New Edge Hockey Development Academy

What New Edge Hockey Development Academy does

NewEdge Hockey Development Academy (NEHDA) is a privately held, for-profit hockey training organization headquartered in Rochester, NY with a secondary location in Buffalo, NY. The company operates four business lines under a single brand group: (1) the NEHDA Player Development Division offering on-ice training in Rochester and Buffalo; (2) SEDIA Hockey, a Prospects Division delivering advanced tactical and strategic training to elite players, led by founder/CEO Rob Sedia, a professional skating and skills coach with over 30 NHL-level references and prior engagements with the Pittsburgh Penguins, NY Islanders, Las Vegas Golden Knights, Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators and various AHL, KHL, ECHL, NCAA D1, USHL, NAHL, and OHL programs; (3) the NEHDA Goalie School (School of Goaltending), a goaltender-only development program led by Dan Kuntz using a proprietary pod-based methodology emphasizing repetitive drilling over station jumping; and (4) the Youth NHL Experience League (YNHL), a competitive spring hockey league operating across East and West divisions in upstate New York with a 10-game guarantee, playoff structure, All Star and Stanley Cup games.

The underlying technology is light: a Wix-based public-facing website (trainbetterplaybetter.com) integrated with playbookapi registration portals for program enrollment, plus a Gemsup registration system for the Goalie School. There are no mobile apps, no public APIs, no SDKs, and no disclosed third-party integrations. The technology layer is functional rather than differentiated; competitive differentiation is delivered through coaching talent, proprietary training methodology, and the league experience rather than software.

The business model is direct-to-consumer and sales-led, monetizing through three primary revenue streams: league registration fees ($549–$599 per YNHL player for the 2026 season), substitute-player fees ($35 per game), and professional-services pricing for on-ice training across the SEDIA Hockey and Goalie School divisions. Customer acquisition is primarily organic — community word-of-mouth through existing player networks, coach referrals, and a draft-entry process that generates competitive demand — supplemented by a basic website content-marketing presence and email-driven inquiry handling. The customer base is exclusively SMB/individual youth hockey families, with players in birth years 2010–2017 competing at AAA and Upper AA levels across upstate New York.

Name

New Edge Hockey Development Academy

Legal name

NewEdge Hockey Development Academy

Website

https://trainbetterplaybetter.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

NewEdge Hockey Development Academy is a private Rochester, NY-based hockey training organization offering on-ice skill development, elite prospects training, and goaltender instruction, plus the Youth NHL Experience League (YNHL) spring league, serving youth players and families across upstate New York.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Hockey Training Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Athlete Development & Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) (HSADAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Single-Sport Skill Academies (Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, etc.) (MPAKAJAB), Youth & Scholastic Sports Organizations (K–12, AAU, Club Leagues) (MPAKACAF)

Keywords

• Youth hockey training
• Hockey skill development
• Goaltender coaching
• Youth hockey league
• On-ice training

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. League Registration Fees: Youth NHL Experience League participation fees covering 10-game guarantee, playoff structure, jerseys, socks, media, officials, and announcers.
2. Substitute Player Fees: $35 per game for substitute players who fill in for absent roster players.
3. Goalie School Programs: Professional goalie instruction by Dan Kuntz offered as separate training option.
4. SEDIA Hockey Training: Elite prospects division training for advanced players seeking higher-level development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NewEdge Hockey Development Academy (NEHDA) is a professional hockey training organization that delivers on-ice skill development programs in Rochester and Buffalo, NY, including the NEHDA Player Development Division, the SEDIA Hockey Prospects Division for elite players, and the NEHDA Goalie School for goaltenders. The academy also operates the Youth NHL Experience League (YNHL), a competitive spring hockey league across East and West divisions in New York State featuring a 10-game guarantee, playoffs, All Star games, and Stanley Cup games.

Product overview

NewEdge Hockey Development Academy (NEHDA) operates as a multi-division hockey training organization with three main product lines: (1) NEHDA Player Development Division providing core on-ice training in Rochester and Buffalo, NY; (2) SEDIA Hockey Prospects Division for elite players requiring advanced tactical and strategic training under NHL-level Coach Rob Sedia; and (3) NEHDA Goalie School (School of Goaltending) specializing in goaltender development under Dan Kuntz. The organization also runs the Youth NHL Experience League (YNHL), a competitive youth spring hockey league with East and West divisions across New York State, which is structured as a separate product line that feeds into and complements the training programs. The organization also offers ancillary services including coach applications and substitute player registration for league participants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SEDIA Hockey: Prospects Division of NewEdge Hockey Development Academy geared towards elite players requiring higher-level tactical and strategic training.
• Youth NHL Experience League (YNHL)
• NEHDA Goalie School

Products and services

• NewEdge Hockey (Rochester) Professional hockey training programs offered in Rochester, NY, providing on-ice skill development and player training services for youth hockey players.
• NEHDA Player Development Division Player Development Division of NewEdge Hockey Development Academy offering comprehensive skill development programs for hockey players in Rochester, NY and Buffalo, NY.
• SEDIA Hockey (Prospects Division) Prospects Division of NEHDA designed for elite players who already possess advanced skating and individual skills requiring higher-level tactical, strategic, and hockey-IQ training, led by NHL-level professional skating and skills coach Rob Sedia.
• NEHDA Goalie School (School of Goaltending) Specialized goaltender development program led by Dan Kuntz, focusing on goalie-specific skating, save technique, puck tracking, rebound control, post integration, and puck play skills using a proprietary pod-based training methodology emphasizing repetitive drilling.
• Youth NHL Experience League (YNHL) Competitive spring hockey league for youth players in New York State, divided into East and West divisions, offering a 10-game guarantee with playoffs, All Star games, and Stanley Cup games, including jerseys, socks, media, officials, and announcers.
• YNHL Substitute Player Registration Registration system for substitute players in the Youth NHL Experience League, costing $35 per game when selected to fill in for absent roster players.

Quantifiable outcome

• 0.52 goals-against average and .959 save percentage for standout goalie Kyle Cantie in YNHL season

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pro Performance Hockey: U.S.-based private hockey training company offering on-ice skills coaching, camps, and clinics for youth players — directly comparable to NEHDA's core on-ice training and SEDIA Prospects offering.
• Okanagan Hockey Academy (OHA): Elite youth hockey training academy in Canada with multi-division structure (Prep, U15-U18) combining on-ice skills with competitive league play; directly comparable to NEHDA's Prospects + League combined ecosystem.
• North American Hockey Academy (NAHA): U.S.-based elite youth hockey development academy serving AAA-tier players with structured training and showcase competition; comparable to NEHDA's SEDIA Hockey Prospects division in target customer and player-development mission.
• Shattuck-Saint Mary's Hockey Program: Prep-school hockey academy providing elite-level training, league play, and player development for youth hockey prospects — comparable model to NEHDA's SEDIA Prospects division, though delivered in a boarding-school context.

Others

• USA Hockey (American Development Model): National governing body that publishes the American Development Model (ADM) and sets training/competition frameworks for U.S. youth hockey; indirectly competes with private academies for youth-development mindshare and program standards.

Broad incumbents

• Pure Hockey: Largest U.S. hockey retailer operating pro shops and training/lesson services across multiple states; overlapping with NEHDA on youth hockey instruction, customer base (youth hockey families), and league/clinic programming.
• Total Hockey: Multi-store hockey retailer with training services, lessons, and youth programming; overlaps with NEHDA on youth player development and serves a similar SMB/consumer customer base.
• Bauer Hockey: Major hockey equipment manufacturer that has expanded into training content, camps, and academy partnerships; competes in the same youth hockey development spend category as NEHDA, though at a much larger scale and across all products.
• CCM Hockey: Major hockey equipment brand with growing presence in skills training content and event sponsorships; competes with NEHDA for the youth hockey family's total spend (gear + training) at a national scale.

Emerging players

• Edge Performance Sports: Smaller specialty hockey training brand focused on edge work, skating, and skill development programming; directly comparable to NEHDA's core on-ice skills/coaching value proposition at a smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New Edge Hockey Development Academy