Episode 55 - Using Football Mindset to Enhance and Maintain the Local Hockey Tradition

Our interview with the Minnesota Wild's Mike Snee was an incredible source of insight to how local communities can learn to enhance their hockey program(s) with a football mindset.The Vice President of The Minnesota - Wild Foundation and Community Relations Program spent time sharing valuable insights as to how local high school hockey programs in Minnesota have developed and maintained such strong and fertile programs for so many years. The insight rests in being able to realize how high school athletes that play the game of football - grow up excited to play for their local high school team. This mindset is strengthened by growing up and attending the local games, watching local heroes take the field, and experiencing the "thrill" of playing in front of friends and family and their local community ... every Friday Night. This same tradition continues from their local high school football field(s) straight into their local ice arena. Mike's insight rests in the realization that if we simply take that "football" way of thinking ... I am excited to play with my friends and represent my local community ... into the game of hockey ... no wonder the talent continues to grow and flourish in the state of Minnesota. Also, within this mindset exists the understanding that ... my local team ... is ... my team! There is not the desire to leave and play elsewhere - unlike what see in so many other travel team sports programming. The Minnesota way of thinking seems to not only work ... outwork very well. Presently, the USHL (The top US Junior Hockey League in the country - which launches the most USA born players into Division-I and III colleges) attains more than 25% of the players that play in their elite league from Minnesota High School Hockey Programs.As an executive in the area of The Minnesota Wild - foundation and community relations, a former Minnesota High School player, and a former director of College Hockey Inc., their are not many other people in the country that can provide the same level of insight and knowledge as Mike Snee.LinkedIN - Mike Snee