November 24, 2025 • 40 mins
The podcast episode features an in-depth discussion with Mason Ralph, a distinguished assistant coach for Our Lady of Good Counsel ice hockey and assistant captain for the Washington Capital Warriors. With nearly three decades of playing experience, Mason reflects upon the formative years of his hockey journey, beginning at an exceptionally young age when he first stepped onto the ice, captivated by the sport. This episode meticulously explores the evolution of his playing career, highlighting the impact of his childhood experiences on his current coaching philosophy. Mason discusses the importance of fostering a strong team culture and leadership among youth players, emphasizing the vital lessons learned from both hockey and his military service in the Marine Corps. Throughout the episode, he articulates the significance of discipline, teamwork, and leaving a positive impression, both on and off the ice, which correlates closely with his military training. The conversation further delves into how these principles have shaped his coaching style, particularly at Good Counsel, where he successfully led the team to back-to-back championships by instilling a sense of accountability and camaraderie among players.
Takeaways:
- Mason Ralph's journey in hockey began at an extraordinarily young age, as he started skating at the tender age of three, which laid the foundation for his extensive hockey career.
- With nearly three decades of experience, Mason emphasizes the significance of leadership and discipline, both in hockey and military service, in shaping his coaching philosophy.
- The camaraderie established within the USA Warriors hockey team fosters a profound sense of belonging and support, which is vital for the mental well-being of its members.
- Mason's coaching approach combines rigorous training with an emphasis on fun, ensuring that players develop both skills and a love for the game.
- The transition from military service to civilian life can be challenging, yet hockey provides a unique avenue for veterans to reconnect and support one another.
- Mason attributes his successful coaching style to lessons learned from both his playing days and his time in the Marine Corps, focusing on the importance of collective responsibility and care for teammates.
Bio
Mason Ralph — Assistant Coach for Our Lady of Good Counsel Ice Hockey and Assistant Captain for the Washington Capitals Warriors. With nearly three decades of playing experience and four years behind the bench, Mason brings a rare blend of passion, discipline, and leadership to the game.
After a brief stint coaching before joining the U.S. Marine Corps, Mason returned to the rink three years ago — helping lead Good Counsel to back-to-back championships and developing players who’ve earned multiple individual honors. Known for his energy and attention to detail, Mason serves as the team’s skills development coach, special teams strategist, and self-described “hype man”, keeping the locker room culture positive and focused.
For Mason, Warrior Hockey represents far more than competition — it’s about camaraderie, healing, and purpose. As part of the Washington Capitals Warriors, he’s seen firsthand how the program unites veterans from across the country, restoring the sense of brotherhood and belonging that defines both service and sport.
Among his proudest moments are coaching Good Counsel to a surprise championship run and capturing back-to-back national titles with the Warriors. Off the ice, Mason is a strong advocate...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You.
This is Sharpening youg Edgewith Chuck and Eric.
Today's guest is Mason Ralph,assistant coach for our lady of Good
council ice hockey andassistant captain for the Washington
Capital Warriors.
(00:22):
With nearly three decades ofplaying experience and four years
behind the bench, Mason bringsa rare blend of passion, discipline
and leadership to the game.
Welcome to episode five ofSharpening youg Edge, presented by
CV3 Hockey.
I'm Chuck Vertolino along withmy co host Eric Malanson.
(00:45):
And today we welcome to theshow Mason Ralph.
And we're going to dive into abunch of different topics, including
his playing coaching career,his military career, and a bit on
nutrition.
So, Mason, welcome to the show.
Thanks for having me, guys.
Hey, Mason, great to have youon the show.
I've been super excited aboutthis episode for, you know, basically
(01:06):
since I asked you for thelisteners out there, I met Mason
a couple years ago.
We both were playing for theUSA warriors ice hockey team.
If you don't know what thatis, we're going to, we're going to
dive into it at the end ormidway through.
But we shared that.
We shared a lot of time on theice and we've got the common bond
of being Marines.
Mason, welcome.
(01:27):
And so we're going to getright into it because we got lots
to unpack.
But when and where did yourlove for this incredible game of
hockey really start?
You know, how old were you?
Where were you playing growing up?
Talk to us a little bit about that.
So this is kind of a funlittle story here.
I was two and a half and I waswith my mom going to pay a water
(01:51):
bill at the Decatur Civiccenter, and I wandered off and at
the same place was also theice rink.
She lost track of me and foundme on the ice with the high school
team and I started skatingwhen I was three.
That's amazing.
That is incredible.
She looked for me for about 30to 45 minutes, could not locate me.
(02:15):
Check all the bathrooms, theoffices to find me on the ice with
a stick in my hand and therest was it.
That's amazing.
That's hilarious, too.
That's very fitting for you.
So something that started awhile ago and now you've been playing
for nearly three decades.
What were those early yearslike after you got your first taste
of the ice?
And how has your game evolvedsince then?
(02:38):
So I would say so CentralIllinois hockey wasn't the greatest.
It was pretty slow.
That's when Chicago Blackhawksstarted to pick up and more people
started to come into theIllinois region and competition started
to get a lot more better.
And so at first it was kind of slow.
Had my uncles training me.
They both played for numerous years.
(03:00):
And so I was playing withpeople that were older than me, bigger
than me, and then youth wasessentially easy.
That's pretty awesome.
You played a lot of hockey.
I mean, you've played growingup, you played high school level,
you played very.
Now you play for the warriorsand you know, incredible opportunity
to be around a lot of awesome coaches.
(03:22):
Probably a lot of not awesomecoaches, teammates.
Has there been anyone inparticular kind of in your life on
the hockey side that's made alasting impression on your.
Either your game or, you know,probably your game and, you know,
you as a person.
Did it, did it kind of leadyou to, you know, do you think it
had any, any benefit or any,anything to any help to you choosing
(03:45):
the Marine Corps?
So as far as Marine Corps, myfamily, they were all Navy.
And I think the person whopushed me the most was one of my
teammates.
We were both forwards andcompeting in, you know, goals, assists
and his den.
(04:05):
So name was Brock Oiler.
His dad was Brian Euler.
And I think that's a duo.
I am never going to forget theway that they were able to coach,
lead, play.
And that's kind of what I'mleading my, my game after.
That's awesome.
Shout out.
Shout out to them.
Shout out to them.
So we talk about theconnection to the Marine Corps.
(04:28):
So how did your experience onthe ice influence your, your mindset
and discipline as youtransitioned into the Marine Corps?
So I would say with being in aleadership position from the start
again, Brock and I, we werealways in charge of, you know, making
sure that the team was good.
(04:49):
Locker rooms are clean.
Big one for me now.
Even as, as a coach and aplayer, I feel like leaving a locker
room cleaner than what youcame into and just kind of bringing
that leadership to also thetwo other teams that I play on currently,
it's really important to kindof just leave that impression.
(05:09):
Yeah, I think that's somethingI know that, you know, as a coach,
you know, with youth athletes,it's, it's very, it's a, it's a constant
struggle on getting them toclean up the locker room.
And we always tie it back to leadership.
And, and you mentioned like,you know, leaving a place better
than you found it.
I think that's something that,you know, I learned in, in the Marine
Corps and I learned in life.
And I think that's somethingextremely positive that, you know,
(05:33):
something small that goes along way.
It's one of those things, right.
And so when you, you know,you, let's say your high school team,
youth, youth teams, goes to atournament and you leave that impression.
Let's say the tournament goesoff and they are inviting 28, 32
teams.
You're going to be the firston that list.
(05:53):
Not trying to grasp hisstraws, trying to get the spot for
that.
So having that goodimpression, not only on captains,
the coaches, the rest of theplayers, just the whole organization,
it all looks fantastic.
Absolutely.
Now, you played a lot, youknow, and you've, you've had a ton
of success recently with theWashington Capitals warriors, which
(06:15):
I think is super cool.
So you've got a broad ranging career.
What, what part of it standsout the most for you?
Is it a particular season, amoment, like a turning point?
You know, is there one, one asa player, one as a coach that you
want to.
You talk about?
Oh man.
So there's a few.
I think my real love for thegame, for in a leadership position
was my senior year of high school.
(06:38):
We won state in Missouri forthe MOAM division because we couldn't
find a whole lot of talent inCentral Illinois and St. Louis was
only a couple hours away from us.
So we're like, hey, we'regoing to jump in this league too,
winning that.
And then we also did ourIllinois State tournament and somehow
(07:01):
end up making the championshipgame and just being a leader on,
on that team and being soproud of what we've done from the
years prior.
It's kind of stuck with me fora long time.
That's awesome.
Did you that one of thoseteams or you know that your, your
core group of players that youplayed with grown ups or has there
(07:22):
been anybody that's kind ofmade it on to, you know, an NHL roster,
you know, an AHL rostersomewhere that's gone on to success.
So a bunch of us did playjunior hockey.
Didn't really go anywhere with that.
I played AAA with Clayton Keller.
That was a lot of fun justwatching him grow up, especially
(07:44):
in size.
Like he was really small andthen he started to get a little bit
bigger and quicker, but afterthat that was pretty much it.
That's.
That's.
I can't even imagine gettingto play against somebody like him.
I mean, I, I grew up inMassachusetts, so I had my chance
to play against a lot ofpretty great players, some that have
made it into the show.
But yeah, Clayton Keller, he'sgot to be something special to, to
(08:07):
see and I'd imagine at thatLevel, it's just, wow, this guy's
is actually so much betterthan everybody else.
Yeah, like, when you see aplayer like that, deep down, you
know, you're like, hey, yeah, he's.
He's going somewhere with hockey.
That's awesome.
All right, so you, youmentioned earlier about your philosophy
with leaving the locker roomcleaner when you leave than when
(08:30):
it was when you went in.
How has your time in theMarine Corps shaped other perspectives
on teamwork, preparation, and performance?
So I feel like when the teamis together and they have the same
sort of leadership principles,it benefits the mission in general.
(08:51):
So when we go to other highschools around the area and everybody
has that mentality of beingprofessional, courteous, cleaning
up after themselves, to mystudent athletes, it's such a small
thing to do, to pick up, youknow, your tape balls or a protein
(09:15):
wrapper or something like that.
It means a lot more whencoming from an organization.
And so I had that instilled inme when I was in the Marine Corps.
Always leave an area cleanerthan when you got there.
That was something that'simproved over the years.
And myself, and I'm startingto instill that within the high school
(09:38):
team.
You know, when we.
Unfortunately, when a lot ofus leave service, you know, that
sense of brotherhood that wehave there is.
Is really.
You can't, you know, I mean,we'll replicate that many other places.
And a lot of, you know, folksstruggle with depression and they
download spiral because they.
They don't have that.
Do you, you know, is thatsomething that you struggled with
(09:59):
when you transitioned out ofthe Marine Corps?
And, you know, if it was, washockey something that, you know,
gave you that.
That reconnection again?
Because I note that, you know,being obviously being a Marine and
a hockey player, there's ahuge similarities between the two,
which, you know, I love.
But was there, you know, wasthere something that, you know, drew
(10:19):
that once you started playingagain for the warriors, you felt
that sense of connection?
Yeah.
And so when I got out, I gotout in September of 2022, and I didn't
start with the team foranother five months, but when I got
out, I felt just alone.
When you have those people that.
(10:40):
That close to you and it justgets wiped away.
You have your normal coworkers and it.
It's.
It's not the same.
So when I discovered the USAWarriors, I came to a practice, and
immediately that's when Iknow, like, I just knew, like, this
(11:00):
is the place that I want tobe, because we've all been through
it.
We've all felt alone.
The mental struggles, thephysical struggles, and no matter
what you got going on, youhave teammates there that are just
a phone call away.
And I think that's why I fellin love with the team.
(11:22):
That's awesome.
Yeah, I mean, I, I will echoyour sentiments.
And you know, I got injured.
I never knew that I was goingto skate again, you know, and when
I was figuring that out, Ifound USA warriors just like you
did.
And I was like, well, if Ican't, you know, skate on two legs,
I'll be, at least I'll be ableto try the sled thing.
But I think the sense ofcamaraderie is there.
(11:44):
And then as my rehabprogressed, I was able to skate again.
So, yeah, same feelings as you.
As soon as I walked in thatdoor, bam.
Insta brotherhood, you know,it was amazing.
It was life altering.
And I owe so much to that organization.
Probably just like you.
Absolutely.
So are there any parallels yousee between your role or job in the
(12:06):
Marine Corps and coaching ahockey team?
I wouldn't say it wasnecessarily my job, like my MOS in
general, but being a leader,appointed as a fire team leader,
a squad leader, platoonsergeant, it's just being in charge
of everybody and making sureeveryone's taken care of when we
(12:26):
go on, you know, when we go totournaments or exhibition games.
Right.
I have to make sure everyone'sat said location at said time, make
sure everyone is, has alltheir stuff, all their jerseys, their
sticks.
We've had some embarrassingmoments in the past, people leaving
(12:47):
their sticks behind and.
But now I've taken a lot more,like sending out messages and hey,
make sure you have this, this,this, this.
And it feels like, you know, Ilove them to death, but you gotta,
you gotta check on them sometimes.
Now, you started coachingbefore you joined the Marine Corps
and then you were in, youknow, you were in, and then now you
(13:08):
just picked it back up at GoodCounsel a couple years ago.
What was it that drew you backto the bench?
What did you miss about it?
So back I was actuallycoaching the same team I played on
a year later and just beingaround the guys, kind of being able
to embrace that brotherhoodbecause everyone knows, you know,
(13:30):
their senior year, hockey, alot of guys just hang up the skates
and they never, they nevertouch them again.
I refuse to do that.
I'm like, I'm gonna help insome sort of way, making sure that
I can put everything I haveinto the sport that I love.
Joined the Marine Corps, didmy thing, I got out Had a lot more
(13:53):
free time and I think I wasplaying a beer league game over at
the Laurel Ice Gardens and oneof the coaches came up to me and
asked me if I'd be interestedin doing some, some coaching there.
And I did not hesitate once.
I was like, absolutely.
(14:14):
And ever since I did, it hasbeen an adventure in itself.
I bet that's awesome.
I mean that's a testament toyour character and your love of leadership
at the game for sure.
So Mason, you, you help leadGood Counsel to back to back championships.
We spoke to Jackson Cole onepisode three, who's a Division 2
(14:37):
goaltender and they won thenational championship recently and
he spoke about the importance.
He didn't even really talkabout anything they did on the ice,
but he spoke how important itwas for the team culture, the cohesiveness
with the team culture off the ice.
So at Good Counsel, what, whatchanged within the team culture or
(14:59):
approach to make that back toback championship happen?
So the year prior that Istarted, I think we won six, maybe
seven games out of 28 and wedidn't really do too hot, didn't
even make the playoffs.
I came in obviously, Eric, youknow me, I have a lot of intensity
(15:22):
and I brought that to the teamkind of to really like get these
guys going, saying hey, likethis might be some of your guys last
years of playing hockey.
If you're going to do it, youneed to do it fast, intense and like
you care.
And so when I stepped in asskills we worked on everything from,
(15:43):
from the edges, from basicstick handling, special teams, overall
just I guess systems in, ingeneral there was no systems really
put into play.
And so I kind of mentioned alot of there were things I was like,
hey, high school hockey aroundthe Maryland area isn't really practicing
like you know, a high cycle.
(16:03):
Throw that in, see what can happen.
And with, with the powerskating too, Power skating super
important especially for young athletes.
Learning how to use their fulledge, their full leg rather than
just kind of cut and chop.
And with that our players werebigger, they were faster.
It got them into, into theweight room, worked out with them
(16:24):
almost, you know, three, fourtimes a week.
Teaching them how to liftproperly without trying to hurt themselves
and you know, teach them, youknow, you don't need to go for a
super high weight.
Sometimes a low weight, highrep is going to be more beneficial
than you trying to throw £315on the rack and try to squat it,
(16:44):
possibly hurt yourself.
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I think that's something whereI can absolutely see you making a
positive impact.
And you know, I think inyou've described yourself as the
(18:57):
appointed hype man for the team.
Right.
Do you that infectious energythat you bring has the how's the
team responded?
You know, do you have any likelittle masons on the team that are
like now I can be a hype mantoo and, and start to pump up the
rest of the team and get themgoing kind of on their own.
So funny you mentioned thatthere was actually a couple last
(19:20):
year with the team last yearwe didn't have a whole lot of hope,
but there was some hype menthat really jumped in and kind of
understood what I was tryingto instill and saying, hey, no matter
what, you could be winning 17to nothing, losing 17 to nothing.
(19:41):
Pick your brothers and sisters up.
Win, lose, do not dog on eachother and just kind of get hype before
the game because when you gointo a game high intensity, you're
gonna have a better resultrather than, you know, if you go
into a game you're like, oh,this is the best team in the nation.
(20:02):
It doesn't matter.
Everyone puts on their gearthe exact same way.
You can do it.
Now, you mentioned one thingthat you said there was that I think
is important for, for thefolks to, to hear is you said your
brothers and sisters.
So in a sport that's obviouslybecome so historically male dominated,
and I know, me personally, youknow, I've seen some tremendous female
(20:26):
hockey players that they aredoing things that I couldn't even
imagine doing on the ice.
And, and Chuck's daughterAnnalise is one of the best 2014
born goaltenders in NorthAmerica, hands down, regardless of
sex or gender.
You know, what have you seenfrom your female players and what
do you think about the growthof, you know, the PWHL and stuff
(20:49):
like that?
So I think having that PWHL issuch a fantastic move within the
professional hockey.
It gives these young girlssomething to work for.
And I've personally seen itwithin my own players.
(21:09):
Like, a lot of them take thissport a lot more serious because
back in the day there was, youknow, you got college hockey and
that's pretty much it.
And.
But now there's like aprofessional league and so like,
hey, I should probably starttaking care of my body, watching
the way I play, watch film,watch, and to watch some of the,
(21:33):
of the girls hockey,especially around like the DMV area,
it's blown up a lot more thanI expected.
And how quick it happened.
Nothing short of impressed.
That's amazing.
Yeah, I completely agree.
Living in the DMV area, thehockey around here has gotten a tremendously
increased level for femalesand males too, but females specifically.
(21:54):
Absolutely.
Shifting your focus back tocoaching, there's a balance that
a lot of coaches out theremight struggle to find in development
and how to push your players.
So how does Coach Mason strikethat balance between pushing his
players to help them developwhile also keeping the game positive
(22:15):
and fun?
So for me personally, when itcomes to pushing my players, I will
never look down on them, sayanything down, say, hey, instead
of doing what you did, I wantyou to try this next time.
And instead of, you know,feeling down on themselves.
But, hey, go do something positive.
(22:37):
Go lay a hit, Change theatmosphere on the rink.
Because it's a little bitdifferent when you're on the bench.
You can see it, yes, looks cool.
But your teammates, after yousee them make a bad play, you're
gonna get looked at differently.
But when you either a, make abig hit, make a good play, score
(22:59):
a goal, it Changes the entire atmosphere.
And that's kind of one thingthat I have always instilled in my
players.
If you make a mistake, bounce back.
Find a way to bounce back.
Show your teammates, hey, I'mstill in this game after this mistake.
Everyone's allowed to make mistakes.
(23:20):
It's how you respond.
Yeah, I 100% agree with you.
We talked about it a coupleepisodes ago.
One of my philosophies withthe youth hockey players today is
to remind them that they'renot Connor McDavid.
It's okay to fall down.
It's okay to make mistakes.
And.
And like you just mentioned,how do you respond to that?
(23:41):
Just get up and keep going.
That's one of the major thingsthat separates junior players D1,
D2, and even D3 players frompeople that don't make it is their
ability to not get discouragedand get up and go out there and learn
and do better the next time.
So.
Exactly.
I'm glad you mentioned that.
Yeah.
(24:02):
I think, you know, kind oftying it back to Warrior hockey now
is.
Is that something that I haveseen less of in the Warrior hockey
community, where people, youknow, down and feeling sorry for
themselves.
And I obviously attribute thatto the culture that Warrior hockey
provides.
Right.
That means so much to me, ifthe listeners haven't been able to
(24:22):
tell from my constant mentionof it.
But what does it mean to you?
What does Warrior hockey meanto Mason, you know, and how has it
kind of impacted your life?
You touched on it a little,but overall, yeah.
So with Warrior hockey, I havekind of dabbled in it a little bit
with Veterans Hockey United,the Marine Corps team.
(24:45):
A lot of us were veterans, butstill going on these active duty
trips.
And once I found it and Istarted making friends all over the
nation.
Right.
Even the shirt that you'rewearing now, a good buddy of mine
that plays for the Bostonwarriors, the captain and the president,
Justin.
Him and I keep in contact allthe time, and, you know, he gives
(25:10):
me life Life updates.
I got friends in Colorado, upin Philly.
It's not necessarily about the competition.
Competition's great.
It's just kind of buildingthese friendships and bringing home
that brotherhood where itmeans the most of just keeping connected,
keeping close again.
(25:30):
Yeah, I think you hit the nailon the head.
I mean, I just think back to,you know, you and I, you know, to
the point where, you know,funny story, you know, my kids still
talk about to this day and.
Cause, you know, theyobviously have seen you play, and
they're like, wow, he's really good.
But two, it was the lastingimpact you made on them by giving
them a Washington Capitalswarriors autographed stick that they
(25:51):
proudly display in thebasement here.
And they talk about it all the time.
So, yeah, I completely agreethat there's no other place like
it.
It's a giant family.
Like, that's what it is.
There's nothing more importantthan just getting close with one
another, and you don't knowwho's going through a bad.
Like a bad moment.
And so having those peoplethat are close to you, and that's
(26:15):
not just the players, but, youknow, their families, too, making
them.
Them also feel includedbecause I know some girlfriends,
fiance's wives, boyfriends, husbands.
We want everyone to feelinvolved, and I think that's what
we're working towards, andwe've made really good strides to
get there.
You won back to back nationalchampionships with this group.
(26:35):
You talk about the family mentality.
Is that what makes this groupso special on and off the ice?
So, yes, personally, my teamwith the USA warriors and the Washington
Capitals warriors, it's agiant family.
Like, for instance, we havesix people staying in a Airbnb, and
(26:58):
we couldn't be more excited.
And we're trying to get, youknow, the rest of them up.
And then just the closeness ofeverybody, you know, I think that
transitions from off the iceto on the ice.
So we know, hey, I can trustyou to make this.
This play.
Are you able to get me a passor just dump it in?
(27:21):
Quick change.
Can you change fast?
And the off ice is, I wouldsay, more important than on ice.
That's impressive, and I'mlooking forward to seeing you guys
play tomorrow.
I can't wait.
Not so much.
Ronnie.
Yeah, no, we're starting with that.
Now.
I know that it just.
In the last couple of yearsthat I've been playing Warrior hockey,
(27:43):
I've seen a, you know, it grow tremendously.
Right?
Like, I mean, look down.
This was a stat, you know,Boston Warrior Hockey 2023.
I know our listeners can't seethat, but, yeah, I'm wearing a shirt
says Boston warriors because,yep, Boston born and raised.
So I got to support the hometeam as well.
But, you know, how have youseen it grow in the last couple years
and then what do you kind ofattribute that.
(28:05):
That momentum to?
So a, just like you said,like, with the Boston warriors back
in 2023.
New program.
There's new programs poppingup everywhere.
Everyone needs that kind ofleg up.
At first, you struggle alittle bit.
You don't know where you'regoing to go, how you're going to
start.
(28:26):
And so to have theseconnections and start to build your
name, it really does help ateam or an organization grow.
So with the USA warriors, weare in charge of numerous different
teams all over the country andthey've grown tremendously.
(28:48):
It's all about just helpingone another up, get standing and
then they can take off.
And I think that right therealone is the beautiful thing about
Warrior hockey.
Yes.
You know, we get competitive,we get, we all want to win, we all
want to win a tournament, agame, a national championship.
(29:09):
But in the end, it's allabout, you know, bringing everyone
together.
So win or lose, go to a tournament.
I'm still smiling.
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That'S awesome.
Yeah.
I mean, again, not to keepsaying the same thing, but that has
(31:41):
been my experience to a T. Nomatter win, lose or draw, you're
gonna have a great time on the ice.
And the trips are going to bean absolute blast.
Absolutely.
It's always, it's always agreat time.
So looking back, Mason, howhave the lessons from your playing
days, the Marine Corps andcoaching, how has that all shaped
(32:03):
your leadership style today?
That's a great question.
So, again, when I was younger,when I had Brian and Brock Oiler
there, I really wanted to keepthat coaching style of being, like,
really involved.
And my previous coaches werenever involved.
(32:24):
They were kind of just showup, say, hey, shoot the puck here,
but not say anything else.
He would actually sit me down,explain, hey, if you're getting pressure
here, cut back, look, look fora lane, look for a cycle.
Anything else.
Marine Corps has trained me tokind of not worry about myself as
(32:48):
much and make sure thateveryone else is taken care of and
good.
And that alone has kind of putme in that coaching mentality of
making sure that my playersare taken care of, making sure that
they have all their stuff.
I usually, again, the wholeentire hype man thing, making sure
(33:12):
everyone is pumped up, readyto go, make sure no one's injured,
hiding an injury and justpulling off leadership in that direction.
I like it.
It's something I kind of pridemyself on as well, and I know Chuck
does.
So we've got tunnels to Towers tomorrow.
And I know this, this, thiswill be out after, hopefully after
you guys win the whole thing.
(33:33):
But what is next for.
For you and the WashingtonCapitals or USA Warriors?
What's next?
Any goals on the horizon?
Any.
Any big things that you wantto share?
So, as of right now, whatwe're aiming for, we have the Warrior
Classic in Tampa, Florida,from November 6th to the 9th.
(33:55):
Obviously, this will be outafterwards, so hopefully we win that
one.
We're getting bumped up totier one for wcw, so that's pretty
exciting.
Kind of be able to play at thehighest skill level possible and
then go back to Nationals.
We have a exhibition game withPhilly in March up in Philly at their
(34:18):
practice arena, and then we'reall going to go to the Wells Fargo,
which I'm really excited about.
Haven't been there in a long time.
Might do like a off tournamentsomewhere for the USA Warriors.
I am currently actuallyplanning a pretty big tournament
and I'm gonna kind of come upwith a format.
(34:38):
So Eric, be ready.
I would love your opinion onsome stuff.
So I'll be texting you.
Yeah.
Here in the near future.
I'm in.
I'm in, brother.
Other than that.
Yeah, just nationalchampionship and hopefully we can
three peat.
That's awesome.
Yeah, you guys definitely havea special squad.
I can't, I can't wait to seeyou guys play tomorrow.
And my son Bodhi, he's lookingforward to it as well and that's
(35:01):
awesome.
I think it's long deservedthat you guys are getting bumped
up to tier one between, youknow, yourself, some of the other
folks of the team.
Definitely not Ronnie, butalso your goal.
You got a pretty electric goaltender.
There's.
He makes some prettyincredible saves, obviously huge
social media presence as well.
Dobsy, he is an absolute rockstar and he did tell.
(35:22):
He did say to me before I cameout to the car to, to say hi to you
guys and hope you guys aredoing well.
Awesome.
Yeah, good.
He's.
He's electric goaltender.
I mean, he is hilarious.
That's awesome.
Hopefully he keeps you guys init tomorrow.
I sure hope so.
We talked about a lot on this podcast.
Your playing days, the MarineCorps coaching.
(35:43):
Is there anything we didn'task during this podcast that, that
you wanted to address or talk about?
I think probably just makingsure that you're taking care of everybody.
And that's down to the fact ofchecking on one another.
Hockey is an extremelyphysical game.
(36:05):
The most important is themental aspect.
And if one of your friends notdoing well, probably not going to
say anything.
But I promise you that mentalaspect is going to be a massive influence
on their game.
And if you're making sure thateveryone's, you know, okay on the
(36:27):
side, they're going to play better.
But if they're not, they gotother things going on.
Then some conversations needto happen.
It's hugely important.
I think, you know, for thoselistening, they're, they're hockey
players, right?
But they're people first.
Right?
We need to take care of each other.
And like, like you said, youtake care of moth the ice.
They're gonna play better onthe ice and they're just gonna be
(36:50):
better people.
Hopefully there'll be,there'll be some social media posts
from, from Your.
Your championship runs.
But is there is the best wayto get in touch with Washington Capitals
Warriors, USA warriors just,you know, following their social
media pages.
I guess I even forgot thatCoach Tiki is flying in for this
weekend as well from Vegas.
So that's, that's phenomenal.
(37:11):
She's, she's obviously had abit to do with your guys success.
She's awesome, awesome coach.
So shout out to her.
She's got social media as well.
But you know, what's the bestway to get in touch with you guys?
It would definitely be social media.
We are still waiting to standup our Instagram for the Washington
Capitals warriors becausewe're still pretty new.
We started up last year forthe capital's 50th year anniversary
(37:35):
and so we're still kind ofjust ironing things out.
But I think we're good tostart our own Instagram page.
But as right now it's going tobe the USA warriors and getting contact
with us that way.
Awesome.
Yeah, that's, that's great news.
Yeah.
And shout out to the Caps forfinally, you know, sponsoring a,
or you know, putting togethera team just like Philly did in some
(37:57):
of the other organizations.
So that's awesome.
I would say that alone withthe NHL teams getting involved with
Warrior hockey, it's onlygoing up.
They're just being taken careof when it comes to either ice time,
donations, sponsors andeveryone has been spectacular.
(38:18):
They're really picking it up,showing that they do care and having
these different veterans allover the place.
It's incredible.
Yeah, awesome.
Shout out to the Caps.
It's, it's great.
You're doing a lot of positive things.
So this is something we askall our guests to close out our shows
(38:39):
and episodes.
What is your definition ofdevelopment, whether the mental side,
physical or any other aspectof the word.
Oh, that's a fantastic question.
Okay.
Development, that's just goingto be making yourself better in every
aspect that you possibly can.
It could be from, you know,stick handling, shooting on the ice,
(39:03):
stuff off the ice, making surethat for the student athletes, making
sure that you're improving anddeveloping your, your grades.
Schools look at that could be,you know, mental.
If you're feeling overwhelmed,learn when to take a break and yeah,
I'll say that's pretty much it.
(39:23):
That's a, that's a great,great question.
Awesome.
Well, Mason, it's been a pleasure.
A lot of awesome insight.
You're a true leader, youknow, on and off the ice and, and
I commend you for that.
You're truly changing lives,impacting them for the better in
the greatest Game on the Planet.
And then you know the evensmaller greatest subset of the greatest
game on the planet, Warrior Hockey.
(39:45):
So I appreciate it.
This was.
This was awesome.
Share with a friend, coach,parent or player if you think they
may be interested and benefitfrom this podcast.
Don't forget to like, rate,subscribe and download.
And if you enjoyed thisepisode, please leave a review on
Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Also, make sure you'refollowing us on those platforms as
(40:05):
well so you can keep up todate with our guests topics and our
corporate partners.
Thank you for listening toepisode five of Sharpening your Edge,
and we'll see you next time.
You.
This is Sharpening youg Edgewith Chuck and Eric.
Today's guest is Mason Ralph,assistant coach for our lady of Good
council ice hockey andassistant captain for the Washington
Capital Warriors.
(00:22):
With nearly three decades ofplaying experience and four years
behind the bench, Mason bringsa rare blend of passion, discipline
and leadership to the game.
Welcome to episode five ofSharpening youg Edge, presented by
CV3 Hockey.
I'm Chuck Vertolino along withmy co host Eric Malanson.
(00:45):
And today we welcome to theshow Mason Ralph.
And we're going to dive into abunch of different topics, including
his playing coaching career,his military career, and a bit on
nutrition.
So, Mason, welcome to the show.
Thanks for having me, guys.
Hey, Mason, great to have youon the show.
I've been super excited aboutthis episode for, you know, basically
(01:06):
since I asked you for thelisteners out there, I met Mason
a couple years ago.
We both were playing for theUSA warriors ice hockey team.
If you don't know what thatis, we're going to, we're going to
dive into it at the end ormidway through.
But we shared that.
We shared a lot of time on theice and we've got the common bond
of being Marines.
Mason, welcome.
(01:27):
And so we're going to getright into it because we got lots
to unpack.
But when and where did yourlove for this incredible game of
hockey really start?
You know, how old were you?
Where were you playing growing up?
Talk to us a little bit about that.
So this is kind of a funlittle story here.
I was two and a half and I waswith my mom going to pay a water
(01:51):
bill at the Decatur Civiccenter, and I wandered off and at
the same place was also theice rink.
She lost track of me and foundme on the ice with the high school
team and I started skatingwhen I was three.
That's amazing.
That is incredible.
She looked for me for about 30to 45 minutes, could not locate me.
(02:15):
Check all the bathrooms, theoffices to find me on the ice with
a stick in my hand and therest was it.
That's amazing.
That's hilarious, too.
That's very fitting for you.
So something that started awhile ago and now you've been playing
for nearly three decades.
What were those early yearslike after you got your first taste
of the ice?
And how has your game evolvedsince then?
(02:38):
So I would say so CentralIllinois hockey wasn't the greatest.
It was pretty slow.
That's when Chicago Blackhawksstarted to pick up and more people
started to come into theIllinois region and competition started
to get a lot more better.
And so at first it was kind of slow.
Had my uncles training me.
They both played for numerous years.
(03:00):
And so I was playing withpeople that were older than me, bigger
than me, and then youth wasessentially easy.
That's pretty awesome.
You played a lot of hockey.
I mean, you've played growingup, you played high school level,
you played very.
Now you play for the warriorsand you know, incredible opportunity
to be around a lot of awesome coaches.
(03:22):
Probably a lot of not awesomecoaches, teammates.
Has there been anyone inparticular kind of in your life on
the hockey side that's made alasting impression on your.
Either your game or, you know,probably your game and, you know,
you as a person.
Did it, did it kind of leadyou to, you know, do you think it
had any, any benefit or any,anything to any help to you choosing
(03:45):
the Marine Corps?
So as far as Marine Corps, myfamily, they were all Navy.
And I think the person whopushed me the most was one of my
teammates.
We were both forwards andcompeting in, you know, goals, assists
and his den.
(04:05):
So name was Brock Oiler.
His dad was Brian Euler.
And I think that's a duo.
I am never going to forget theway that they were able to coach,
lead, play.
And that's kind of what I'mleading my, my game after.
That's awesome.
Shout out.
Shout out to them.
Shout out to them.
So we talk about theconnection to the Marine Corps.
(04:28):
So how did your experience onthe ice influence your, your mindset
and discipline as youtransitioned into the Marine Corps?
So I would say with being in aleadership position from the start
again, Brock and I, we werealways in charge of, you know, making
sure that the team was good.
(04:49):
Locker rooms are clean.
Big one for me now.
Even as, as a coach and aplayer, I feel like leaving a locker
room cleaner than what youcame into and just kind of bringing
that leadership to also thetwo other teams that I play on currently,
it's really important to kindof just leave that impression.
(05:09):
Yeah, I think that's somethingI know that, you know, as a coach,
you know, with youth athletes,it's, it's very, it's a, it's a constant
struggle on getting them toclean up the locker room.
And we always tie it back to leadership.
And, and you mentioned like,you know, leaving a place better
than you found it.
I think that's something that,you know, I learned in, in the Marine
Corps and I learned in life.
And I think that's somethingextremely positive that, you know,
(05:33):
something small that goes along way.
It's one of those things, right.
And so when you, you know,you, let's say your high school team,
youth, youth teams, goes to atournament and you leave that impression.
Let's say the tournament goesoff and they are inviting 28, 32
teams.
You're going to be the firston that list.
(05:53):
Not trying to grasp hisstraws, trying to get the spot for
that.
So having that goodimpression, not only on captains,
the coaches, the rest of theplayers, just the whole organization,
it all looks fantastic.
Absolutely.
Now, you played a lot, youknow, and you've, you've had a ton
of success recently with theWashington Capitals warriors, which
(06:15):
I think is super cool.
So you've got a broad ranging career.
What, what part of it standsout the most for you?
Is it a particular season, amoment, like a turning point?
You know, is there one, one asa player, one as a coach that you
want to.
You talk about?
Oh man.
So there's a few.
I think my real love for thegame, for in a leadership position
was my senior year of high school.
(06:38):
We won state in Missouri forthe MOAM division because we couldn't
find a whole lot of talent inCentral Illinois and St. Louis was
only a couple hours away from us.
So we're like, hey, we'regoing to jump in this league too,
winning that.
And then we also did ourIllinois State tournament and somehow
(07:01):
end up making the championshipgame and just being a leader on,
on that team and being soproud of what we've done from the
years prior.
It's kind of stuck with me fora long time.
That's awesome.
Did you that one of thoseteams or you know that your, your
core group of players that youplayed with grown ups or has there
(07:22):
been anybody that's kind ofmade it on to, you know, an NHL roster,
you know, an AHL rostersomewhere that's gone on to success.
So a bunch of us did playjunior hockey.
Didn't really go anywhere with that.
I played AAA with Clayton Keller.
That was a lot of fun justwatching him grow up, especially
(07:44):
in size.
Like he was really small andthen he started to get a little bit
bigger and quicker, but afterthat that was pretty much it.
That's.
That's.
I can't even imagine gettingto play against somebody like him.
I mean, I, I grew up inMassachusetts, so I had my chance
to play against a lot ofpretty great players, some that have
made it into the show.
But yeah, Clayton Keller, he'sgot to be something special to, to
(08:07):
see and I'd imagine at thatLevel, it's just, wow, this guy's
is actually so much betterthan everybody else.
Yeah, like, when you see aplayer like that, deep down, you
know, you're like, hey, yeah, he's.
He's going somewhere with hockey.
That's awesome.
All right, so you, youmentioned earlier about your philosophy
with leaving the locker roomcleaner when you leave than when
(08:30):
it was when you went in.
How has your time in theMarine Corps shaped other perspectives
on teamwork, preparation, and performance?
So I feel like when the teamis together and they have the same
sort of leadership principles,it benefits the mission in general.
(08:51):
So when we go to other highschools around the area and everybody
has that mentality of beingprofessional, courteous, cleaning
up after themselves, to mystudent athletes, it's such a small
thing to do, to pick up, youknow, your tape balls or a protein
(09:15):
wrapper or something like that.
It means a lot more whencoming from an organization.
And so I had that instilled inme when I was in the Marine Corps.
Always leave an area cleanerthan when you got there.
That was something that'simproved over the years.
And myself, and I'm startingto instill that within the high school
(09:38):
team.
You know, when we.
Unfortunately, when a lot ofus leave service, you know, that
sense of brotherhood that wehave there is.
Is really.
You can't, you know, I mean,we'll replicate that many other places.
And a lot of, you know, folksstruggle with depression and they
download spiral because they.
They don't have that.
Do you, you know, is thatsomething that you struggled with
(09:59):
when you transitioned out ofthe Marine Corps?
And, you know, if it was, washockey something that, you know,
gave you that.
That reconnection again?
Because I note that, you know,being obviously being a Marine and
a hockey player, there's ahuge similarities between the two,
which, you know, I love.
But was there, you know, wasthere something that, you know, drew
(10:19):
that once you started playingagain for the warriors, you felt
that sense of connection?
Yeah.
And so when I got out, I gotout in September of 2022, and I didn't
start with the team foranother five months, but when I got
out, I felt just alone.
When you have those people that.
(10:40):
That close to you and it justgets wiped away.
You have your normal coworkers and it.
It's.
It's not the same.
So when I discovered the USAWarriors, I came to a practice, and
immediately that's when Iknow, like, I just knew, like, this
(11:00):
is the place that I want tobe, because we've all been through
it.
We've all felt alone.
The mental struggles, thephysical struggles, and no matter
what you got going on, youhave teammates there that are just
a phone call away.
And I think that's why I fellin love with the team.
(11:22):
That's awesome.
Yeah, I mean, I, I will echoyour sentiments.
And you know, I got injured.
I never knew that I was goingto skate again, you know, and when
I was figuring that out, Ifound USA warriors just like you
did.
And I was like, well, if Ican't, you know, skate on two legs,
I'll be, at least I'll be ableto try the sled thing.
But I think the sense ofcamaraderie is there.
(11:44):
And then as my rehabprogressed, I was able to skate again.
So, yeah, same feelings as you.
As soon as I walked in thatdoor, bam.
Insta brotherhood, you know,it was amazing.
It was life altering.
And I owe so much to that organization.
Probably just like you.
Absolutely.
So are there any parallels yousee between your role or job in the
(12:06):
Marine Corps and coaching ahockey team?
I wouldn't say it wasnecessarily my job, like my MOS in
general, but being a leader,appointed as a fire team leader,
a squad leader, platoonsergeant, it's just being in charge
of everybody and making sureeveryone's taken care of when we
(12:26):
go on, you know, when we go totournaments or exhibition games.
Right.
I have to make sure everyone'sat said location at said time, make
sure everyone is, has alltheir stuff, all their jerseys, their
sticks.
We've had some embarrassingmoments in the past, people leaving
(12:47):
their sticks behind and.
But now I've taken a lot more,like sending out messages and hey,
make sure you have this, this,this, this.
And it feels like, you know, Ilove them to death, but you gotta,
you gotta check on them sometimes.
Now, you started coachingbefore you joined the Marine Corps
and then you were in, youknow, you were in, and then now you
(13:08):
just picked it back up at GoodCounsel a couple years ago.
What was it that drew you backto the bench?
What did you miss about it?
So back I was actuallycoaching the same team I played on
a year later and just beingaround the guys, kind of being able
to embrace that brotherhoodbecause everyone knows, you know,
(13:30):
their senior year, hockey, alot of guys just hang up the skates
and they never, they nevertouch them again.
I refuse to do that.
I'm like, I'm gonna help insome sort of way, making sure that
I can put everything I haveinto the sport that I love.
Joined the Marine Corps, didmy thing, I got out Had a lot more
(13:53):
free time and I think I wasplaying a beer league game over at
the Laurel Ice Gardens and oneof the coaches came up to me and
asked me if I'd be interestedin doing some, some coaching there.
And I did not hesitate once.
I was like, absolutely.
(14:14):
And ever since I did, it hasbeen an adventure in itself.
I bet that's awesome.
I mean that's a testament toyour character and your love of leadership
at the game for sure.
So Mason, you, you help leadGood Counsel to back to back championships.
We spoke to Jackson Cole onepisode three, who's a Division 2
(14:37):
goaltender and they won thenational championship recently and
he spoke about the importance.
He didn't even really talkabout anything they did on the ice,
but he spoke how important itwas for the team culture, the cohesiveness
with the team culture off the ice.
So at Good Counsel, what, whatchanged within the team culture or
(14:59):
approach to make that back toback championship happen?
So the year prior that Istarted, I think we won six, maybe
seven games out of 28 and wedidn't really do too hot, didn't
even make the playoffs.
I came in obviously, Eric, youknow me, I have a lot of intensity
(15:22):
and I brought that to the teamkind of to really like get these
guys going, saying hey, likethis might be some of your guys last
years of playing hockey.
If you're going to do it, youneed to do it fast, intense and like
you care.
And so when I stepped in asskills we worked on everything from,
(15:43):
from the edges, from basicstick handling, special teams, overall
just I guess systems in, ingeneral there was no systems really
put into play.
And so I kind of mentioned alot of there were things I was like,
hey, high school hockey aroundthe Maryland area isn't really practicing
like you know, a high cycle.
(16:03):
Throw that in, see what can happen.
And with, with the powerskating too, Power skating super
important especially for young athletes.
Learning how to use their fulledge, their full leg rather than
just kind of cut and chop.
And with that our players werebigger, they were faster.
It got them into, into theweight room, worked out with them
(16:24):
almost, you know, three, fourtimes a week.
Teaching them how to liftproperly without trying to hurt themselves
and you know, teach them, youknow, you don't need to go for a
super high weight.
Sometimes a low weight, highrep is going to be more beneficial
than you trying to throw £315on the rack and try to squat it,
(16:44):
possibly hurt yourself.
And now let's take a quickbreak to hear from our partners.
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I think that's something whereI can absolutely see you making a
positive impact.
And you know, I think inyou've described yourself as the
(18:57):
appointed hype man for the team.
Right.
Do you that infectious energythat you bring has the how's the
team responded?
You know, do you have any likelittle masons on the team that are
like now I can be a hype mantoo and, and start to pump up the
rest of the team and get themgoing kind of on their own.
So funny you mentioned thatthere was actually a couple last
(19:20):
year with the team last yearwe didn't have a whole lot of hope,
but there was some hype menthat really jumped in and kind of
understood what I was tryingto instill and saying, hey, no matter
what, you could be winning 17to nothing, losing 17 to nothing.
(19:41):
Pick your brothers and sisters up.
Win, lose, do not dog on eachother and just kind of get hype before
the game because when you gointo a game high intensity, you're
gonna have a better resultrather than, you know, if you go
into a game you're like, oh,this is the best team in the nation.
(20:02):
It doesn't matter.
Everyone puts on their gearthe exact same way.
You can do it.
Now, you mentioned one thingthat you said there was that I think
is important for, for thefolks to, to hear is you said your
brothers and sisters.
So in a sport that's obviouslybecome so historically male dominated,
and I know, me personally, youknow, I've seen some tremendous female
(20:26):
hockey players that they aredoing things that I couldn't even
imagine doing on the ice.
And, and Chuck's daughterAnnalise is one of the best 2014
born goaltenders in NorthAmerica, hands down, regardless of
sex or gender.
You know, what have you seenfrom your female players and what
do you think about the growthof, you know, the PWHL and stuff
(20:49):
like that?
So I think having that PWHL issuch a fantastic move within the
professional hockey.
It gives these young girlssomething to work for.
And I've personally seen itwithin my own players.
(21:09):
Like, a lot of them take thissport a lot more serious because
back in the day there was, youknow, you got college hockey and
that's pretty much it.
And.
But now there's like aprofessional league and so like,
hey, I should probably starttaking care of my body, watching
the way I play, watch film,watch, and to watch some of the,
(21:33):
of the girls hockey,especially around like the DMV area,
it's blown up a lot more thanI expected.
And how quick it happened.
Nothing short of impressed.
That's amazing.
Yeah, I completely agree.
Living in the DMV area, thehockey around here has gotten a tremendously
increased level for femalesand males too, but females specifically.
(21:54):
Absolutely.
Shifting your focus back tocoaching, there's a balance that
a lot of coaches out theremight struggle to find in development
and how to push your players.
So how does Coach Mason strikethat balance between pushing his
players to help them developwhile also keeping the game positive
(22:15):
and fun?
So for me personally, when itcomes to pushing my players, I will
never look down on them, sayanything down, say, hey, instead
of doing what you did, I wantyou to try this next time.
And instead of, you know,feeling down on themselves.
But, hey, go do something positive.
(22:37):
Go lay a hit, Change theatmosphere on the rink.
Because it's a little bitdifferent when you're on the bench.
You can see it, yes, looks cool.
But your teammates, after yousee them make a bad play, you're
gonna get looked at differently.
But when you either a, make abig hit, make a good play, score
(22:59):
a goal, it Changes the entire atmosphere.
And that's kind of one thingthat I have always instilled in my
players.
If you make a mistake, bounce back.
Find a way to bounce back.
Show your teammates, hey, I'mstill in this game after this mistake.
Everyone's allowed to make mistakes.
(23:20):
It's how you respond.
Yeah, I 100% agree with you.
We talked about it a coupleepisodes ago.
One of my philosophies withthe youth hockey players today is
to remind them that they'renot Connor McDavid.
It's okay to fall down.
It's okay to make mistakes.
And.
And like you just mentioned,how do you respond to that?
(23:41):
Just get up and keep going.
That's one of the major thingsthat separates junior players D1,
D2, and even D3 players frompeople that don't make it is their
ability to not get discouragedand get up and go out there and learn
and do better the next time.
So.
Exactly.
I'm glad you mentioned that.
Yeah.
(24:02):
I think, you know, kind oftying it back to Warrior hockey now
is.
Is that something that I haveseen less of in the Warrior hockey
community, where people, youknow, down and feeling sorry for
themselves.
And I obviously attribute thatto the culture that Warrior hockey
provides.
Right.
That means so much to me, ifthe listeners haven't been able to
(24:22):
tell from my constant mentionof it.
But what does it mean to you?
What does Warrior hockey meanto Mason, you know, and how has it
kind of impacted your life?
You touched on it a little,but overall, yeah.
So with Warrior hockey, I havekind of dabbled in it a little bit
with Veterans Hockey United,the Marine Corps team.
(24:45):
A lot of us were veterans, butstill going on these active duty
trips.
And once I found it and Istarted making friends all over the
nation.
Right.
Even the shirt that you'rewearing now, a good buddy of mine
that plays for the Bostonwarriors, the captain and the president,
Justin.
Him and I keep in contact allthe time, and, you know, he gives
(25:10):
me life Life updates.
I got friends in Colorado, upin Philly.
It's not necessarily about the competition.
Competition's great.
It's just kind of buildingthese friendships and bringing home
that brotherhood where itmeans the most of just keeping connected,
keeping close again.
(25:30):
Yeah, I think you hit the nailon the head.
I mean, I just think back to,you know, you and I, you know, to
the point where, you know,funny story, you know, my kids still
talk about to this day and.
Cause, you know, theyobviously have seen you play, and
they're like, wow, he's really good.
But two, it was the lastingimpact you made on them by giving
them a Washington Capitalswarriors autographed stick that they
(25:51):
proudly display in thebasement here.
And they talk about it all the time.
So, yeah, I completely agreethat there's no other place like
it.
It's a giant family.
Like, that's what it is.
There's nothing more importantthan just getting close with one
another, and you don't knowwho's going through a bad.
Like a bad moment.
And so having those peoplethat are close to you, and that's
(26:15):
not just the players, but, youknow, their families, too, making
them.
Them also feel includedbecause I know some girlfriends,
fiance's wives, boyfriends, husbands.
We want everyone to feelinvolved, and I think that's what
we're working towards, andwe've made really good strides to
get there.
You won back to back nationalchampionships with this group.
(26:35):
You talk about the family mentality.
Is that what makes this groupso special on and off the ice?
So, yes, personally, my teamwith the USA warriors and the Washington
Capitals warriors, it's agiant family.
Like, for instance, we havesix people staying in a Airbnb, and
(26:58):
we couldn't be more excited.
And we're trying to get, youknow, the rest of them up.
And then just the closeness ofeverybody, you know, I think that
transitions from off the iceto on the ice.
So we know, hey, I can trustyou to make this.
This play.
Are you able to get me a passor just dump it in?
(27:21):
Quick change.
Can you change fast?
And the off ice is, I wouldsay, more important than on ice.
That's impressive, and I'mlooking forward to seeing you guys
play tomorrow.
I can't wait.
Not so much.
Ronnie.
Yeah, no, we're starting with that.
Now.
I know that it just.
In the last couple of yearsthat I've been playing Warrior hockey,
(27:43):
I've seen a, you know, it grow tremendously.
Right?
Like, I mean, look down.
This was a stat, you know,Boston Warrior Hockey 2023.
I know our listeners can't seethat, but, yeah, I'm wearing a shirt
says Boston warriors because,yep, Boston born and raised.
So I got to support the hometeam as well.
But, you know, how have youseen it grow in the last couple years
and then what do you kind ofattribute that.
(28:05):
That momentum to?
So a, just like you said,like, with the Boston warriors back
in 2023.
New program.
There's new programs poppingup everywhere.
Everyone needs that kind ofleg up.
At first, you struggle alittle bit.
You don't know where you'regoing to go, how you're going to
start.
(28:26):
And so to have theseconnections and start to build your
name, it really does help ateam or an organization grow.
So with the USA warriors, weare in charge of numerous different
teams all over the country andthey've grown tremendously.
(28:48):
It's all about just helpingone another up, get standing and
then they can take off.
And I think that right therealone is the beautiful thing about
Warrior hockey.
Yes.
You know, we get competitive,we get, we all want to win, we all
want to win a tournament, agame, a national championship.
(29:09):
But in the end, it's allabout, you know, bringing everyone
together.
So win or lose, go to a tournament.
I'm still smiling.
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That'S awesome.
Yeah.
I mean, again, not to keepsaying the same thing, but that has
(31:41):
been my experience to a T. Nomatter win, lose or draw, you're
gonna have a great time on the ice.
And the trips are going to bean absolute blast.
Absolutely.
It's always, it's always agreat time.
So looking back, Mason, howhave the lessons from your playing
days, the Marine Corps andcoaching, how has that all shaped
(32:03):
your leadership style today?
That's a great question.
So, again, when I was younger,when I had Brian and Brock Oiler
there, I really wanted to keepthat coaching style of being, like,
really involved.
And my previous coaches werenever involved.
(32:24):
They were kind of just showup, say, hey, shoot the puck here,
but not say anything else.
He would actually sit me down,explain, hey, if you're getting pressure
here, cut back, look, look fora lane, look for a cycle.
Anything else.
Marine Corps has trained me tokind of not worry about myself as
(32:48):
much and make sure thateveryone else is taken care of and
good.
And that alone has kind of putme in that coaching mentality of
making sure that my playersare taken care of, making sure that
they have all their stuff.
I usually, again, the wholeentire hype man thing, making sure
(33:12):
everyone is pumped up, readyto go, make sure no one's injured,
hiding an injury and justpulling off leadership in that direction.
I like it.
It's something I kind of pridemyself on as well, and I know Chuck
does.
So we've got tunnels to Towers tomorrow.
And I know this, this, thiswill be out after, hopefully after
you guys win the whole thing.
(33:33):
But what is next for.
For you and the WashingtonCapitals or USA Warriors?
What's next?
Any goals on the horizon?
Any.
Any big things that you wantto share?
So, as of right now, whatwe're aiming for, we have the Warrior
Classic in Tampa, Florida,from November 6th to the 9th.
(33:55):
Obviously, this will be outafterwards, so hopefully we win that
one.
We're getting bumped up totier one for wcw, so that's pretty
exciting.
Kind of be able to play at thehighest skill level possible and
then go back to Nationals.
We have a exhibition game withPhilly in March up in Philly at their
(34:18):
practice arena, and then we'reall going to go to the Wells Fargo,
which I'm really excited about.
Haven't been there in a long time.
Might do like a off tournamentsomewhere for the USA Warriors.
I am currently actuallyplanning a pretty big tournament
and I'm gonna kind of come upwith a format.
(34:38):
So Eric, be ready.
I would love your opinion onsome stuff.
So I'll be texting you.
Yeah.
Here in the near future.
I'm in.
I'm in, brother.
Other than that.
Yeah, just nationalchampionship and hopefully we can
three peat.
That's awesome.
Yeah, you guys definitely havea special squad.
I can't, I can't wait to seeyou guys play tomorrow.
And my son Bodhi, he's lookingforward to it as well and that's
(35:01):
awesome.
I think it's long deservedthat you guys are getting bumped
up to tier one between, youknow, yourself, some of the other
folks of the team.
Definitely not Ronnie, butalso your goal.
You got a pretty electric goaltender.
There's.
He makes some prettyincredible saves, obviously huge
social media presence as well.
Dobsy, he is an absolute rockstar and he did tell.
(35:22):
He did say to me before I cameout to the car to, to say hi to you
guys and hope you guys aredoing well.
Awesome.
Yeah, good.
He's.
He's electric goaltender.
I mean, he is hilarious.
That's awesome.
Hopefully he keeps you guys init tomorrow.
I sure hope so.
We talked about a lot on this podcast.
Your playing days, the MarineCorps coaching.
(35:43):
Is there anything we didn'task during this podcast that, that
you wanted to address or talk about?
I think probably just makingsure that you're taking care of everybody.
And that's down to the fact ofchecking on one another.
Hockey is an extremelyphysical game.
(36:05):
The most important is themental aspect.
And if one of your friends notdoing well, probably not going to
say anything.
But I promise you that mentalaspect is going to be a massive influence
on their game.
And if you're making sure thateveryone's, you know, okay on the
(36:27):
side, they're going to play better.
But if they're not, they gotother things going on.
Then some conversations needto happen.
It's hugely important.
I think, you know, for thoselistening, they're, they're hockey
players, right?
But they're people first.
Right?
We need to take care of each other.
And like, like you said, youtake care of moth the ice.
They're gonna play better onthe ice and they're just gonna be
(36:50):
better people.
Hopefully there'll be,there'll be some social media posts
from, from Your.
Your championship runs.
But is there is the best wayto get in touch with Washington Capitals
Warriors, USA warriors just,you know, following their social
media pages.
I guess I even forgot thatCoach Tiki is flying in for this
weekend as well from Vegas.
So that's, that's phenomenal.
(37:11):
She's, she's obviously had abit to do with your guys success.
She's awesome, awesome coach.
So shout out to her.
She's got social media as well.
But you know, what's the bestway to get in touch with you guys?
It would definitely be social media.
We are still waiting to standup our Instagram for the Washington
Capitals warriors becausewe're still pretty new.
We started up last year forthe capital's 50th year anniversary
(37:35):
and so we're still kind ofjust ironing things out.
But I think we're good tostart our own Instagram page.
But as right now it's going tobe the USA warriors and getting contact
with us that way.
Awesome.
Yeah, that's, that's great news.
Yeah.
And shout out to the Caps forfinally, you know, sponsoring a,
or you know, putting togethera team just like Philly did in some
(37:57):
of the other organizations.
So that's awesome.
I would say that alone withthe NHL teams getting involved with
Warrior hockey, it's onlygoing up.
They're just being taken careof when it comes to either ice time,
donations, sponsors andeveryone has been spectacular.
(38:18):
They're really picking it up,showing that they do care and having
these different veterans allover the place.
It's incredible.
Yeah, awesome.
Shout out to the Caps.
It's, it's great.
You're doing a lot of positive things.
So this is something we askall our guests to close out our shows
(38:39):
and episodes.
What is your definition ofdevelopment, whether the mental side,
physical or any other aspectof the word.
Oh, that's a fantastic question.
Okay.
Development, that's just goingto be making yourself better in every
aspect that you possibly can.
It could be from, you know,stick handling, shooting on the ice,
(39:03):
stuff off the ice, making surethat for the student athletes, making
sure that you're improving anddeveloping your, your grades.
Schools look at that could be,you know, mental.
If you're feeling overwhelmed,learn when to take a break and yeah,
I'll say that's pretty much it.
(39:23):
That's a, that's a great,great question.
Awesome.
Well, Mason, it's been a pleasure.
A lot of awesome insight.
You're a true leader, youknow, on and off the ice and, and
I commend you for that.
You're truly changing lives,impacting them for the better in
the greatest Game on the Planet.
And then you know the evensmaller greatest subset of the greatest
game on the planet, Warrior Hockey.
(39:45):
So I appreciate it.
This was.
This was awesome.
Share with a friend, coach,parent or player if you think they
may be interested and benefitfrom this podcast.
Don't forget to like, rate,subscribe and download.
And if you enjoyed thisepisode, please leave a review on
Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Also, make sure you'refollowing us on those platforms as
(40:05):
well so you can keep up todate with our guests topics and our
corporate partners.
Thank you for listening toepisode five of Sharpening your Edge,
and we'll see you next time.
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