Episode 16: Stephanie Jones

Mental Performance Strategies for Coaches, with Leadership Mindset Coach Susan Hobson

This week’s episode features Susan Hobson, the Founder and CEO of Elite High Performance Inc. Susan is an Author, Keynote Speaker, and High Performance Leadership Executive Coach who specializes in mindset strategy architecture, also known as Success Psychology Brain Training.

A former professional female hockey player and Princeton Graduate, Susan holds a masters in Neuro-linguisitc programming, and has created and implemented a science-based coaching process that is designed to drive growth and success when it comes to health, wealth, self, business and relationships.

Susan is a good friend of mine who is incredibly passionate about leadership and helping people actualize their full potential. As someone who has a ton of lived experience in both athletics and leadership, I am excited to be able to share some of her valuable insights with other coaches. 

In this episode, Susan offers valuable insight and advice regarding some of the common themes that have come up in our coaching conversations to date, including self-care (22:00), our relationship to pressure (33:12), work-life balance (43:40), self-leadership (54:32). 

Enjoy, and if you like what you hear, please share with other coaches who can benefit from Susan's messaging!

Have feedback? We'd love to hear from you! We are always looking for ways to improve our podcast, and ensure that the content we are covering is relevant and useful for athletic coaches. Whether you have an idea for a topic to cover, or a coach that you would like to have us interview, we want to know! Shoot us a line via the contact form on our website. 

Thanks, and happy coaching!

Words of Wisdom from Wally Kozak

This week’s episode features Wally Kozak. Wally is known as one of the best technical hockey coaches in the world. A retired teacher and life-long coach, he has worked at every level of hockey and has contributed to Hockey Canada’s certification programs with age appropriate curriculum for teaching foundational skills.

Wally was a defensive skills coach with the Canadian men’s hockey team at the 1988 Olympics. He has coached in 3 Spengler Cups and at 2 Olympics, capturing a gold medal with the Canadian women’s hockey team as an assistant coach in 2002.

He has also served as head scout and manager of player development for Team Canada Women’s Hockey.

Wally is an advocate of the development of life skills through sport, and has dedicated his life to serving “the good of the game.”

In 2018, Wally was inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame.

Wally has mentored hundreds of coaches and players over the years, and his passion for coaching and wealth of knowledge is undeniable.

In our conversation, we cover a variety of topics, including:

2:13- How he got involved in coaching

4:24- Why the season his team went 0-7 was his best coaching experience ever

14:09- Why coaching?

18:15- Challenges early in his coaching career

20:41- How his coaching philosophy has evolved with time

24:22- His transition from the men’s to the women’s game.

30:53- Challenges that coaches face later in their careers

34:42- Coaching at the university level

35:56- The danger of shortening the bench

39:12- Thoughts on the Toronto Maple Leafs

42:44- What he valued most about his experience at the Olympics

44:52- Impactful mentors that he has had on his coaching journey

47:33- Mission statement exercise that he runs as every clinic

50:29- His experience designing a body checking manual

58:15- Work-life balance & self-care

1:05:01- Advice that he would give himself as a first year coach

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Your support is greatly appreciated!

Episode 20: Kasy Kiarash

Kasy Kiarash is the founder of Final3rd Soccer, a platform providing professional soccer training and knowledge to players of all ages.

Kasy is a UEFA-B Licensed and National Team coach who has worked with the Guyana women's national team, Orlando City S.C, and Toronto FC academy.

He is currently in his 7th season as the Men's Soccer Lead Assistant Coach at Ryerson University and has been coaching for the last decade at the University level in Canada and the United States.

On top of his elite athletic accomplishments, Kasy also holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Physical Education and Health, as well as an MBA from the Ted Rogers School of Management.

Kasy is a coach who cares deeply for his athletes, and leads with a ton of energy, encouragement and authenticity.

In our conversation, we cover a variety of topics, including:

2:02- Why and how Kasy got into coaching

5:19- The transition from playing to coaching

15:31- Work-life balance

18:44- Challenges that assistant coaches face

25:49- Self-Care

29:17- Evolution of his coaching philosophy

34:44- What it is about coaching that keeps him up at night

42:40- His experience navigating COVID

46:27-Mentors who have impacted his coaching journey

48:35- Players who have impacted his life

53:08- What advice he would give himself in his first year of coaching

Episode 19: Matt Holmberg

This week’s episode features Matt Holmberg. Matt is entering into his 15th season with the Queen’s University women’s hockey program, and his 12th season as Head Coach.

Queens has made the playoffs in all twelve seasons with Holmberg at the helm, and they have the second highest winning percentage in the OUA over that span.

He holds the Gael’s women’s hockey record for most regular season and playoff wins by a coach with 203, and has won numerous OUA Coach of the Year Titles during his tenure.

Matt has led the Gaels to 2 OUA Championship titles, 2 OUA silver medals, and a Bronze Medal at the USports National women’s hockey championship in 2011.

The success of the Gaels women’s hockey program goes beyond the ice. His team also has a 100% graduation rate among it’s players, and in 2019-20, his team set a program record with a 3.539 cumulative GPA.

Matt is a High Performance Level 2 certified coach who served as the USports Women’s Hockey Coaches Association President from 2013-2016. He is also associated with Hockey Canada and the OWHA at various events and camps, both on and off the ice.

Matt’s story is a unique one. A native of Pembroke, Ontario, he graduated from Queen’s Law in 1997, and practiced for 13 years before transitioning into his career as a hockey coach. He is a husband, a father, and someone that I respect immensely in the hockey community.

Some of the topics we cover in our discussion include: 

6:30- Why coaching?

9:50- The benefit of starting his coaching journey in House League

12:49- How being a lawyer impacted his approach to coaching

16:49- The evolution of his coaching philosophy 

25:42- What keeps him up at night as a coach

29:42- How becoming a parent impacted his approach to coaching

33:27- What it's like to coach with his father

36:36- Mentors that impacted his coaching journey

41:00- The impact that players have had on him as a coach

49:24- Navigating COVID

52:16- Work-life balance and self-care

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Episode 18: Dr. Beth McCharles

This week’s episode features Dr. Beth McCharles.

Beth is a mother of three who runs a private practice as a mental performance coach. She works with National Sport Organizations, including Hockey Canada and Curling Canada, and serves as a mentor coach with Ryerson University’s athletic department.

A successful dual-sport athlete in Ice Hockey and Soccer during her collegiate career, Beth was inducted into the St.FX hall of fame in 2019. She was a 2x All-Canadian and Academic All-Canadian, who captained Team Canada at 2 FISU games.

At the age of 24, Beth was named the Head Coach of the University of Toronto Women’s Soccer program, becoming the only acting female head coach in women’s OUA soccer at the time. She also coached the Canadian National Military Team, and coached at 2 FISU games.

As someone who has played at a high level, coached at a high level, and coached coaches at a high level, Beth has a ton of unique and valuable insight to share.

In our conversation, we cover a variety of topics, including:

Common challenges that coaches face early in their careers, and advice for overcoming them.

Common challenges that coaches face later in their careers, and tips for overcoming them.

The importance of organizational support for parent coaches.

Why self-care is such a challenge for coaches.

Why coaches need a yearly training program.

Enjoy!

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Have any feedback? We'd love to hear from you!