Matt Schwartz / Skills Coach

Pittsburgh · South Hills · Ice Castle Arena

Skills that hold up when the game speeds up

Private and small-group skills coaching for hockey players who want their practice reps to actually show up on Saturday. I build confident, skilled players through technical training and game-like reps.

Book an on-ice lesson Book a video review
15+ years coaching Head coach · AAA South Fayette Lions 2023 state champions

Two ways to work with me

On-ice skill development, and game video review

Most skaters do both. The ice is where the skill gets built; the film is where a player finally sees where to use it.

On the ice · Ice Castle Arena

On-ice skill sessions

A session built around one skater's actual problem, not a generic drill sheet. You tell me what is breaking down in games and we spend the hour on that.

  • 1-on-1 — the whole sheet, the whole hour, one player
  • 2-on-1 — bring a teammate, keeps the compete up
  • 3-on-1 and 4-on-1 — bring your own group
  • Small group, capped at 6 skaters — not for beginners
  • Ice time is included; you just show up ready
See open ice times

From anywhere · No ice required

Game footage video review

Send me game film and get back a coach's read on it — what you are doing, what the play actually needed, and the two or three habits worth fixing first.

  • Send your shifts, or I pull the game from LiveBarn
  • 30-minute review together over Google Meet
  • Action items for your next game, not vague notes
  • Chalk talk and NHL clips to show what right looks like
How video review works
15+
years coaching, from first-time skaters to NCAA and NHL prospects
2023
state champions — head coach, AAA South Fayette Lions
30+
years in the game as a player, coach and student of it

What we actually work on

The stuff skaters keep asking me for

These are not menu items I invented. They are the requests that come in on my booking form, in players' own words, over and over.

Puck protection

Keeping possession under pressure — body position, stick side, using the wall instead of dying on it.

Winning 1-on-1 battles

The compete stuff that decides shifts. Angles, leverage, first touch out of the battle.

Foot speed & turnover

Quick feet in tight, crossovers with purpose, and the ability to change pace instead of skating one speed.

Skating with the puck

Handling at full speed, so the puck stops being the thing that slows you down.

Net-front defense

Boxing out, stick detail, and being hard to play against in the ugly areas.

Board work

Wall play on both sides of the puck — retrievals, escapes, pinning and separating.

Time and space

Creating it for yourself, taking it away from the other guy. The part that separates skilled players from productive ones.

Deception & handling

Toe drags, fakes and stick skills that hold up against a defender who is actually trying.

Bring your own list. The booking form asks what you want to work on, and that answer is what the session gets built around.

Game video analysis

Great in drills, invisible in games?

That gap is almost never physical. The skills are there — what is missing is hockey IQ: knowing when and where to use them at game speed. The fastest way to build that is to sit down and watch what actually happened.

01

Send your game footage

Email your shifts to matt@questhockey.com. No footage? If the game was at a LiveBarn rink, I can pull it myself.

02

I break it down

I go through it and identify strengths, weaknesses, and the specific habits holding you back.

03

We watch it together

A 30-minute Google Meet at your scheduled time, going through the film side by side.

04

You leave with action items

Specific things to do differently in the next game — not "work harder," but what to look for and when.

05

Chalk talk and NHL clips

I show you the same read at the NHL level, so you can see what right looks like before you try it.

Why this works

Skill sessions sharpen skating, passing, handling and shooting. But nobody hands you feedback on using those skills strategically once the game starts. Thirty years of playing, coaching and studying this game have taught me to spot the small reads and decisions that quietly cap a player's ceiling — and those live on film, not on a drill sheet.

The result is a player who is safer on the ice, sees more of it, and can actually execute the play that is there.

Book a video review

Who I work with

Beginners to junior track — and the parents in between

8U first real skills work 10U · 12U · 14U travel and AAA High school varsity Junior & college track Adult beginners and beer leaguers Goalies' skaters — shooters for your goalie sessions

Before

You tell me the problem

The booking form asks what is breaking down. That is the session plan — I read it before you get on the ice.

On the ice

We fix one thing properly

Up-tempo, high reps, real corrections. Not a highlight reel of drills you will never use again.

After

You leave with homework

What to keep working on, and what I want to see next time. Progress is the point, not the hour.

Free coaching

Start working on it tonight

Thirteen videos on the fundamentals, free, so you can drill them between sessions — on the ice or in your basement. No sign-up, nothing to buy.

Skating

Edges and crossovers are the ceiling on everything else. Start here.

Outside edges

A power skating progression that builds real outside-edge control.

Inside edges

The fundamentals, done properly, before anything fancy.

Forward crossovers

Getting speed out of your crossovers instead of just doing them.

Shot technique

Four shots, four different mechanics. Most players only ever learn one of them well.

The wrist shot

Technique, tips and drills for the shot you take most.

The snapshot

Quick release — the one that beats a goalie who is already set.

The slapshot

Mechanics and drills for ripping bombs.

The backhand

The shot nobody practices, and the one goalies read worst.

Scoring tactics

Technique gets the puck to the net. These are the reads that get it past the goalie.

Shooting in your stride

Scoring in motion, the way Phil Kessel does it.

Change the angle

Moving the puck off your line before you shoot, like Auston Matthews.

Catch and release

Getting rid of it before the goalie can reset — the Pettersson tactic.

Stickhandling at home

No ice, no problem. These are the reps that separate players over a winter.

20 off-ice drills

A full circuit you can run in a garage or basement.

15 Datsyuk drills

Off-ice hands work modeled on the best to ever do it.

20-minute workout

A complete stickhandling session you can do at home tonight.

This week at the rink

Drills from actual sessions

Short clips from real lessons at Ice Castle — the players are mine, the drills are what we ran that morning. New ones go up through the week.

1-on-1 puck battle drillHockey is a series of 1-on-1 battles. My go-to drill for winning them.Watch on Instagram → Deceptive lateral movementSelling one thing and doing another — making a defender wrong before you touch him.Watch on Instagram → Soft hands, toe pullA toe pull into a puck-and-body switch, finishing with a pull shot.Watch on Instagram → Quick puck touch warm-upA fast-hands sequence to open a session. Small touches, big carryover.Watch on Instagram → Summer workWhat putting in the extra reps actually looks like between seasons.Watch on Instagram →

Who you are working with

Fifteen years coaching, thirty in the game

Matt Schwartz on the ice at Ice Castle Arena
Ice Castle Arena · South Hills

On the résumé

I have coached players at every level there is — kids stepping onto the ice for the first time, travel and AAA skaters, and prospects who went on to NCAA and NHL organizations. I am the head coach of the AAA South Fayette Lions, who won a state championship in 2023.

Day to day, I run private ice at Ice Castle Arena in the South Hills through Quest Hockey.

How I coach

Break the fundamentals down far enough that a player actually understands them, then rebuild them at game speed. Thirty years as a player, coach and student of this game have made me good at one specific thing: pinpointing the nuance in a player's skills and thinking that is holding them back.

The goal is not a prettier drill. It is skills that translate to the game — a player who is safer on the ice, capable of executing more plays, and who sees it a step earlier than they did last month.

Beyond private lessons

Where else you will find me

Private ice is what I do most days. It is not the only place I coach, and the rest of it is why the lessons look the way they do.

South Fayette Lions celebrating on the ice with the state championship trophy

Head coach

AAA South Fayette Lions

State champions, 2023. Running a program is a different job than running a lesson — it is where you find out whether the skills you taught hold up in March.

The O-Town Hockey Camp coaching staff on the ice

Co-founder

Quest Hockey & O-Town Hockey Camp

I helped build both — Quest Hockey in Pittsburgh, and O-Town Hockey Camp, where we bring in a staff of pro and college coaches every summer.

Rates

Ice time is included. All of it.

Most coaches quote a rate and then the rink bills you separately. Mine does not — the number you see is the number you pay, ice and all.

Private 1-on-1
$150
one skater, the whole sheet
Private 2-on-1
$200
$100 per skater
Private 3-on-1
$270
$90 per skater
Private 4-on-1
$320
$80 per skater
Small group
$60
per skater · capped at 6 · not for beginners

Bring your own group for the 2-, 3- and 4-on-1 sessions. Booking shows current availability and takes payment; cancellations inside 24 hours are charged in full, because the ice is paid for either way.

See open ice times

Before you book

Straight answers

Where do lessons happen?
Ice Castle Arena, in the South Hills. Ice time is included in the lesson — there is no separate rink fee to sort out.
How many skaters can I bring?
One, two, or a group of three or four that you put together yourself. I also run small-group sessions capped at six skaters, which are not built for beginners.
What if I need to cancel?
Ice is limited and it gets paid for either way, so cancellations inside 24 hours are charged the full lesson fee. Outside of that, reschedule freely through the booking link.
My kid is a beginner. Is a private lesson worth it?
Yes — one-on-one is where beginners make the fastest jump, because nothing gets glossed over. The small-group sessions are the ones that assume a base level of skating.
Do you take photos or video during lessons?
Sometimes, and I use it for coaching and for Quest Hockey and Hockey Players Club promotion. You agree to that when you book, and you can tell me if you would rather I did not.
What footage do you need for a video review?
Whatever you have — a full game, a period, or just your shifts. Email it to matt@questhockey.com after you book. If the game was played at a rink with LiveBarn, I can pull it myself and you do not have to send anything.
Do I have to skate with you to do a video review?
No. The review runs over Google Meet, so it works whether you are in the South Hills or across the country. If you do skate with me, your next session gets built around what the film showed.
Can we skate every week?
That is the setup I would push you toward. Standing weekly slots are how skaters actually improve, and they are the first thing to fill up once the season starts.

Fall slots are going now

Tell me what you want to fix. I will tell you what an hour on the ice can do about it.

Book an on-ice lesson Book a video review