About Us

Andy Brandt: Co-Founder Elite Performance Hockey/ Northeast Wisconsin Instructor: Originally from Wausau, Wisconsin, Andy Brandt has coached and played at both the collegiate and professional levels. Andy began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Gwinnett Gladiators. He was quickly promoted to Head Coach where he served as the bench boss for over two and a half years. Andy was responsible for the development of many Boston Bruins prospects who were affiliated with the Gladiators. After his time in Atlanta, he joined the college ranks as the Associate Head Coach of St. Norbert College. Andy had instant success at St. Norbert as he helped guide the team to the 2018 National Championship in his first year.  After 5 years with St. Norbert College, Andy recently made the transition to the NCAA Division 1 level as an Assistant Coach with his alma mater Wisconsin Badgers. 

As a player,  Andy played parts of seven seasons in the professional ranks between the ECHL and the AHL. He amassed 435 regular season professional games played, and recently had his jersey retired by the Atlanta Gladiators organization where he finished his career as team captain. Before his professional career, Andy played four years for the Wisconsin Badgers where he was part of the 2006 National Championship team. Prior to his time as a Badger,  Andy captained the Pittsburgh Forge to an NAHL title in 2003 to win the USA Hockey Jr. A National Championship.

Andy has spent years developing young players since his time as a player. He is one of the co-founders of Elite Performance Hockey and is excited to pass his knowledge on to young players trying to take their game to the next level.

 

Patrick McCadden Co-Founder Elite Performance Hockey/ Northeast Wisconsin Instructor: Originally from Chesterfield, Missouri, Patrick is currently in his first year as the assistant coach of the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers. Before that, Patrick spent five years coaching at the collegiate level. Patrick was the Associate Head Coach of the Lawrence University Vikings. On top of this, Patrick was also the Head Athletic Performance Coordinator for the Lawrence Vikings Athletic Department. As a certified Strength Coach, Patrick enjoys developing his players both on the ice and in the weight room.

As a player, Patrick played three seasons in the professional ranks between the SPHL and the ECHL. He amassed 141 regular season professional games played, finishing his professional career playing under current Elite Performance Hockey Instructor Andy Brandt with the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL. Before his professional career, Patrick played 2 seasons for the St. Norbert Green Knights where he was part of the 2014 National Championship team. Before St. Norbert, he spent two years playing for the Michigan Tech Huskies. Prior to his time in college, Patrick enjoyed success in the junior ranks under current Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper for three seasons. Under Cooper’s guidance, Patrick was part of the 2008 NAHL USA Hockey Jr. A National Championship with the St. Louis Bandits as well as the 2010 USHL USA Hockey Jr. A National Championship with the Green Bay Gamblers where he served as team captain.

Patrick is a co-founder of Elite Performance Hockey and is incredibly passionate about helping players reach their goals.

 

Our Philosophy: At Elite Performance Hockey we strive to prepare players to reach the next level. Our staff made up of NCAA players and coaches will teach your son or daughter the DETAILS of the game that are often overlooked in the youth ranks. We will focus on three key aspects in every camp we offer including skating instruction, individual skill development, and hockey intelligence improvement. We want our players to leave camp with not only an improvement in their physical abilities, but more importantly an improvement in their mental capabilities. 

Half Day Philosophy: Our philosophy in favor of a half day camp versus a full day camp is we believe youth players can increase their physical and mental abilities without completely depleting themselves in a half day setting. Most professional hockey players do not train for more than 3-4 hours per day in the off-season. These are athletes that have reached the pinnacle of the sport and are truly elite. If these hockey players are not training for more than 3-4 hours per day, why would we want our youth players training for 6-8 hours per day? It is our belief that too much hockey packed into one week is not beneficial for players either physically or mentally. Not only can it create the potential for over-training and even injury, but it also leaves a lot of young players feeling burnt out by the end of camp. At Elite Performance Hockey, it is our goal to make sure each camper leaves camp on the last day with a smile on their face and a strong desire to get back on the ice as soon as possible. We promise to improve your child’s hockey skills and to teach them what it takes to get to the next level.

Prep Camps: Our prep camps consist of on ice sessions only. We will offer camps that are a quick 3 or 4 day set where players will have one ice session per day. Prep camps will be at times of the year where players should be focusing on their on ice play. Typically they will be offered right before the tryout season or in the middle of the season as a way to sharpen skills. It is easy to forget about the basics right before a big tryout or during the middle of the year, so a prep camp is the perfect opportunity to get back to the foundation of a players’ game.

Full Camps: Our full camps consist of 4 or 5 day camps that will be offered in a half day setting. We will offer 3 sessions per day that will include an off-ice skills session, an on-ice session, and a dryland session or classroom session. We will address the physical abilities off the ice with our different dryland sessions that have been created by hockey specific NCAA certified strength coaches. We will offer class room sessions as well to work on the mental side of the game where we will address skills that are often overlooked at the youth level but are crucial for all young player to learn if they want to move to the college and professional ranks. We will also offer off-ice skill development sessions to teach players how to improve their skills away from the rink. On the last day of any full camp, classroom will be offered to players and parents to discuss tips to get your son or daughter to the collegiate level. We will explain what the recruiting process is all about and what we look for as recruiters. There are many things to factor in that parents and players are never taught, so we plan to bridge this gap.