Four Hills Athlete Development

Four Hills Athlete Development Four Hills Athlete Development is a Canadian-owned practice blending sport, identity, and emotional intelligence.

We support high-performing athletes with mental wellness, leadership, and personal growth strategies that create champions for life.

AAA tryouts are done.Now it’s time for AA and A.This is where a lot of players either reset… or respond.AA/A isn’t a ste...
04/27/2026

AAA tryouts are done.

Now it’s time for AA and A.

This is where a lot of players either reset… or respond.

AA/A isn’t a step down. It’s an opportunity to show your habits, your consistency, and who you are when the game isn’t perfect.

You don’t need to be the flashiest player on the ice.
You need to be the most reliable.
The most coachable.
The one who competes every shift.

Win your shifts.
Play fast without the puck.
Make your linemates better.
Handle adversity the right way.

That’s what gets noticed.

You’ve already put in the work.
Now go show it.

Wishing all players the best of luck in AA and A tryouts.

AAA tryouts are here…and a lot of players are still focused on the wrong things.It’s not just about your shot.It’s not j...
04/20/2026

AAA tryouts are here…
and a lot of players are still focused on the wrong things.

It’s not just about your shot.
It’s not just about your hands.
It’s not even just about your stats.

It’s about who shows up when it matters.

At Four Hills, we focus on the things coaches actually evaluate but rarely say out loud:

• How you respond after a mistake
• How fast you make decisions under pressure
• Whether you compete every rep or just the important ones
• How coachable you really are
• Whether you know who you are as a player

Because when the pace increases…
when the space disappears…
when things start to break down…

Behaviour is what stays.

That’s what earns trust.
That’s what earns ice.
That’s what makes AAA teams.

If you’re heading into tryouts, don’t just train your skill.

Train who shows up.

COMING SOON! Four Hills Parent Workshop!There is a lot of pressure around hockey tryouts. Pressure on the kids. Pressu...
03/29/2026

COMING SOON!
Four Hills Parent Workshop!

There is a lot of pressure around hockey tryouts.
Pressure on the kids.
Pressure on the parents.
Pressure around what team, what level, what letter.

But here’s the truth most people don’t talk about:

Very few of these kids are going to the NHL.
But every single one of them is becoming an adult.

So the real question isn’t:
“What team did they make?”
The real question is:
“What is hockey turning them into?”

This workshop is for parents who want to:
• Support their child the right way through tryouts
• Understand letter chasing (A vs BB vs B)
• Learn what coaches are really looking for
• Avoid the common parent traps and mistakes
• Focus on long-term development, not short-term teams
• Help their child build confidence, resilience, and love for the game

Because we are not raising hockey players.
We are raising future adults.
Hockey is just the classroom.

The Four Hills Way: Supporting Your Child Through Tryouts and Beyond

If you would like to see this workshop in your community, message us here or via email at jason@fhad.ca
Details coming soon.

Four Hills Athlete Development will be supporting the U13 Wiikwemkoong (Wiky) Beauties at the Ayabeh Summer Challenge ho...
03/29/2026

Four Hills Athlete Development will be supporting the U13 Wiikwemkoong (Wiky) Beauties at the Ayabeh Summer Challenge hockey tournament in Ottawa in July, 2026!

*HOSTED IN BRANTFORD, OPEN TO PLAYERS FROM ALL ASSOCIATIONS*Every year, a lot of families add extra ice before tryouts.T...
03/15/2026

*HOSTED IN BRANTFORD, OPEN TO PLAYERS FROM ALL ASSOCIATIONS*

Every year, a lot of families add extra ice before tryouts.

This year, Four Hills is asking a different question:

What if tryout prep also trained the behaviours that coaches notice right away?

We are exploring interest in a new Hockey Tryout Prep program built for U11/U12, U13/U14, and U15/U16 athletes. This will be a 3-session, in-class series that is play-based, activity-based, and built specifically for hockey tryouts.

This is not a PowerPoint session.
It is built around:

- confidence under pressure
- coachability
- reset routines
- leadership
- body language
- emotional control
- learning through games, activities, and real-life tryout scenarios

The goal is simple: help athletes prepare for tryouts in a different way by developing the mindset, behaviours, and responses that can shape how they show up when it matters most.

We are currently gauging interest before opening registration.

If this sounds like something your athlete would benefit from, comment below, send a message, or email jason@fhad.ca
to be added to the interest list.

03/15/2026

Good luck to all the teams representing Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory at this year’s Little Native Hockey League tournament!

The Little NHL is one of the most special tournaments in hockey bringing together communities, families, and the next generation of players to celebrate the game we all love.

Four Hills Athlete Development is proud to support the journey of young athletes across Turtle Island, and we’ll be cheering loudly for every Wiikwemkoong player hitting the ice this week.

You can also catch Four Hills Athlete Development owner, Jason Shawana, behind the bench with the U13 Competitive team, the Wiikwemkoong Bziiwag.

Play hard.
Play proud.
Represent your community.

Good luck to all the players, coaches, and families.

Video produced by Four Hills Athlete Development

You can see the Four Hills coaching approach live at the Little NHL hockey tournament in Markham, Ontario next week! Fou...
03/11/2026

You can see the Four Hills coaching approach live at the Little NHL hockey tournament in Markham, Ontario next week! Four Hills owner and lead counsellor, Jay Shawana, will be coaching the U13 Competitive team from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Reserve during the tournament! Supporting kids from his home community, as they compete with pride for their community and one another!

03/03/2026

Minor sports doesn’t need louder coaches or tougher kids, it needs a values reset.
When we anchor Identity → Behaviour → Performance → Legacy, we don’t just build better athletes… we build healthier humans (and performance follows).

03/01/2026

It’s that time of year again in the minor hockey universe, and we need to start addressing something important.

As minor hockey associations start announcing their coaches, tryout season quietly begins long before the first skate touches the ice.
And with it comes the pressure, the conversations, the politics, and all the things that can distract from what truly builds a young athlete.

At Four Hills, we believe this time of year should be about growth, identity, habits, and honest effort.
Not who a parent talks to.
Not who gets “cozy” with a coach.
Not which shortcuts feel tempting in the moment.

When adults work the politics, kids lose the chance to earn something real, including confidence, pride, resilience, belief.
When we keep the process honest, they gain all of it.

So as teams take shape, let’s stand together on one thing:
Let the kids earn it.
Let the coaches coach it.
Let the ice stay honest.





02/18/2026

Most coaches talk about potential.

The best coaches raise the standard.

Your ceiling is talent.
Your floor is culture.

When adversity hits, your talent fluctuates…
but your standards shouldn’t.

Raise the floor.
Make effort non-negotiable.
Make accountability automatic.
Make culture stronger than emotion.

Championships aren’t built on best days.
They’re built on minimum standards.

Even though we won’t be running spring or summer hockey teams this year, our commitment to the game and our community co...
01/21/2026

Even though we won’t be running spring or summer hockey teams this year, our commitment to the game and our community continues. We’re proud to be coaching and leading the Wiikwemkoong U13 Competitive team at this year’s Little Native Hockey League Tournament in Markham, Ontario during March Break.

Sponsorship opportunities are available to help support our athletes and families as they represent Wiky with pride.

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Brantford, ON

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