MORE THAN JUST HOCKEY
Our MISSION
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A player’s team may change over the years, but they will always belong at Motor City Hockey. We develop elite athletes who grow into exceptional people. The physical and mental strengths instilled in each player echo on and beyond the ice and into their life.
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We train our players to operate and collaborate at the highest levels of physicality, functionality and mentality. Every skill, lesson, and challenge presented is intended to shape, push and forge our players into all we see they can be.
We bring players from different organizations together into a unified force of Michigan’s most notable athletes. Every hockey player is already a leader. We extract and enhance the impactful qualities within our players, so they go on to win and influence within their own hockey worlds
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All facets of our training program are taught solely by professionals with intensive hockey backgrounds.
All Learning LevelsOur skill development program is tailored for all levels of experience from youth up to the National Hockey League. Our players are trained to master the key fundamentals of hockey along with complex skill development methods.
Well-Rounded Skill Development with Advanced Weekly Programs
Every dimension of the sport is embedded into our training style. It’s always day one here at Motor City Hockey. We run each of our experiences with freshly crafted and customized plans written by Rich Mihelic.
Our innovative drills are designed to consistently evolve our players. We are forever students of the game. Our staff is constantly learning and studying material to give our players an edge on competition as they continue to hone their:
Skating efficiency and structure
Compound movements
Shooting techniques and strategy
Passing precision and puck handling
Hockey IQ, vision and mindset
Power Skating
From those just beginning their hockey journey to advanced skating techniques currently used by professionals at the highest levels, we focus on basic to advanced edge work and stride mechanics.
Stickhandling
We teach how to carry the puck and make plays. Our detailed stickhandling execution translates to quality, controlled gameplay.
Shooting
Our beginner players learn to shoot the puck correctly. Our advanced players get trained on the elite edge of shooting, from changing angles to adding more power and dynamic depth.
Checking
Our checking programs are extremely detailed. It’s a priority for us to protect our players and keep them safe, but also give them a distinct advantage for puck protection and takeaways.
Summer Camps
Our summer camps are extremely fun and instructional. Players are busy from start to finish working on true hockey development.
Goaltending
We provide a reliable, open communication, professional training staff to aid first-class goaltending development. MCH goalies get regular opportunities to join team practices while receiving attentive, on-ice goalie training.
Individual Development Plans
Motor City Hockey’s professional trainers also offer individually written development plans and organization consulting for teams.
Who We Are
Motor City Hockey is a training organization designed to motivate and teach our players to be successful both on and off the ice. We offer a full-range of skill development programs for all experience levels. Our professional trainers have extensive hockey backgrounds and have been directly trained by our founder, Rich Mihelic.
Where We've Been
Motor City Hockey was founded by Rich Mihelic, upon returning home to Michigan after working as a trainer with the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League (main affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins). Coach Rich has worked with U.S. Olympic Head Coaches, NHL coaches and Stanley Cup champions. He has built Motor City Hockey to be the place where eager and dedicated players come to learn, grow and belong.
Our organization has expanded to include more professional trainers and program availability, in order to reach even more of Michigan’s athletes with our specialized methods.
Coach Rich honors that he wouldn’t be where he is today without family. He’s forever grateful for the support of his parents, who spent long hours at the rink and financial resources for his own hockey dream. Behind every Motor City Hockey player is a family who is supporting them. We are grateful for the integral role that committed families play to make the MCH experience a possibility for their player.
What's To Come
We will continue to push the edge and deliver the most elite and elevated hockey training development. We will always provide optimized material and attentive instruction that helps our athletes practice and perform at the peak level of their potential.
To create more opportunity for more athletes, we’re excited to expand the Motor City Hockey programs and methods throughout the state of Michigan. Our professional trainers share a love of the game as strongly as our athletes. We are dedicated to the players and families that we are fortunate to have within our hockey network. Through great times and tough times, we will always be there for our hockey family.
Hockey teaches its athletes invaluable ambition that reaches far beyond the sport. We are proud to have alumni that are not only excellent hockey players, but who went on to also become college students, entrepreneurs, and well-established professionals. If we are doing our job right, we will not only develop successful hockey players, but we will build successful individuals in life.
COACH RICH’s STORY
My Story
My hockey story isn’t one of glory. It’s one of perseverance. Of course, thinking back to my earliest memories as a kid I’d imagine lifting the Stanley Cup over my head one day. But I never would have guessed that I’d be the one developing, training, pushing and mentoring the players who are lifting the cup.
Everyone wants glory. But not everyone has what it takes to persevere. I focus on perseverance because that’s what makes champions and wins titles. It's all about the amount of grit within a player's core.
Growing up, I wasn’t just a player of hockey; I was a student of hockey. Beyond the tricks, speed and fancy footwork, I wanted to understand the foundation of the best players. Not just how they made a play, but why they made that play. I realized my gifts weren’t just limited to skating or stick handling, I also had an ability to see this sport unfold in slow motion. I could catch the quick details that most people would miss. I could break down with sound reasoning why each X and O was drawn on my innovative drills and plays. And with these God-given gifts and a lot of hard work, I graduated from a student of hockey to a teacher of hockey.
It took many years and countless hours of volunteer work to get where I am today. I have learned at every level and have experience in training players in forward and defense positions. I started with coaching a house team while going to school full-time at Central Michigan University, maintaining a 3.9 GPA, and also working full-time on an assembly line. Knowing that I’d be unhappy in any other career, I pursued hockey "all in.” With every odd against me, I broke into the American Hockey League working for the Wilkes Barre / Scranton Penguins main affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins. This door opened up the opportunity for me to work with U.S. Olympic Head Coaches, NHL coaches and Stanley Cup Champions. I was in high pressure environments training some of the best players coming up in the world.
Though, no dream comes without sacrifice. I missed several holidays with my family from being out of state and was spending countless days on the road. The two most important things in my life have always been my family and hockey. With the demands of my schedule, my family life had fallen on the wayside and I knew this would need to change. After making the hardest decision of my life, I chose to move back to my hometown in Michigan. Deep down, I knew my energy and talents were meant to be in the Motor City. Thus, Motor City Hockey was born.
I now consider myself blessed beyond measure to do what I do. I work relentlessly and tirelessly to bring our players the best training in the United States. I stay up late at night writing drills and making sure everything is structured and custom for each individual player I work with. I know the more I invest in each player, the more they will become invested in the game. I love when players come in excited to see me. I also make sure to fuel their love of the game with fun, yet demanding lessons. I also keep the training environment one that is constructive, not critical.
The beauty of hockey is that it creates unity and brings people together. No bond is as strong as the bond of brothers that will bleed for one another. A purpose of mine is to not only develop the physicality of a player, but the mentality. Motor City Hockey players learn to have a confident mindset on and off the ice. They are connected to their inner-fire and move with balance and purpose. They are humble victors, forward thinkers and strategic leaders. My players are trained to encompass all aspects that make up the body, mind and spirit of an elite hockey player.
My goal for the future is to continue coaching the game I love and to strengthen and mentor more players. I also have a deep passion for helping players that cannot afford to get into the game of hockey and I plan to provide opportunities for those who currently don’t have the privilege to play. Hockey is so much more than a challenging game, it’s a way of learning perseverance and endurance… not just on the ice, but in life.
Now I have the best of both worlds. I get to live my hockey dream while also being in the company of my family. I live in Milford, Michigan with my beautiful wife, Ashley, and our son Dylan & daughter Ella. When Ashley was pregnant with Dylan, I told her to check out hockey rosters for name ideas. So, yeah we couldn’t help but name our son after one of Detroit’s best players! When I’m not drawing up drills or on the ice as MCH’s Director of Hockey Operations, I like to go on long walks and spend time with my family.
Although this wasn’t the exact vision of glory I’d imagined as a kid, I can honestly say that it’s even better than that. My mission is to instill perseverance in your player so they can achieve their own story of glory and success.