Lance: Hi everyone. And welcome back to the hockey journey podcast. Episode number 38, the Maria mountain hockey journey presented to you by online hockey training.com. I'm your host coach Lance Pitlick if you're new here, please make sure you subscribe so you won't miss out on any future episodes. Before we start strumming the guitar to begin the conversation.
Lance: You want to learn more about me? My hockey experiences, what I know, and most importantly, how I've been helping hockey players get really good with a stick and puck just head on over , to online hockey training.com and gain instant access to my 10 part video series, where I'll show you everything consider it my gift to you.
Lance: I'm going to throw something out into the atmosphere to start to set the tone for the show by asking you listeners and opening question, what comes to mind when I say. Because for a small percentage of people around the world, the blue paint is a sanctuary, a home away from home for these special individuals.
Lance: And I have one of them on deck. Maria mountain is my next guest, and she has dedicated the majority of her professional career, helping goalies win more games with fewer injuries since 2000. And one is an exercise physiologist by trade. This Canadian has worn many hats along her journey from floor trainer at a fitness.
Lance: Owning her own strength and conditioning company, which she has since sold. And now focusing the majority of her time, working with goalies from around the world through goalie training pro.com. You won't find many people more knowledgeable, passionate, and giving ladies and gentlemen, please help me in welcoming Maria mountain to the show.
Lance: Maria, welcome to the hockey journey podcast.
Maria: Thanks Lance. Happy to be.
Lance: It's been a while young lady since we've connected and I, you just, you won't go away. You just keep on rocking it. Young lady.
Maria: Yeah. I'm relentless.
Lance: Yeah. I love that. You've had players when Stanley cups, Olympic gold medals and world championships, and continue to see successes and others you've trained and continue to train
Lance: Before we get to the top of the Maria mountain let's go back to base camp where it all began. And please tell the listeners where you grew up, what were your childhood was like when you were introduced to hockey and other sports, and what gravitational force pulled you to the Goalie position.
Maria: Jeez, how much time do we have?
Maria: So I grew up in London, Ontario, the youngest of three. And I think my early time was just trying to. To hang out with my brother, but I had a sister who was five years older, so it was a bit of a gap. And then my brother was only three years older and the things that he and his friends were doing seemed a lot more fun kick the can and playing army and things like that.
Maria: Yeah, it was really just, I think trying to be one of the boys in that regard and then I always enjoyed sports. My dad enjoyed sports on a, more of a participation basis. And we skied as a family. I think I started skiing when I was three and yeah, when you're the youngest, it's just I got to keep up or I'm not going to be allowed to come along.
Maria: Yeah, real tomboy as a kid grew up in a neighborhood with a lot of boys, for neighbors. So we, we play football and road hockey and all that stuff after school every day. And so that's really where my love of hockey came from his playing road, hockey playing on the outdoor rink.
Maria: And when we were kids in the winter and I always wanted to be the goalie. And when you're the only girl and you want to be the goalie or you want to be the quarterback, then you have to. Yeah, I have to be good or they're not going to let you play. So I was pretty passionate about it.
Maria: I was a very good little Ken Dryden, I was always a Ken Dryden in that net, in my mind. And obviously it was always game seven of the Stanley cup. And I won a lot of cups for the Habs back in those days. But I was young and enough, so I was a kid in the seventies and there wasn't girls hockey in London when I was a kid there wasn't bringing it.
Maria: There wasn't any thing. And even boys hockey, it, it wasn't as serious as it is now. So the boys who played competitive hockey, maybe had two practices a week and a game or something. So it never occurred to me that, oh, I w I'd like to play ice hockey with the. It just was like this is how we play hockey.
Maria: And my, my real life aspiration at that time was to be the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. So I was a Roger Staubach. So I had two heroes, Ken Dryden and Roger Staubauh. And my dad literally had to tell me when I was. 10 years older, maybe older that, Maria, like you're not going to be the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
Maria: And my dad was a very level guy and so his credit, the reason wasn't like, you're a girl and you're not going to be playing in the NFL, but his reason was, you're not that tall and you're not going to be able to see over your offensive line. You'd have to be, my dad was six foot four.
Maria: He said, you have to be as tall as me and you're not going to be, so we need, you need a different career path kid. He said you'd be a really good cross country ski racer. And I was a good little skier and I had good stamina. And so that was my sport. My varsity sport in university was cross-country ski.
Maria: And and then I came back to playing summer rec hockey after university. Always I would usually play defense and I enjoyed that. But then when I started. Focusing more on helping goalies. It was, part of it was, Hey, I'd like to, I need to feel how this feels so I can design better programs and really, understand the position better and what I, what you need to be able to do those movements.
Maria: And so I bought all used gear, probably six years ago when I was. Late half of my forties and started playing on the ice. And and it's been really, that, that goalie gene came back and I love battling to stop pucks, but it's also been great for the goalies I work with because it's changed a lot of how I design programs.
Lance: So you had a, a connection with the position. Unfortunately, there, there wasn't much of an opportunity for females. There is today that's been some serious growth and really happy that's happening. I train actually more girls now than I do boys, which is awesome.
Lance: But you went to university what did you go to school for there? Because. Whatever you got, that's how you started your businesses because you started gaining some knowledge and then started being creative and coming up with stuff that really didn't exist then.
Maria: Yeah, that's right. So I went to the university of Western Ontario here in London because they had a good ski team at the time.
Maria: And I wanted, I liked gym. So I studied phys ed it was called phys ed back in the day. Now it's kinesiology or exercise and sounds a lot better, but I studied phys ed at university and I loved it. I loved learning. How the body works and it just the miracle of how all these things happen and then learning.
Maria: Okay so we can do specific training to, impact these different energy systems or these different muscle patterns. And so that, that kind of turned me on to that a bit. And then after university, I got it. Yeah. I got a job as a floor trainer in a muscle. In a muscle head gym and a bodybuilding gym
Maria: and I learned from that how to interact with a huge variety of people and how to meet them on their level. And and then I just, I had that burning desire to learn more about how the body works. So I went back and I did a master's of science in kinesiology and. After that I, there was going to be an opening at the Fowler Kennedy sport medicine clinic at the university.
Maria: And so I knew the guy who was doing the job and he was leaving to go to another university. So that summer, I just showed up every day and I shadowed him every day and was in the gym and did the laundry and wash the, the tables down and. And so then when the position was posted, I applied and they interviewed, lots of other candidates, but I was lucky enough to get that job.
Maria: And so I was the exercise specialist at the Fowler Kennedy for five years. And that was just a laboratory and a playground for me. And it, again it, it's where my sort of inside out approach to training comes from.
Lance: How many years did it take you before? You're like, okay, I know what the heck's going on now.
Lance: And I'm pretty confident
Maria: talk to me in 10 years. I, and that's the thing that's so amazing. I'll try and give you a serious answer. When I finished university and I finished my master's probably around 2000 ish, 1999, 2000. Probably, 2010. I can probably look at some programs from there and not be embarrassed, completely embarrassed by them, but that's the great thing about, and why I feel so lucky that this was my calling is that it is, it's a.
Maria: And I can play in this sandbox every day and there's always something different and there's always new things. And, so from an exercise physiology perspective, there's always new research and we're learning new things, but in goaltending, it's like how many years ago? Maybe five years ago, there wasn't even an RVA.
Maria: And now that's a big part of the game and learning how to use it. And, next year there's going to be something different in a different style. And yeah that's the beauty of it.
Lance: I find that amazing to I'm still coming up with new drills or you see someone else's post and that just triggers something where your brain starts working.
Lance: Here's what I popped into my head right now, Maria. So back when you were getting going with this and started working with hockey players did you find that hard trying to get your foot in the door and basically a male dominated.
Maria: That's a great question. And I'm sure I know that I, there are a few clients I didn't get because I was female.
Maria: I remember one guy who's gone on to be like an NHL, all star who didn't hire me because they were worried that I wouldn't be able to spot him on the bench. And so it's okay, fair enough. But the thing is not everyone's the right fit, not everybody meshes anyway, as a trainer and an athlete. You know that's the reason somebody else may not want to work with me just because they don't like me, and that's fine too. So I never, I don't feel that held me back. And it really, I, when international women's day rolls around, I reflect on the women. Who've had an impact on my life, but I almost reflect more on the men. I think of coach Boydell at Western, who was the head coach of the basketball team asking me to be the strength coach for his team, because. I think the thing, I think that the fact that I didn't grow up playing hockey was a huge advantage because I just looked at. Okay. What are the movement patterns?
Maria: What are the biomechanics? What's the anatomy, what's the physiology? What does this person need to do? Whatever it is, whatever their sport is. Okay. How can I help them do that better and help them reduce their risk of injury. So I had this different set of lenses through which I saw athlete development, and the athletes got really great results from it. And so a true athlete. They want to get better. And if that's a female strength coach a male strength coach, whatever, they just want to get better. And so I, and yeah, male coaches have been so Grady and the goalie community's been fantastic. I look at guys like Mike Vallely, Justin Goldman Thomas Magnusson, who, invited me to present, to their coaches and it was never, yeah, it was never. I don't know, maybe I'm just dumb about it, but to me it was never an issue that really held me back.
Lance: Awesome. That, that's a great story cause I didn't know that, but now that you say it, that makes a lot of sense where you were seeing it through a lens that not many if any had sought before and tried to get in, to helping athletes. So tell me, are you on the ice with players doing drill and shooting pucks or is it stretching out? What are you doing for goalies? How does that work?
Maria: Yeah, so I don't go on the ice with any goalie and I haven't gone on the ice with any hockey players for a lot of years, I used to do, when I trained Andy McDonald, we would go on the ice a couple times a week and we'd do a speed day and we'd do a stamina day on the ice.
Maria: But I haven't done that for quite a few years, partly because I also don't have time in my schedule to do that kind of thing. But, I want to, I want them to be on the ice with them and With their coach and have their coach giving them the tools on the ice. My job is to give them the tools that they need to perform when they're on the ice.
Maria: And we do that off the ice. So I'll sometimes give goalies some on ice drills and Hey, work on this because this'll help you with make that sort of translation from what we do off the ice, onto the ice. But that's the extent of it. Mostly now I'll work with some goalies in person goalies that are in sorta my top end online coaching program, which is called turning pro I'll do some higher end camps like some development or prospect camps.
Maria: And then the rest of it is really online. So providing either custom or small group training. Programs that cover everything, your mobility or functional strength, your speed, your stamina and periodize that over the entire season off season in season. And then available to them online so that when their questions or we need to modify things, we can do that.
Lance: So answer this for me, Maria. There was a hypothetical parent who has a seven or eight year old, and they've connected with the goalie position, but the parents doesn't have a hockey background. Their early years are so impactful as it's the foundation that a players' careers built on what should goalie parents be doing for their players in the first few years of being introduced to the position, in addition to their team practices and games.
Lance: Now this is the one that, maybe a little older, when are you someone that they should be getting in front of.
Maria: And this is highly my opinion and my philosophy. So it's not to say that it's right, but I don't really want to work with them until they're at least 14. I think when they're kids like that, that the most important gift you could give a young goalie is, Hey, this is fun. And this isn't life and death because mentally the goaltending position is so hard on it may be not when you're a kid, but as you grow up and if you have the skill to be better, play at a high level, the mental side is going to be tough. And learning that, yeah, this is a game and my job is to do my best and that's important. So keep it fun. I want parents to keep hockey a special treat that we get to play, not something that we have to work at because also in my experience, just within with athletes and all different sports owning the gym for so long. The kids that love it are the ones that do the best. And even in the NHL, you see the guys who love it and keep playing because they love it.
Maria: Jason Spencer doesn't need $750,000, but he loves playing hockey and playing for the Toronto maple Leafs. So that. The drive to work hard will be there or it won't be there. So I want them to have fun. If I tell parents if you're looking to invest somewhere don't invest money in a strength and conditioning program.
Maria: So don't give me money because when you're a little kid, you don't have the hormones to really be developing strength and power and, Good. If they learn the skill of some of those movement patterns, but we're not really gonna get a whole lot stronger and more powerful. There will be changes, but it's it's not as much as it's going to be once they become a teenager, but what is really what you can really have an impact on is motor skill.
Maria: So when we're little kids, it's a reason. We never forget how to ride a bike because we learn it when we have this. Window of motor skill development open. And then as we get older, that window closes the patterns we learn as kids become hardwired, the patterns we learn as adults always are going to take a little extra thinking.
Maria: So I mentioned earlier, I learned to ski when I was. Two or three years old, I can put on my skis and wiggle. Like I don't even have to think about it. I learned to snowboard when I was 35. I need to think about snowboarding, so I tell parents if you want to invest in, in your kids' development, get them into power skating, and don't even worry if it's not goalie specific power skating.
Maria: Getting them out there ripping around on their skates, trying to learn how to, be the best little skater they can. So that's my advice to, from the one who has no children, that's why I used to parents of goalies. And then, when they're around 14 years old if they want to do it, then is a time when we could talk about working together.
Lance: Yeah. Awesome. Great messaging there, Maria. So I gotta tell ya my goalie story. So I was coaching at Mites so I don't know what they are up and Canada, what are they Atoms or Tim bits or the little guys, but yeah. We for Mite you didn't have tryouts. you just had a session where they ran the kids through skills and then they were put into three buckets.
Lance: And then you made however many teams out of each bucket. And there was a kid, a new kid like seven years old. He comes out to this skate in full gear. He had just moved from Colorado. And I went up to him and I said, we're just doing testing today. He says, I'm a goalie. I'll do it in like a year. And he ranked in the top 10 with all that gear on it, seven years old. It was just amazing, but what a treat to, to work with someone that found that passion so early it's electric, when you can. Get to influence a player like that. Would you agree that's why we do what we do is just for that one person that just gets it and you can work with them.
Maria: Yeah. And as I've gotten older and it used to be, that person who, yeah. This person is gonna play in the NHL or this person's going to the Olympics or whatever, but as they get older, It doesn't even matter to me the level, it just matters that, okay. You said you want to go from a to B and that you're willing to do what you need to do to get there.
Maria: And and now, and you're doing it well that's the charge. So in my group online training program, We have. It's so cool. And we have goalies from high school. So 14 would be the youngest up to goalies. Who've been goalies their whole lives. And now they're, in their late fifties and still, but still have the passion I want to help my team win to even have goalies who.
Maria: They might be 36 years old and I'll interview everyone who gets into that group. And they'll say yeah, I just started playing six months ago and I just, I always wanted to be a goalie. And now I, like I, I have enough money and like we could, I couldn't play when I was a kid. And often it's because my family didn't, have the means to, for me to play hockey and.
Maria: And now I'm playing goalie. You know what it's just it's in that story you told that's such a goalie thing. I really do believe there's a goalie gene and it's just you do it once or you see it. And you're like, yes, like that is me. So it's very cool, but you're right. When somebody does what they say they're going to do to achieve what they say they want to achieve.
Maria: That's. That's the.
Lance: Goal is for some reason have been labeled different or odd balls. But some of my best friends, when I was a player were goalies and away from the rink, they weren't unusual or weird. They were. I believe that goalies were the first to incorporate mental training and focus. Do you feel the same way?
Maria: Yeah. And I don't know the history of it, but I think that, and because I think it is. It is the most important element. And I've worked with a lot of athletes and it's not bad to be different.
Maria: Goalies are different for the most part. Goalies are different. For the most part, baseball teachers are a little bit different and it takes a unique type of person to want to be the one who's okay, my team can basically win or lose based on how I do. Not that it's all. Your fault if you lose or you always your thing, if you win, but it's I can either win it or blow it from my team.
Maria: So I think that is a unique type of person. And I think from the mindset thing, you can be in the, like none of these goalies in the NHL, or are out of shape or crappy goalies, or, it's just not. Some guy just wakes up and now he's a crappy goalie and he's going to, he coughs up, nine goals in the Stanley cup playoffs, so you need the tools to be able to regroup from that.
Maria: And the mental side of the mental side goes, it doesn't matter how fit or fast or skilled you are. You're gonna, it's gonna be a battle to get by.
Lance: Is that something that you work with players are on or have a program that the that's specific to goalies and the mental side?
Maria: Yeah. And it's, I'm a big fan of staying in my lane.
Maria: And so I didn't, I didn't study psychology at university. I, we studied some, a few courses in sports psychology. And so my job as their strength coaches is to also help reinforce. You'll be another voice that say. Yeah, we get to play hockey. We don't have to play hockey and just go out and have fun if you're having fun.
Maria: And you know this from when you played, if you're having fun, you usually play better than if you're nervous or worried or, beating yourself up. So we work on that kind of thing. Just building a really positive. In the coaching group. But then I also in one of my programs, I hired Pete fry to do three separate modules for goalie mindset training.
Maria: That would help the goalies in the program who needed it. And you'll give them a taste where they say, wow, Yeah, this is something I really need to work on. Maybe I need to hire someone to work with. And even I mentioned that I interview every goalie that gets into my programs and some of them, when I talked to them, I say, you know what?
Maria: I think you need to invest in a sports psychologist first. That sorted out. And then maybe we'll look at that, the strength and the speed and all that other stuff, but let's my friend Thomas Magnusson, who's the head of Swedish goaltending development. He came on to do a lesson with one of my coaching groups and someone asked, or maybe I pro I probably asked, what's the differentiator?
Maria: What distinguishes. A really good goalie from a great goalie. And he's he's such a nice man. He said Maria, I think so much of the work you do, it's the mental side. It's the mental side that, that differentiates.
Lance: So you mentioned strength, speed, agility, all these things. Back when I was playing.
Lance: The NHL team would give you a booklet of your summer training. And that same booklet was given to defenseman, sentiments, winners, and goalies. That's changed and I'm glad it has, but as players get older, there are more puzzle pieces that are added to their schedule. And. For goalie and it has nothing to do a stop and a puck, but everything to do with preparing to stop the puck be successful.
Lance: My whole career, I was played with midline injuries, groan pulls , hip flexor, tweaks to sport hernia surgeries, hamstring tears. I had a total of nine surgeries. And if you think about the goal, when I think about the goalie position, you think flexiblity I'm sure I could have benefited from your knowledge back then, but what methods or techniques are you introducing to goalies you get in front of that also would benefit forward and defensemen as well? Because the one thing that comes to mind is the foam roller. I wasn't introduced to it until I saw a YouTube video of you a number of years ago, showing the benefits and how to use the thing.
Maria: Yeah. Yeah. It's well and I think it's trying to change the way people think about flexibility. And the word that I'll use is mobility because flexibility is taking an elastic band and stretching it and that's flexibility, but mobility is what is the range of motion I can control.
Maria: So for example if we did a standing quadricep stretch, so I think everyone can picture that in their head. I'm standing on one leg, I'm pulling my standing on my left leg. I'm pulling my right heel to my bum I'm using my hand to bring my heel to my bum. I can touch. Heal my bum with my heel. You also that's my flexibility. But then if I contracted my hamstrings okay, I'm going to hold this position now and let go with my hand. I can contract my hamstrings as hard as I can probably make my hamstrings cramp. But when I let go of my foot with my hand, it's going to drop, five centimeters, 10 centimeters, 15 centimeters. That's that's two to five inches for you guys. That is your mobility. That's what you can control. So the goal with really any athlete is trying to improve the mobility. So what range of motion do I have ownership over? Or can I control for a goalie specifically? If you look at, anytime when goalie gets hurt, I'll watch the video over and over again, just to see what did they do?
Maria: How did that happen? But it's usually. It's usually a reaching motion with their leg. And often it's accompanied by some kind of rotation or movement of the upper body leaning towards leaning away some kind of compound movement that then creates, overcomes the. The strength of the tissue and we get a strain. So it's okay. I need the first of all, build strength at length. So that I'm strong in that position. My, my brain knows that I'm strong in that position, so it will let me use that. Range of motion too, because we don't have strength. A lot of our limits in mobility are come from our nervous system. Our brain knows you ha you have no business being there. And we're going to try to protect you from getting in those bad positions. So if we put the goalies in bad positions but generate strength and we can do that isometrically, we're not lifting heavy weights. We're doing it isometrically.
Maria: Then the brain starts to relax a little. Okay. Yeah. Actually you're pretty strong out there. So it does a couple of things. It gives us control in those positions, but it also helps that goalie recover and get more compact. So when they have to make a second effort save, it's not just, a garage sale and they're not lying on their tummy at the end of it all.
Maria: Those are techniques and there's a guy named Dr. Andreo spina, who has a system called FRC functional range conditioning. And he has a series of. Different exercises and drills, but really it's a concept. So it's like once you know, that concept, you can apply it to specific movement, patterns and positions.
Maria: So I use that a lot with the goalies I work with, even improving hip internal rotation. So they have a wider butterfly flair and so they can hold that butterfly flair when they're sliding side to side, without the pad folding in. And there's. Again, there's so many techniques that like I'll scour a different sorta not sport-related ideas like ELDOA or PRI things like that to learn new little tools, that'll help these goalies.
Lance: It's interesting that you keep learning. I was just I'm down in Florida. Heading back to Minnesota tomorrow. Had a conversation with Adam Oates and he was telling me he's been studying anatomy and specifically the elbow and he's uncovered something that he's applying to drills that he does on the ice that you know, helps with, I don't know, shock release or receiving passes.
Lance: I don't know. But You guys everyone, when you, like you said, you found your true calling your passion when that happens, it's your lifelong learner I've seems like everyone that I've talked to that loves what they do. They learn every single day. And one thing that you have done your whole business life as you've been passing on for free.
Lance: For a lot of your content just what you know, to help people. So I know YouTube was one resource for me, but talk about some of their social channels that you pump content out on where people can find you and I continue to learn more.
Maria: Yeah. And I feel that's one of my giving back, we always want to give back. And I think that's the best way I can give back is that is, is I really want to help goalies and. Anywhere in the world, even if you don't ever invest a penny in my training programs, I still want to help you win more games with fewer injuries. It's funny. I chatted with a guy the other day who said I'll follow you on social and YouTube.
Maria: And that helped drive advertising revenue for you. And I was no, like I don't make any money off of YouTube or Instagram. Yeah. I'm not on the YouTube or Instagram to make money. Like it's it would be great if it did, but it doesn't. But so YouTube is a big one, just goalie training pro TV, and then Instagram is the other one I really give attention to.
Maria: So it's just @goalietraining yeah. I'll share. Exercises drills, many programs this week, my YouTube video that goes up tomorrow, actually at noon is just like a 20 minute dumbbell. Only workout that for goalies. So people, I don't know what to do or I can't go to the gym or whatever. It's okay, here's a little workout you can do.
Lance: Yeah. You're a giver.
Maria: Gotta be a giver. Yeah. It's like that. Zig Ziglar has a saying that if you help enough people get what they want out of life, you'll get what you want out of life so far. So good.
Lance: Man, I haven't thought about that book in a while. That's awesome. I'll make sure to get those links and I'll put that in the description A few more questions, then we're going to wrap this up cause I know you're busy. I know you get contacted from teams, organizations, associations, and federations, where what's the coolest place. This job has taken.
Maria: Oh yeah, I've been so lucky. I would say though. I got to go to Sweden a couple of years ago to present to their goalie coaches for their Federation and it's an incredible, it's an incredible place if. Oh yeah. Like I was out running one morning Lance and I was feeling pretty good actually. And I was like, I'm going to push the pace a little bit. Like I am feeling pretty good and I'm a regular runner and and I hear footsteps. And I'm like, wow, that person's moving. Like I'm thinking it's.
Maria: And I used to cross country ski race. So I love, the Swedish people, there was a big race or called goodness Von when I was a kid I'm like, that's probably going to spawn or something. It's some guy running to work. Like he's got a full backpack on, he's just driving to work and I'm thinking I'm doing so great.
Maria: But I loved Sweden, but I think the coolest was I got to go to Slovakia. And present to their their goalie coaching like annual general meeting on, off ice training. And so it was done through a translator, which was interesting too, because this little vacuums aren't overly visually expressive, so if you present in north America, people are smiling, nodding, like Slovakia. Staring at you completely. And it's just oh my gosh. But but it went very well and and then before I started the presentation, the guy Yon LASIK was the guy who invited me over and he comes over and he's talking to the guy who was going to be translating for me do since the door.
Maria: They're like, here. Oh my God. I can't believe so-and-so's here. And so it's this like old school goalie coach that never comes to these things. And they're like, they're saying, oh my God, he's here. So I'm thinking, oh brother, like I'm in trouble, but I guess he, he approved of it. So that was a big win.
Maria: But while I was there country, I probably wouldn't have had the chance to visit Yon was such a great host. He hooked me up with his friend who was a mountain guide and I love to hike. And he took me hiking in the high Tatras mountains, which I wasn't familiar with at all, but they are stunning J good mountains.
Maria: And we went hiking, on this incredible. Trail like I had to wear a harness and a helmet and it was just such an experience, one of, one of my favorite experiences. So I'd have to pick those two as the top.
Lance: Yes. That is amazing. It's so cool. I got to go over to Europe, my going into my junior year, I think in college playing for the University of Minnesota.
Lance: And we went to. Some of the lower pro teams are on a, like a two week trip. So I haven't been back. Certainly actually I was back a few years later, but I hadn't been back in 20 years, so definitely not to do that. Okay. Anything that you got going on in the pipeline that you'll be introducing in the near future that you can talk about?
Maria: No, there isn't really anything super new it's my private online coaching program. I have my group online coaching programs. That's called game-winning goalie formula. And really I'm just, I'm pouring everything I got into, finding the right goalies to join that program and then doing a heck of a job, helping the goalies who were in that program, get to where they want to be.
Maria: And that's my. That's my sole focus right now. I'll head out to Colorado next week for the global goaltending retreat to hang out with a bunch of these great goalie coaches and learn from them. But yeah, otherwise I'm just dialed in on helping the goalies I got and finding new ones to, to join us.
Lance: I I'm so happy that you were able to make some time to come on the show because. Your story is amazing. Yeah. You started at the beginning and yet you decided that you're going to do it on your own. You became very educated and creative and pioneered a new way of thinking about that position that has helped coaches around the world for years and they continue to do so I encourage everyone. If you're looking for someone that is. As passionate as they come toward the position of goalie and trying to help them be successful and to be as injury free as they can check out Maria mountain. All the links will be in the description. Continued success. Young lady.
Lance: Thank you so much for being on the show.
Maria: Thanks Lance. I appreciate it.
Lance: And if there's anything that I can do for you down the road, please don't hesitate to ask because I'm here to help as well.
Maria: I'll do that a hundred percent.
Lance: All right, we'll talk to you soon. Thank you, Maria. That concludes another episode of the hockey journey podcast.
