Skill Training, Summer Do’s and Don’ts, Processing Speed with Troy Smith

May 12, 2025

48:10

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What does the day to day of a high performance skill coach look like? Joining me once again is Troy Smith, the owner of Hockey IQ! With his extensive experience as a player and a coach at both the amateur and professional levels, he’s sharing his must-haves for coaches to take their players to the elite level. Our conversation will cover everything you need to know about the life of a skill coach, including Troy’s approach to skill training, his recommended do’s and don’ts for the off-season, the secret to training processing speed in your athletes, and more. We go over how to handle communication not only with your athletes, but with staff members, as well as Troy’s take on the software of the game that got his community talking. We also take a lens to the current NHL playoffs, our first impressions, and the style of play we’re seeing—most of all, what it’ll take to get to the third round.

HIGHLIGHTS

00:00 Welcome back to the podcast, Troy Smith, owner of Hockey IQ!

01:40 How has Hockey IQ evolved as a business?

04:15 What are your must-have fundamentals for players?

09:35 How to communicate with your athletes as a skill coach.

13:05 The do’s and don’ts of off-season training.

20:30 What is the best way to coach younger vs. older players?

24:20 How do you approach the software of the game?

28:05 The best tool to train processing speed.

32:45 The top three athletes to watch for elite processing speed.

36:05 What are your biggest takeaways from the playoffs so far?

41:35 What it’ll take to make it to the third round of the playoffs.