🏒 STMA Youth Hockey Association Welcomes John Swanson as Executive Hockey Director 🏒

STMA Youth Hockey Association (STMAYHA) is excited to announce the hiring of John Swanson as our new Executive Hockey Director.

John brings a unique combination of experience as a Division I and professional hockey player, an elite performance coach, an entrepreneur, and a player development leader. Most recently, he has served as the Director of Skill Development for St. Cloud State Men's Hockey while also leading X7 Hockey, where he has helped athletes of all ages maximize their potential on and off the ice.

As Executive Hockey Director, John will provide leadership and oversight for all hockey operations within STMAYHA. His responsibilities will include player development, coach education and mentorship, evaluations, team formation, skills programming, and creating a consistent development model across every age level of our association.

Most importantly, John's focus will be on helping every player reach their full potential. His long-term development philosophy emphasizes building strong fundamentals, hockey IQ, confidence, character, and a lifelong love of the game. Whether a player dreams of high school, college, or professional hockey, or simply wants to become the best teammate and athlete they can be, John's vision centers on creating opportunities for growth at every stage of the hockey journey.

Throughout his career, John has dedicated himself to understanding what separates good athletes from great ones. After more than 20 years of working with youth, junior, collegiate, and professional players, he developed the Long-Term Performance Model, a player-first approach that identifies each athlete's unique strengths and opportunities while creating a clear path for sustainable development and success.

We believe John's leadership, experience, and passion for developing young athletes will have a tremendous impact on our players, coaches, and families. His commitment to building both exceptional hockey players and exceptional people aligns perfectly with the values of STMAYHA.

Please join us in welcoming John to the STMAYHA community. We are excited for the future and look forward to the positive impact he will have on our association for years to come.

Welcome to STMAYHA, John!