message to them that, look, it's, it's okay to fall down.

It's.

It's okay.

Just don't get discouraged.

Just come here, have fun and just focus on getting a little bit better each time you're on the ice.

And that's, that's what I truly love to tell them and express to them and the parents.

And that's my philosophy at CV3 with the development of children.

It's not a, oh, you're a superstar at 10 years old, you're going to the NHL.

It's.

No, it's keeping them involved with the love of the game and showing them their little gains.

Just get a little bit better each time and have fun.

Don't get discouraged by when you fall down.

So I'm glad you brought that up, Eric.

I'm glad that you incorporate that into your training.

Tony as well.

Thank you.

Yeah, I mean I remember your clinics and you know, Anthony loved going.

You know, it's just unfortunate you're not in the same, you're not on Long island anymore, but you'll always be in.

Our hearts shifting a little bit.

Something I see a lot personally and I hear stories of is athletes 8 to 10 years old getting injured, pulling groins.

And that's something that, that was unheard of when we played hockey.

Do you think it's due to over training on the ice, they're on the ice too much?

Or is it, are there some common misconceptions or training mistakes you see with youth players or parents off the ice?

You know, you are right.

I mean I've been asked to stretch kids prior, before the game, after the game, you know, in that age range, usually from like, like nine and a half to 12.

And I remember, I think back to myself and I'm, I never needed this, you know, and I played so many sports.

But I feel like a misconception that, that I hear about like strength and conditioning and everything is like one is lifting, stunts, growth.

I don't know if it does.

I really don't.

I've read that it does and I've read that it doesn't.

In my opinion, you know, these kids, they, they're carrying around £50.

School, school bags all throughout the day.

So I feel like if that was the case, you know, and you know, my son says he has a locker, but none of the kids use the locker.

They put all their bag, all their books in their bag.

I would think that that would have somewhat of an effect.

Now I also don't feel that they should Be learning how to, you know, deadlift a million pounds just yet or squat, you know, a house on their back at 9 and 10.

I feel like it's done in moderation, but you know, I personally don't use weights until they get a little bit older somewhere.

You know, salt lightweights, maybe at, you know, 12 depending upon what it is.

But I'm talking like 5 pounds here, 10 pounds here.

Nothing crazy but I just, you know, I, I feel, and I'm not, you know, I don't want to be fact checked but my own opinion, I feel that, you know, that the big, that lifting sounds gross.

I don't know if that how true that is.

I think age appropriate strength training is safe and actually reduces injury, to be honest with you, because you're teaching the proper movement and you want to instill that in the athlete.

Another misconception is that thinking that only on ice time matters when really off ice training is where players build the foundation for speed and power.

We talked about that, you know, in a few questions earlier.

Where parents are willing to spend thousands of on ice training, but they tend to leave out the off ice.

I often see too some kids when they actually part of their team practice where it's, you know, on ice and they'll get like two or five sessions during a week and some will go, but they'll choose to sit out.

And again only comparing who I am and knowing the benefit and this is my industry.

But as, as, as when I was a kid, I would have loved to work out before, you know, practice.

I thought, you know, I should think that was so cool.

You know, I, I don't know if the fact that I want to be Superman had anything to do with it, but I see that now and I said, man, this is so freaking cool.

You have all of this accessible and you're not taking advantage of it and the parents aren't really pushing that part.

They'll wait and they'll spend, you know, hundreds and hundreds of dollars on the, on the skills.

Again, it's very important.

But they, you know, I think off ice training is where they build the foundation for what they're searching for.

Speed and power.

I mean those are the main things you need to be a, a really, really effective and great athlete and hockey player.

Aside from, you know, financially.

Right.

Because that's what we do for our kids.

How best can a parent support their kids off ice development, you know, without making it more, more of a precious situation for them?

I think that parents need to tell the kids that they're worth is not defined by their performance, and they need to encourage the effort, their effort over outcome.

They need to celebrate their energy, their attitude and their commitment rather.

Rather than just stats, rather than goals, assists, whatever, you know, they're fun.

It's great to see your kids score or, you know, assist or even back check and break up a play.

But I think parents, what we.

Because we, you know, I mean, you know, at times that, you know, we.

I'm a culprit for it too, sometimes, you know, but we have to create space.

I do the best I can to create space for my son to enjoy the game.

I feel like you need to be present, peaceful and positive.

That's one thing that I set an intention for myself.

It's tough because it's really.

It's really.

It's intense.

But with, you know, practice, you'll get there.

So when the parents focus on who their kids are becoming, you know, confident, resilient, disciplined, you know, whether it's on or off the ice, as far as supporting, I think the, you know, the kids really thrive then.

That's awesome.

I think, you know, giving them the environment to which they can, you know, prescribe to and thrive in is huge for our kids.

That's awesome that you're doing that.

And you're just as much, you know, helping those parents along too.

Right.

Right.

Yeah.

So I've already mentioned that I know.

Know you personally, Tony, and I can 100% attest to the fact that you are truly passionate about.

About what you do.

And anyone that anyone that has met you can back me up with that.

At the end of the day, when you put your head on the pillow, what makes you feel most accomplished when working with these young athletes that come through your doors?

I think that I gave my all and to see, you know, celebrating a small win for them really makes me feel accomplished.

Because you're, you know, I'm also getting a ton of feedback from parents on their kid, and sometimes, you know, they pull you aside and, you know, they get really friendly with you, and then they'll say something about that kid that it's like, you know, my kid's a little bit like this, and he could be a little bit of blah, blah, whatever.

So, like, it's only natural that my mind is like.

Like, at first I'm trying not to judge the parent because I'm like, well, you know, this is kind of your job, you know, But I'm like, all right, listen, here's an opportunity for me to do exactly what it is that I'm going to do and to see just, you know, the journey of, for them, how they progress and knowing that.

I mean, I've had kids, I've been doing this for, officially I've been doing it for like a little over three years, like working with youth.

But technically since I started promoting myself with it has been about a year and a half and is, or almost two years rather.

And it's been great.

So to see like these core kids going from a 12 inch box jump to a 42 inch box jump and he's 12 years old, to getting a call from his father saying how much stronger he is, his upper body.

And these are all the goals that, you know, the parents wanted for the kid.

But I asked the kid, like, what, what do you want?

Like what do you want?

I know what you know, so your dad wants, I know what, you know, your mom wants, what is it that you want?

And you know, we work on it.

Most of the time they're in line, most of the time they're aligned.

You know, it is just seeing the kids light up for achieving something they never thought they can do.

There's, there's a lot of second guessing when doing some of the movements and box jumps in particular.

You know, kids, you know, they're jumping up 24 inches and it's all right, let's, let's put another three inches on and they're like, oh no.

So there are times where like we scale it so they can see it, they can feel it, you know, I'll help them up in a way.

And then, you know, going back home and having their parents text me saying, hey, I heard, you know, my daughter just jumped up a 27 inch box or a 30 inch box jump.

And that was amazing because I remember the first class, she wouldn't do 12.

She was scared that she was gonna, you know, fall forward or whatever it was.

It's really that, that feeling I get seeing like the progress of the kids is what makes me feel really great overall.

Amen.

Amen.

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yeah, one thing I wanted to highlight that you said there and a lot of coaches I don't see it nowadays and maybe this is my full time job as a teacher coming out.

But it's when you said, okay, I know what the parents want, but what do the kids want?

And I feel like it's really important as a coach to connect to the kid, get to know the kid rather than just assuming what we think we want to do as a team or they want to do.

And where they should be is just connect with the kid and ask them what they want out of this.

So it makes a good connection.

And I feel personally that it makes the kid more motivated to go out and work and get better and develop.

Yeah, I mean, you know, you do get, you know, as much as I love kids and I want to help parents as much, the one thing that I try to explain to parents, too, is that, you know, we're going to get your kids to the goals as long as they're bought in and they're not being dropped off here to be babysat.

Because it's really, you know, it does take.

You know, some kids are on a fence at first, and they're not too sure what to expect, and that's okay, but to fill in the hour for whatever.

And, you know, sometimes the kids are like, you know, this is not what I wanted to do.

Mom.

Mom, you know, or dad.

Dad, whatever.

It gets a little tough.

So we try to explain that, listen, we're not babysitters.

You know, I'm gonna give my all, but there are times where, you know, some kids don't want to participate in a very hard time.

And I'll give everything I can in my toolbox.

And, you know, they'll.

I'll just have to sit them out and say, listen, sit down and maybe you'll see what we're doing.

And if you feel inspired to jump in, go ahead.

If not, you know, it is what it is.

You're going to, you know, sit there and watch.

And then I'll, you know, tell the parents, like, listen, maybe right now is not the right time, but it's a very rare, you know, moment that this happens.

This doesn't happen often, but it is important, I think, for.

For parents to know it's not, you know, you don't want to really take your kid and say, here, you.

You know, he's wild at home, and, you know, you got to do something.

You know, you do it.

So it's.

It can be a little crazy.

I'm sure you've dealt with some, you know, some instances like that, too, Chuck, you know, on the ice or whatever, where.

But, you know, I've seen you handle it, too.

I mean, you handle it with grace and, you know, you just gotta be the best that you can when something like this happens.

Yeah.

Replaying a story of a young lacrosse player that played for me and I had in my head, but we'll skip that for.

For the betterment of the.

The group and time here.

But we're in a pretty interesting time where everybody's got a device in their hand, a laptop in their bag, right?

Everybody's on social media.

And while it can be a good tool, right.

There's also a lot of bad things that have come out of it, right?

So there's a lot of, you know, fitness industry has taken off because everybody's got this platform and everybody's a coach.

And there's tons of trends and tons of innovation, some positive, some negative.

You know, what are the positive trends or innovations or what's that next Ridgeline or that next hill that's going to shape the next generation of hockey training?

Or are we already there?

Are we just kind of reinventing the wheel, making it, you know, final 1% better here?

There?

Yeah, I think there's some truth in it.

I think we're getting there.

But I think the biggest shift is toward complete athlete development, combining mental, physical and emotional training.

I think technology will play a role, you know, tracking progress and analyzing movement.

You know, I think at the end of the day, mindset and energy are what separate good from great for us.

The next step is expanding like my captain's program, Captain's Academy.

I haven't really come up with an exact name for it yet, but it's a year long leadership and development journey for kids who want to grow as athletes and leaders on and off the ice or the field.

Where we like, as mentioned earlier, combining all the empowerment essentials and the 10 general physical skills throughout the entire year, broken down into four quarters of programming with videos and action steps, workouts, journaling.

So it's, it's really, it's, it's really awesome.

So I guess with that, what's, what's next for you, your, your mission, what's next for your facility?

Are there any big improvements on the horizon or things that you, you want to share with, with the listeners here?

Just, you know, I'm really passionate about what it is that I do.

This kind of fell onto my lap, you know, during COVID where I decided to pivot and work with kids based on all of the unique news that we were seeing.

And so I, you know, it was something that, you know, hit me inside that was like, listen, you know, you want to make sure that your kid is resilient and that he's healthy.

And that's how I started training.

So I think what I just mentioned as far as the captain's program, is really what's pulling me forward, giving a lot of time.

I have several kids in it now and it's just amazing.

And it's, it's individualized, so we have separate calls and you know, each program is custom to the kid when it comes to their workout space because it's a lot of virtual training in addition to, you know, attending my class.

There's like some stuff that they get to do at home.

The parents are involved because it's just now evolving into like a captain's program, not just for the kid, but how to be a captain as a parent, you know, how are you going to captain your, your kid?

How are you going to be a captain to the kids?

And I think a lot of what we talked about earlier where, you know, as parents, where there are times where we need to be, you know, leaders is what we want to be, right?

But there are times we need to manage.

There are times we have to be a boss and we don't want to.

There are times that we want to be their friend.

There's a times we need to be their coach.

And you know, for leadership, it's not just about getting people to follow you, it's about going first.

And I think parents need to go first.

So this is all kind of full circle and what I created in this development and it just kind of happens.

It's, you know, that, you know, I don't know, it's just, I don't know, just the way it's just evolved organically and I really enjoy working on it.

Like every single minute moment I get to work on these programs or, you know, in specific, particular the captain's program just.

It really pulls me, man.

I love it.

Yeah.

You mentioned the captain's program a couple times that you created.

Whether it's in the captain's program or in total empowerment training or even at the rink, if you could give one specific piece of advice to, let's just say a 12 year old, right, of hockey player who dreams of playing college or pro hockey, what would, what would coach tone tell them?

One piece.

I would say to fall in love with the process, not just the outcome.

You know, be the hardest worker, stay consistent, always bring your best energy.

Because if you stay focused on who you're becoming every day, the results will follow.

That's what I would leave.

That's the advice I would give a 12 year old.

That's awesome.

Be the hardest worker in the room.

It's what I tell my kids, right?

There's no friends between the whistles, Right.

Teammates are not.

You're there to compete because if you're gonna take shift off, you're gonna take a drill off, you're not just impacting yourself, you're impacting your team, right?

So the sooner you can realize that, the better.

And it's falling in love with the process, you know, because a lot of kids see, you know, someone doing something and whatever and I want to get there, I want to get there.

But you know, when you fall in love with the process people.

Those kids usually get there because they, they love the process or they're doing the work behind closed doors that nobody's watching.

You know, when no one's watching, they're putting in the extra work, they're taking shots at home, you know, they're doing push ups when, you know, between commercials or, you know, during, you know, watching TV shows or whatever it is.

You know, another like motivational thing you can do with that to kind of get them motivated is, you know, hey, dad, can I get some time on my iPad or whatever it is?

It's like, yeah, sure, bang out, you know, 50 push ups.

I'll give you 10 minutes, you know, or read, you know, 20 pages and you'll get 10 minutes here.

You know, something to make it like, you know, fun in a sense.

But they gotta, they gotta work for it.

And I really think, you know, I mean, so much more is coming to me, but let's just stick with that for time's sake.

But I think the first thing was for sure falling in love with the process and definitely being the hardest worker.

You know, you gotta, as parents, I think for us to help with, you know, this advice is to gently hold kids accountable to their commitments.

So when they stay consistent and they want to be the hardest worker, you can remind like, hey, remember that commitment you made the other day?

You wanted to take, you know, 50 shots, you know, before, you know, bedtime.

Where are you on that today?

Oh, I took 25.

Oh, great.

I can't wait to see how the next 25 are going to look.

You know, I can't wait to watch you stuff like that.

You know, you don't really pressure them.

But, you know, little, little gentle nudge is okay.

I feel, you know, you don't want to really, you know, get mad at them if they don't hold themselves in a commitment or whatever.

But it's part of us being a captain too.

You know, we got to let them know that we support them and that it's important to stick to their commitments.

Yeah, I mean, I swear the message I tell my kids, I'm like, look, I will logistically and financially support you however I can, but you got to be willing to put the work in.

And you know, something that's helped me is, you know, all this, these, these video clips and podcasts like this where they have these high level athletes on.

So you get kind of a glimpse behind the curtain to some of the bedards and the McDavid.

So when they are saying, like, I want to Be the next Connor Bedard.

I'm like, all right, dude, listen up.

Here's what it takes.

Listen to what he did when he was a kid.

That's.

That's what he's doing.

I'm not saying you have to do that, but that's what it took to get there.

So if you want to be great someday, you got to put the work in.

Right?

I just wanted to interject and say.

Yeah, I'm sure Eric would agree with me when I say this.

And a lot of people I know in professional hockey, whether they're GMs, junior coaches, junior GMs, college coaches, D1 coaches, and I ask them, what do you look for in a player?

And they all give me the same answer.

The hardest worker in the room, the one who comes with his lunch pail every day, puts the work in and has that compete level.

Not one of them says the highest scorer.

Mm.

Right.

They say that.

The one that comes and competes.

So it's pretty cool that you instill that with your young athletes as well.

Tony.

Thank you.

Tell them, like, be that.

Try hard.

Right?

That's not a derogatory term.

You know, you go out there and be the one that's earning and making.

Making those players earn every single inch that they're going to try to get on you.

You know, we've covered a lot today, Tony.

A ton.

Is there anything that we, you know, didn't ask you about specifically or that you wanted to bring up or you wanted to highlight?

Could be anything, really.

No, I think we covered it.

You know, I'm just, you know, I'm thankful for you guys, because the mission, you know, goes beyond hockey.

Obviously.

You know, I do want to build strong athletes, but, you know, more importantly, I want to build strong people.

Kids who know their worth, lead with confidence, bring out the best in others and that, you know, my true inspiration for this was my own son.

Both of them, both kids.

You know, my youngest was born, you know, in August, you know, right before COVID And if it wasn't for Covid, I probably would not have gotten this idea to keep him active.

You know, I have my certain take on the news.

You know, some of my friends are like, did you see that on the news?

I'm like, I have no idea what you're talking about because I don't really watch it.

So, you know, I'm not saying you should or shouldn't watch it, but in my world, I don't, because it's what I've seen when I have watched it.

Is nothing truly that positive?

So it's like, you know, what can I do?

And just seeing him, you know, develop and evolve into the young man he's becoming on and off the ice, it's such a joy to see the leadership, you know, just coming out from him, you know, and like, I have so many, just incredible moments that we share together on and off the ice.

You know, he is a very hard worker.

I would say that he pretty much puts a lot of what I teach into action.

And I, you know, it's, it's, it's been a joy.

So he likes to encourage kids.

He gets excited, too, for their successes.

You know, he got, he got along really well with Charles's.

With Charles, so Chuck's son.

And, you know, it's.

And I think he could vouch for that as well.

Yeah, I, I mean, I think that's it.

It's just, it's.

It's a blessing to do what I do.

I love it and I really am grateful for this, for this call.

You know, I did everything I could to squeeze it in, and I'm just glad you guys are patient with me.

I know Chuck was following up with me a lot, and I'm like, I can't answer this.

I can read it, but I couldn't take any action on it at the moment.

But I do appreciate, he's always so patient, and I do appreciate the follow up.

It was a lot of fun to, to be on this podcast with you guys, for sure.

No, we know you're a busy man.

We appreciate you squeezing us in.

I know personally what total empowerment training is all about and people listening have heard it from you.

But for players, parents, or coaches who want to see more of what Coach Tony and, and total empowerment training, what, what it's all about, how can they reach out to you or follow along with you?

Maybe on social media, they can visit.

Our website@totalempowerment.com they can follow us on Instagram @totalempowerment training.

And the YouTube channel is a total empowerment training.

Or they can email directly@tonyotalempowerment.com awesome.

All right, one, one final question for you.

It's something we ask all our guests.

So, okay, what is your development or definition of development?

And that can be mental, physical, it can be a combination thereof.

What is your definition of development?

All right, now that you threw the mental feels, let me see what I could come up with here.

Development, Development.

My definition of development would be growth from the inside out.

It's building your body, sharpening your mind strengthening your spirit and learning to show up as your best self.

For athletes, that means becoming faster, stronger and smarter, I think, and, but also more confident, resilient and replaced and empowered.

I like it.

Quote him.

Put it on a T shirt.

Put it on a T shirt.

Yeah, sell them@totalempowerment.com I gotta tell you.

If you ask me again, I wouldn't remember what the hell I just said.

So, you know, I, I have my eyes closed with a lot of these questions, so try not to get any distracted.

But you guys have been great, man.

This is a really, this is a lot of fun.

It really was.

Well, we, like Eric said, we appreciate you coming on, spending some time with us and giving some information out to, to our audience.

So once again, Tony, again, thanks for joining us.

Yeah, thanks Tony.

This was a huge, you know, I truly mean it when I say it that you're, you're changing lives and you're, you're making kids lives better.

So any, you know, anybody that kind of dedicates their time to making kids better, better people, better athletes, and just feel better about themselves, I think that's awesome.

And it's, it's kind of a, you know, one of the unsung professions out there.

So, you know, thanks for all you do for the kids.

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