Our Story
It Started With a Hat Trick and a Laptop.
Years ago, I was watching a youth hockey team where one family had promised their child a new laptop if he scored a hat trick.
He never got the hat trick.
And he never got the laptop.
But the promise itself changed something.
The reward was tied entirely to his individual scoring. It gave him another reason to think about his own goals and his own opportunities with the puck.
And the other kids noticed.
Soon, parents around the team were getting some version of:
“Can I get a laptop too if I score three goals?”
“What do I get if I score a hat trick?”
No one had done anything wrong. The family was trying to motivate their child. But I couldn't stop thinking about what we were incentivizing.
I didn't have a problem with the reward. I had a problem with what we were rewarding.
If we're going to reward something, what should we reward?
My spouse and I wanted a different kind of incentive: one that recognized what our kids put into the opportunity, rather than only what showed up in the statistics.
From the Bench
Move Your Feet!!
As a hockey coach, that's one phrase I've probably said more than almost anything else.
- If you aren't moving your feet, you aren't getting near the puck.
- You're less likely to get the puck.
- You're less likely to do something with it.
- You're less likely to prevent the other team from doing something with it.
Skating hard doesn't automatically create goals. It does give a player more chances to learn, contribute, and make something happen.
If we were going to reward something, why not recognize the behavior that helped create those opportunities?
Why It Mattered in Our Family
Make more of every opportunity.
My son had broken his leg as a Mite and missed meaningful skating-development time. My daughter didn't begin playing hockey until she was 10, after many players her age had already spent years skating.
For both kids, the question was similar: how do you make the most of the opportunities you have to close that gap?
The answer wasn't “score more goals.” It was simpler: skate hard, practice hard, stay involved, get repetitions, and keep moving. None of that guaranteed they would close the gap. It gave them more chances to develop.
A Family Experiment
Honestly, I thought it might last one season.
Hustle Points started as a simple idea at home. Ask the kids to rate their hustle. Give them points for effort. Maybe 30 Hustle Points meant an ice cream run.
There was no grand product vision and no expectation that it would become a larger philosophy. It was simply a more intentional answer to the laptop moment.
Then Something Happened I Wasn't Expecting
Then he said something I wasn't expecting.
I asked my son, “How many Hustle Points do you think you earned today?” More points would have moved him closer to a reward, so I expected a fairly high number.
Instead, he noticed his own effort and answered honestly. Then, in that same conversation, reflection became intention.
His reflection “I think I was only a 2 or 3 today.”
Then, in the same conversation “Tomorrow I'm going to get an 8.”
- 01Reward
- 02Reflection
- 03Awareness
- 04Intention
That's when Hustle Points stopped feeling like just a reward system.
Another Part of My Life Started Connecting
The idea was getting bigger than a point system.
I've spent much of my professional career in Learning & Development, including leadership and customer-service training. Around the same time Hustle Points was developing at home, I was doing a lot of work around three familiar questions:
What can you control? What can you influence? What can't you control?
I started seeing that same line everywhere in youth sports.
They can't fully control
Whether they score · playing time · coaching decisions · teammates · opponents · bad bounces · a great save · the final score
They have more influence over
Effort · attitude · preparation · response · coachability · persistence
From One Sports Parent to Another
I've been around youth sports most of my life.
First as an athlete, then as a coach, then as a parent, and often as all three perspectives started blending together.
I started coaching youth sports in high school. I'm 52 now. Over the years I've coached hockey, baseball, basketball, and soccer. I've been a hockey parent, and my kids also played soccer and some basketball.
Most recently, I spent about six years coaching hockey at the U14/Bantam and High School/Junior Gold levels. Those years didn't give me all the answers. They gave me a lot of chances to notice which questions seemed worth asking.
This Is Still Sports
Results matter.
I believe competition is good. Wanting to win is okay. Scoring goals is fun. Improving statistics is exciting. Developing skills matters. Making a team can be meaningful, and losing can be disappointing.
I want young athletes to improve, compete, pursue goals, and maximize their athletic potential. Hustle Points was never meant to turn every result into “just try hard and everything is a success.”
Families simply have a choice about which behaviors they intentionally recognize and reward along the way.
I never wanted my kids to stop caring about the scoreboard. I just didn't want the scoreboard to be the only thing telling them whether they were successful.
Looking Back
I Wish We'd Started Sooner.
Once we saw the value in the conversations, I wished we'd had more of them. Both of our kids could have benefited from the same questions in soccer as well as hockey. My daughter didn't start using the idea until around age 10.
It isn't dramatic regret. I just wish we'd found this way of talking a little earlier.
The Hope
I Hope It Doesn't End With Sports.
My hope is that Hustle Points starts with a simple conversation after a practice or game:
“How many Hustle Points do you think you earned today?”
But maybe, over time, the question gets bigger.
“What could I control?”
“How did I respond?”
“What can I do differently next time?”
Those are useful questions on the ice, field, court, or rink. I think they're pretty useful in school, friendships, work, and life too.
I wish we'd started sooner.If Hustle Points helps another family start those conversations a little sooner, that's a pretty good outcome.