Unlocking Your Potential Through Mindset Changes with Coach Nick Stoop

What do you do when your child starts dreading the rink?

In a recent Ride to the Rink episode, Olympian Hayley Scamurra and mental performance coach Nick Stoop joined Lee Elias to explore powerful lessons around mentorship, mindset, and what truly drives success in youth hockey. This short ride delivers big takeaways — especially for parents and players navigating the ups and downs of the hockey journey.

Hayley’s Turning Point: Choosing Fun Over Frustration

When Hayley Scamurra was about 11 or 12, she was playing on an all-boys team coached by her dad. But despite her love for the game, she found herself dreading practices and feeling completely disconnected in the locker room. She was isolated and unhappy — and more importantly, she noticed it.

Instead of quitting, Hayley made a courageous decision: she asked to switch to a girls team where she could feel more connected and have fun again.

“I think it was super important for me to have ownership over that and be aware that I wasn’t having fun anymore — and to be able to communicate that with my parents.”

The lesson? Awareness is power. Kids may love the game but still feel out of place in certain environments. As parents, we should create space for honest conversations — not about quitting, but about making changes that keep the joy alive.

Stats vs. Substance: Redefining Success with Coach Nick Stoop

We live in a stat-obsessed hockey culture — goals, assists, rankings, and recruiting links dominate the online world. But as Coach Nick Stoop shared, this can lead players into a mental trap: tying their entire identity and performance to points.

Nick described how even elite players can fall into this cycle — including Hayley as she prepared for a World Championship. Her focus had narrowed so much to “getting a point” that it created internal pressure and mental fatigue.

Together, they made a small but powerful mindset shift:

From: “I must get a point.”
To: “I want to put myself in the best position to earn a point.”

By focusing on things within her control — skating hard, supporting teammates, taking smart shots — Hayley played more freely and performed better, scoring two goals in her first two shifts of the tournament.

The takeaway:
🔁 Change the win. Redefine success by effort, presence, and positioning — not just points.

What Kids Can Control

Lee summed it up with a timeless reminder:

“There’s really only three things in your life you control: your effort, your mindset, and your diet — both food and knowledge.”

When young players obsess over points, they lose sight of these controllables and add unnecessary pressure. But when they focus on mindset and effort, the results often take care of themselves.

Final Whistle: Tips for Parents and Players

Here are a few key takeaways from this inspiring episode:

• 🎯 Teach kids to be self-aware. Help them recognize when they’re not enjoying the game — and encourage them to explore why.

• 🧠 Refocus on the process. Instead of obsessing over goals and stats, emphasize effort, positioning, and being a good teammate.

• 💬 Open communication matters. Create an environment where your child feels safe to speak up if something isn’t working.

• 💪 Build mental resilience. Remind young athletes that setbacks are part of the game — and mindset is often the key to overcoming them.

Whether your child is chasing dreams of the Olympics or just starting out in mites, this episode is a reminder that joy, mindset, and purpose matter more than the scoreboard.

🎧 Listen to the full episode now and share it with a fellow hockey parent or coach.

And remember — wherever you are on your hockey journey, we believe in you. You should too.