Every Year Gets Bigger & Better.The Growth of BYG
When owner, Dave Perri, decided to create Build Your Game he wanted it to be the entire package in hockey training all in one place. Growing up, his favorite time of the year was the off-season, when he would go to skating camps, stickhandling camps, shooting camps, and play AAA. The off-season offered the opportunity to learn new things and to really get better in a way that the monotony of the in-season practice and game schedule just didn’t. Dave has always loved learning and being introspective about his game. Like a scientist, he’s always running experiments to see which training methods work the best, coming up with innovative and unique training equipment that he builds himself, and staying current with the latest science of human physiology and development. He’s passionate about what he does, and he’s passionate about getting all of the necessary learning and development that a player needs all in one place. Learn about our training techniques to get a better idea of why so many players are joining BYG.
Read more about our staff below.
Dave Perri is the creator of Build Your Game, as well as the head skill developer. He’s been teaching his unique skill training curriculum for four years now with great success. Dave’s own hockey career included playing junior A, division 3, and division 1 college hockey, giving him firsthand knowledge of what it takes to succeed at the higher levels. However, Dave is not simply an ex-hockey player turned skill instructor. He is a very experienced, very intelligent teacher of hockey skills. His ability to relate to players and transfer his knowledge of hockey technique is what sets him apart from the competition. The drills he’s designed over his years of hockey training are purposeful and help shape technique. Dave takes pride in designing each off-ice training session in such a way that he can watch each player’s technique closely, correcting them when needed. Every player who works with Dave receives a lot of personal, 1-on-1.
As a kickboxing and group fitness instructor, Dave runs high intensity workouts that ensure everyone works up a sweat every single time that they train with him. In his kickboxing classes, he teaches proper technique and pushes the pace to create a core building, fat burning, and heart rate accelerating experience. In his group fitness classes he keeps things interesting by varying up the routine to include slideboard training, medicine ball training, sledgehammer training, balance ball training, and many other fun and interesting forms of working out.
Mike Perri coached AAA/elite teams for 13 years with great success. Each year he took an elite team, called The Starz of Minnesota, up to Toronto to compete in one of the most highly scouted tournaments at that time in North America, called the “Prospects” tournament. An impressive 86% of Starz alumni have gone on to play Junior A, college, or pro hockey, including 4 players who have played or currently play in the NHL.
Mike has been general manager of Build Your Game for the past six years. Parents/ players can feel free to talk to him about anything related to Build Your Game, hockey careers, or hockey in general. In fact, if you’re looking to speak to someone from Build Your Game during the evening hours, Mike is always the one to call since Dave is generally busy running training sessions at those times.
Read Some TestimonialsYou don't have to take our word for it
What I like about Build Your Game is that it builds your skills up as well as your strength. Players really benefit from the one-on-one training, especially on their hands and shot. The shooting and stickhandling repetitions, the personal attention, and the wide variety of strength building exercises that Build Your Game uses makes this training program a great way to spend your off-season. I would recommend it to any players looking to move on past high school.– Brad Zangs, head coach
Souix Lookout Flyers, Junior A (SIJHL)
Best money we’ve spent on a hockey program! Build Your Game is the first hockey camp where I really saw a significant improvement in the performance of my son’s game. Nick’s shooting and stick-handling skills were the most dramatically improved. I believe Build Your Game is so successful because Dave is such a good instructor. He works in small groups with the players and is very good at observing the strengths and weakness of each individual, and tailoring instruction accordingly. In my opinion, this is why Build Your Game is so effective, and other programs are not.– Bruce Hill, parent
BYG Customer
I get a great sweat going when I’m at Build Your Game’s off-ice training site. It’s fun to go through exercises that you wouldn’t normally see at other training programs. The higher levels of hockey demand intense training to stay ahead of the competition and I believe Build Your Game offers just that.– Trevor Bruess, player
Minnesota State University (2006-2009), D1 College (WCHA)
I liked that we worked very intensely on hand skills and shooting. I’ve played both Junior A and D3 college hockey and I can tell you that your hands and shot really need to be sharp to succeed at those levels. I think Build Your Game is a great place to get your hands and shot ready for the next level.– Ky Moje, player
Bethel University Royals, D3 College (MIAC)