Ron Berteling on Building Dutch Hockey, Lake Placid ‘80, and Coaching Kids the Right Way 🇳🇱 In this episode, Brock sits down with Dutch hockey legend Ron Berteling—longtime Netherlands captain, 1980 Olympian (Lake Placid), coach, mentor, and champion for youth development. Ron shares how he fell in love with hockey in 1964, what the sport looked like in the Netherlands through the 70s/80s, unforgettable A-pool stories (Guy Lafleur, Team USA, the “Miracle on Ice” era), and why simple habits, discipline, and fun will always beat flashy skills on social media. You’ll hear practical coaching wisdom for mixed-level teams, how to grow a club the right way, why kids should “dream big but do the boring work,” and the magic of crisp outdoor sessions that keep us all in love with the game. #AskAProPodcast #RonBerteling #DutchHockey #LakePlacid1980 #YouthHockey #HockeyCoaching 🔗 Connect • Brock: @brockmontgomeryy ) 🙏 If you enjoyed this chat, please like, comment, and subscribe—it truly helps the show grow. Chapters 00:00 – Intro: Why Ron Berteling matters 00:18 – Hellos & how this convo finally happened 01:00 – Ron’s first skate (1964) & three-team Dutch landscape 03:00 – Idols then vs. now: Cruyff, Howe, and learning from books 05:00 – Coaching kids into good people (not just good players) 06:30 – Climbing from C-pool to A-pool & qualifying for Lake Placid 08:40 – Canary Islands Worlds, youth team, and loving the grind 10:05 – A-pool memories: Canada, Lafleur, and media attention in NL 12:30 – Why hockey boomed—and what we didn’t build for the future 14:10 – NL vs. Canada training challenge: big skill gaps, one sheet 16:20 – Practice design for mixed levels: push the top, include the rest 18:00 – Ice-time scarcity, tournaments, and maximizing puck touches 20:10 – Coaching philosophy: standards, roles, and “reach your level” 22:50 – Stats for kids? Why development > leaderboard 24:20 – Keep games close: what 16–2 scores teach (nothing) 26:30 – Club-hopping, systems, and teaching real game discipline 29:00 – Simple hockey: exits, entries, no blind passes, be the high guy 31:40 – Lake Placid: mindset, Red Army hours, and Herb Brooks’ ask 34:00 – Why USA beat the USSR (work rate, panic, and moments) 36:10 – Format reminder: US still had to beat Finland for gold 37:10 – Career highlights: 200+ caps, captaining NL, line with his son 39:20 – Motivation & longevity: friends, fun, and showing the standard 40:40 – Sticks & shots: from wood to Bedard, Ovi’s “old-school” snipe 43:10 – Social media skills vs. game sense—and coaching fixes 46:30 – Advice for 12–14s: be coachable, disciplined, team-first 49:10 – Going abroad (DE/AT/SE): pros, cons, and what actually helps 53:00 – Boring is good: sacrifice, offseason work, and no excuses 57:00 – Gratitude talk: parents, fees, and doing your best 59:10 – Outdoor rink magic: why crisp nights keep us in love with hockey 1:02:00 – Language, culture, and making the rink feel like home 1:04:30 – Wrap-up & what’s next
