After graduating from Osseo High School in ’02 I went on to play many different levels of post-high school hockey including:
Major Midget AAA hockey
Capital Centre Pride (East Lansing, Michigan)
Junior A hockey
Great Falls Americans (Great Falls, Montana)
D3 college hockey
University of Minnesota, Crookston (Crookston, Northern Minnesota)
D1 college hockey
Wayne State University (Detroit, MI)
The experience I gained during my post-high school career taught me many valuable things. However, my experience training hockey players is what really gives me the advantage. During my summers while I was in college I worked as an instructor at the Turcotte school of Stickhandling under one of the best coach/trainers in the game, John Bowkus. Three years ago I started Build Your Game with the intention of expanding on all of the lessons I’ve learned from both my playing and instructing experience to create a summer long program that would give players everything they needed for off-season training all in one place. My players have seen some incredible results already, but I’m always looking for new ways to expand and improve, which makes Build Your Game better and better every year!
The unusual path my playing career took helped to give me a well-rounded sense of the hockey world, both in and out of Minnesota. I played for quite a few poor coaches and a couple truly great ones (coaches Strot, Warren, and Bowkus, thank you!). I’ve learned that, in the end, you can’t let the quality of your coaching make the difference in your play. Even if you have the good fortune to play for a quality coach, they will necessarily have to be more focused on the team than your individual improvement. That’s why a personal hockey trainer becomes so important. I have the opportunity to instruct you on your own personal skills without wasting time on team concepts or worrying about anyone else besides you.
To me, the idea that you can physically and mentally prepare yourself to be better than your competitors in any situation is the most inspiring thing about sports. As your personal hockey trainer, I will use all my knowledge and experience to help you become, both physically and mentally, the kind of hockey player you’ve always wanted to be.
That's my promise.
- Dave Perri