By Matthew Young and Daryl Devonish
The podcast currently has 58 episodes available.
In this episode, Daryl Devonish and Taryn Lipschitz speak with Dr. Cassidy Preston from Consistent Elite Performance on Why Mindset Coaching is changing the game for athletes.
Cassidy shares his journey as a professional hockey player that led him to get a Ph.D. in Sport Psychology from York University to allow him to help athletes understand what mental skills they need to work on and how to strengthen their mental toughness.
Mental toughness is the key to unlocking your potential. Most players are investing a lot in their physical and technical skills, but are underperforming because they have not invested enough in their mental toughness.
Hear the discussion on:
Cassidy shares how the skills he works with athletes on, support not only their on-ice game but also their training and day-to-day performance. with a big focus on overcoming limiting belief.
Check out Consistent Elite Performance at www.consistenteliteperformance.com or find them on social media:
Instagram: @consistenteliteperformance
Facebook: @ConsistentElitePerformance
Twitter: @CassidyPreston
Podcast: The Consistent Elite Performance Podcast
Dr. Preston grew up playing minor hockey in North Bay, Ontario, and, like many kids, his emotions got the best of him at times. He would slam his stick, doubt himself, get frustrated, and overthink. He went into slumps, took retaliation penalties, and rode the emotional roller coaster of highs and lows.
He worked hard and was fortunate enough to go in the 4th round of the OHL draft and went on to play 5 years of junior hockey, have a short stint in Pro hockey, and finished his career with 5 years of University hockey.
Mental toughness is incredibly important, but the problem that he experienced, and many athletes currently do, is that it’s not easy to work on because it is not tangible, especially if you try to do it on your own. This is why one of the core values that he has is to find simple solutions to abstract problems. This drove him to earn his Ph.D. in Sport Psychology from York University.
He is now a full-time Sport & Performance Psychology Coach and uses his education, playing career, and coaching experiences to guide hockey players daily on how to strengthen their mental toughness.
Just Go Play is the resource for parents, teachers, coaches, and athletes to understand how sports will help build skills for life. The mission is to help and encourage kids, parents, and coaches to enjoy sports and participate for life. Follow Just Go Play on Instagram @qualitycoaching to receive coaching insights and information.
In this episode, Daryl Devonish and Taryn Lipschitz speak with Ian Mackenzie and Kevin Shier from TOP Sports on the Return of the Multi-Sport Athlete.
Ian and Kevin share their journey through sports and how it led them to develop a different multisport academy model focused on creating an environment where competition is a mindset. They are focused on helping athletes set goals and hold themselves accountable to accomplish those goals.
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Ian and Kevin share insight on the TOP Sports 4 pillars that they focus their programming around:
Check out TOP Sports at www.topsports.ca or find them on social media:
Instagram: @topsports.to
Facebook: @TopsportsToronto
Twitter: @TOPsportsTO
Ian grew up in Toronto, playing every sport he could get involved in. In high school, he played golf, hockey, soccer, baseball, volleyball, and rugby, and credits who he is today to these experiences. While attending Wilfrid Laurier University, Ian began teaching skating lessons privately, sparking a passion for coaching and mentoring youth. Before TOP Sports, Ian was the co-owner of SDH Hockey Experience and has devoted the last 10 years of his life to youth sports, with a particular focus on age-appropriate development and character building. Ian continues to play as many sports as he can as an adult, including men’s league ice hockey, golf, and ball hockey.
Kevin grew up in Toronto, playing hockey, football, baseball, and rugby. Kevin is a self-proclaimed “late bloomer”, hitting his athletic potential in his teenage years which led him to an OJHL Championship where he was named MVP, and a scholarship to play Division1 hockey at Union College. After returning home, Kevin attended Ryerson University and briefly ran Shier Hockey Performance before moving over to TOP, helping to create the program. Kevin remains active as an athlete to this day, playing men’s league hockey multiple times a week, ball hockey, tennis, and golf.
Kevin and Ian came together over their shared belief in the benefits of multisport play, character building through sport, and evolving youth development practices. They have built TOP Sports from 26 athletes to over 500, and from only offering one sport, to offering four in just over three years. They are driven by a love for what they do and a desire to make a change and offer something different to youth athletes.
Just Go Play is the resource for parents, teachers, coaches, and athletes to understand how sports will help build skills for life. The mission is to help and encourage kids, parents, and coaches to enjoy sports and participate for life. Follow Just Go Play on Instagram @qualitycoaching to receive coaching insights and information.
In this episode, Daryl Devonish and Taryn Lipschitz bring back Rob Pacas to speak about How Physical Education helps attract, retain, and grow participation in youth sports.
Rob shares what he has been doing for the last 10 months since we last spoke to him and how he has been inspiring and motivating people to stay active.
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Rob shares how he has been working with schools to support their programming through the pandemic and opportunities there are in communities to build healthier and vibrant people.
Check out Fitness in a bag at www.fitnessinabag.ca or find them on social media:
Instagram: @fitness_in_a_bag
Facebook: Fitness in a Bag
LinkedIn: Rob Pacas
Rob Pacas spent over twenty years as the Director of the Birchmount Exceptional Athlete Program (B.E.A.P). Rob was responsible for training and working with over 200 student-athletes each year from over 40 different sports organizations.
Before teaching, Rob was a National Champion and World University All-Star at the University of Toronto. The Varsity Blues won a National Championship in Soccer in 1988, and his team was inducted into the University of Toronto Hall of Fame.
Rob spent over twenty-five years educating teachers through Additional Qualification (AQ) courses at both the University of Toronto and York University. Rob continues to conduct presentations on fitness and fitness topics for OFSSA, OPHEA, and various Boards of Education. Rob travels across Ontario to educate teachers and students.
Follow Just Go Play on Instagram @qualitycoaching to receive coaching insights and information.
Just Go Play is the resource for parents, teachers, coaches, and athletes to understand how sports will help build skills for life.
The mission is to help and encourage kids, parents, and coaches to enjoy sports and participate for life.
In this Just Go Play podcast episode, Daryl Devonish and Taryn Lipschitz speak with Mark Healy to discuss The Hockey Factory: focused on the development not just winning.
Hear Mark's journey as he transitioned from the corporate world to a chance re-encounter that led to being part of The Hockey Factory: a unique facility focused on skill development. Because every player needs a passion for the game and the skill to play.
The Hockey Factory is where an academy meets a gym membership focused on:
Hear the discussion on what The Hockey Factory has pulled from other sports and the unique culture they've developed that they're ready to share with players once restrictions provide a safe environment.
Check out The Hockey Factory at www.factoryvicpark.com or find them on social media:
Instagram: @factoryvicpark
Facebook: Factory Vic Park
Mark grew up playing AA and AAA hockey in the GTHL and then continued on to play 3 years of Junior hockey. More recently Mark has 12 years of experience as a volunteer coach in the GTHL.
Mark is very passionate about working with young athletes to develop their skills but also their minds, values, and confidence for the game
Mark is extremely well connected within the current GTHL landscape and enjoys helping players and their families find the right situations that will put them in the best place to develop.
Follow Just Go Play on Instagram @qualitycoaching to receive coaching insights and information.
Just Go Play is the resource for parents, teachers, coaches, and athletes to understand how sports will help build skills for life. The mission is to help and encourage kids, parents, and coaches to enjoy sports and participate for life.
In this Just Go Play podcast episode, Daryl Devonish and Taryn Lipschitz speak with Ari Nitikman and Danie Proby to discuss What you can learn from the culture of Ultimate.
With a mission to change the culture of all sports, Ari and Danie share what makes Ultimate unique including:
You can learn more about the programs Elevate Ultimate at www.elevateultimate.com or find them on social media:
Twitter: @ELEVATEyourUlti
Instagram: @elevate.ultimate
Facebook: ELEVATE Ultimate
Ari Nitikman started playing ultimate when he was in Grade 6. He went on to play semi-professionally for the Vancouver Nighthawks of the MLU and Vancouver Riptide of the AUDL. He became a rookie on Canada's top men’s team, Furious George, when he was 20, which was also when he dropped out of business school to start Elevate Ultimate full time. He has represented U24 Team Canada twice, earning a bronze in the mixed division in 2017, and a silver medal in the open division in 2019. His goal is to represent Canada at the Olympics one day, whether it be playing or coaching.
Jocelyn “Danie” Proby started playing ultimate at the University of Victoria in her first year. She quickly became captain, led them to a Canadian National Championship, and their first-ever qualification to the USA College National Championships. She went on to play for Vancouver’s top women’s team, Traffic, until she, unfortunately, tore her ACL. She kicked rehab in the butt and went on to make Team Canada Mixed Masters just three years later. She became the assistant coach of the U20 Team Canada women in that same year, and the head coach of the U24 Team Canada women the next year. Danie has a Physical Education degree as well as her Advanced Coaching Diploma and was the Coaching Director for Ultimate Peace. Her goal is to represent Canada at the Olympics one day.
Follow Just Go Play on Instagram @qualitycoaching to receive coaching insights and information.
Just Go Play is the resource for parents, teachers, coaches, and athletes to understand how sports will help build skills for life. The mission is to help and encourage kids, parents, and coaches to enjoy sports and participate for life.
In this unique Just Go Play podcast episode, Taryn Lipschitz and Daryl Devonish bring back Matt Young, Michael O'Donnell, Eva Havaris, and Stan Peake to discuss How to Scale Strategy in a Sports Setting.
Hear the collective experience and insight across all levels of sport - from club to COC - and the challenges and opportunities endured including:
Matt Young brings over two decades as a franchisor in the allied health care sector coaching adults, athletes, graduates & children. Matt has been tasked to architect the Activation & Accountability Framework for the largest amateur sports federation in the world. He is the lead architect on the Physical Literacy for Communities framework that’s been rolled out across Canada. Matt is a Vancouver Top 40U40 and Canadian Top 40U40 business excellence award winner. Passionate about giving back, Matt has raised over $6M (and counting) for community charity.
Michael O'Donnell was a golf professional turned Canadian Master coach. He realized his passion was helping other coaches and was hired by American Golf Corporation to manage the largest golf instruction program where coaching was at the core of the consumer experience. Mike then joined Nike Golf managing the sports marketing department. Over 7 years ago, he was recruited to the PGA of America to focus on strategic development of programs and initiatives to strengthen participation and growth in the game.
Eva Havaris has over 15 years of executive leadership in the Canadian sports industry at the national level with both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. She is a lifelong champion of sport having participated in the sport system as an athlete, coach, administrator, and volunteer with experience at the Club, PSO, NSO, Pro sports, USports/CCAA, COC/CPC across five sports (Taekwondo, Equestrian, Ringette, Soccer, Rugby). Eva is the creator of Leadership Mindset by Design, which provides consultation to leaders committed to reconnecting with their greatness and applying a healthy-minded leadership approach to transform the workplace and the teams they lead.
Stan Peake has over 23 years of entrepreneurship and leadership experience as an executive coach and facilitator. Stan is also certified in cultural transformation tools, has a graduate education in values-based leadership from Royal Roads University, and executive education in sales leadership from Queens University. Stan is also a 6-time author, including 4 bestsellers on sales, entrepreneurship, and success.
Follow Just Go Play on Instagram @qualitycoaching to receive coaching insights and information.
Just Go Play is the resource for parents, teachers, coaches, and athletes to understand how sports will help build skills for life. The mission is to help and encourage kids, parents, and coaches to enjoy sports and participate for life.
In this Just Go Play podcast episode, Daryl Devonish and Taryn Lipschitz speak with Mark Harrison on Racism: Awareness to Action.
Mark wants to change the world, for the better and is a big believer in purpose. He has over 30 years of experience-driven sponsorship and marketing expertise where he has learned how strategically thoughtful storytelling can engage, influence, and motivate audiences in immeasurable ways.
Never one to rest, Mark also sits on the Board of Directors for Football Canada, an organization dedicated to promoting accessibility, safety, fair play, and growth in Canadian Sports. He is a member of the International Institute for Sports Business and Leadership at the University of Guelph and has developed MBA-level courses on entrepreneurism which have been taught at Universities in the US and Canada. He is also a member of the board of Directors for CAMH and Big Brothers Big Sisters Toronto – two organizations that are near and dear to his heart. And lastly, he was recently listed on the BizBash 250 list for excellence in the Canadian event industry.
Mark shares how George Floyd's death fuelled and triggered him to speak up.
He founded The Black Talent Initiative to connect talent opportunities with companies and professionals to inspire change. Here to empower black leaders of today and tomorrow.
Mark shares insights into recent racism in Canada and how we all need to take action, including in a sports setting.
You can learn more about the Black Talent Initiative on their website: blacktalentinitiative.network
Connect and learn more from Mark at:
Follow Just Go Play on Instagram @qualitycoaching to receive coaching insights and information.
Just Go Play is the resource for parents, teachers, coaches, and athletes to understand how sports will help build skills for life. The mission is to help and encourage kids, parents, and coaches to enjoy sports and participate for life.
In this Just Go Play podcast episode, Daryl Devonish and Taryn Lipschitz speak with Andrea Carey on How to incorporate Inclusion in your organization.
Andrea is the founder and Chief INclusion Officer with INclusion INcorporated that works to support clients to create cultures of belonging and inclusion for everyone to thrive and has worked extensively on inclusion and improved access for Indigenous peoples, Newcomers, persons with disabilities, and women and girls.
Hear the discussion on where to start with learning about inclusion that includes:
Everyone has the right to participate and play so start by listening and sharing this podcast and let's work together to create cultures of belonging!
Andrea (she/her/elle) is an MEd, CCIP Andrea Carey is a Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional (CCIP), holds a Masters of Education in Leadership Studies, and is a champion of inclusion. She is Brene Brown “Dare to Lead” trained and is currently enrolled at Royal Roads University in a Graduate Certificate of Executive Coaching.
Andrea brings extensive experience in business operations, facility management, human resources, strategic planning, marketing, group facilitation, curriculum development, and product development. Her passionate, playful, and engaging approach to inclusion provides a platform for understanding the challenges to develop a strategy that aligns the organization’s needs with global trends and connects clients to tools to ensure successful implementation. Andrea volunteered for ten years with the Canadian Paralympic Committee as a Board Director and Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee and currently sits on the Board of KidSport Victoria.
You can learn more about how Andrea and her team can help create a space and place for diversity and inclusion in your organization: www.inclusionincorporated.com. You can also find them on social media at:
Follow Just Go Play on Instagram @qualitycoaching to receive coaching insights and information.
Just Go Play is the resource for parents, teachers, coaches, and athletes to understand how sports will help build skills for life. The mission is to help and encourage kids, parents, and coaches to enjoy sports and participate for life.
In this Just Go Play podcast episode, Daryl Devonish and Taryn Lipschitz speak with Matt Young on Culture: without it, you've got nothing.
Matt explains the importance of People, Process, Profit, and Product as the foundation of any organization and how society has shifted to mostly focus on Profit and Product. Ignoring the People and Process along the way impacts culture creating poor experiences in the sport system, and leads to athletes dropping out.
Hear insight into how critical culture is to an organization and how to engage and invite people into the experience. At the end of the day, the stronger the culture, the more people we're able to positively impact.
Matt has over 20 years of youth sports coaching experience and now consults sport local, national, and international sports organizations on the need to create value for all sports stakeholders. His mission is to create positive, quality sport experiences for as many as possible, as long as possible, in the best environments possible.
If you are interested in learning more about the following or know someone who would be, listen and share this podcast:
Reach out to us at www.justgoplay.ca or www.qualitysporthub.com to go beyond just the technical and tactical resources available and dive into leadership, culture, financial stability, and more for your sports organization.
Follow Just Go Play on Instagram @qualitycoaching to receive coaching insights and information.
Just Go Play is the resource for parents, teachers, coaches, and athletes to understand how sports will help build skills for life. The mission is to help and encourage kids, parents, and coaches to enjoy sports and participate for life.
In this Just Go Play podcast episode, Daryl Devonish and Taryn Lipschitz speak with Eva Havaris about: How to build culture in a sports organization.
Growing up, Eva was a multi-sport athlete whose passion for soccer led her to play division 1 in Detroit and Tennessee and then into coaching. While she originally wanted to work for the FBI, she found herself drawn to staying in the sports world working with sports institutions and organizations on their businesses.
After completing her Masters, Eva took on her first management role with Rugby Canada as the Associate Director of High-Performance Women’s Rugby and National Rugby Development Officer. She has previously been the CEO of two different national sports operations, running Taekwondo Canada from 2010-2014 and Equestrian Canada from 2014-2018. Most recently, she has joined the York Region club as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Operations/Chief of Staff.
Tune in to hear Eva's answer on, 'Why is it critical to building culture? as she shares insight into being an outsider in an organization, why you can't run an organization with a rotten foundation, and how to shift the culture to make the experience better for everyone.
Be inspired by Eva's mission is to find Greatness in herself and greatness in others as she shares honest insight into the business of sport.
You can learn more about Eva and the work she is doing to support Mindset Coaching on her website: www.evahavaris.com and can follow her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Follow Just Go Play on Instagram @qualitycoaching to receive coaching insights and information.
Just Go Play is the resource for parents, teachers, coaches, and athletes to understand how sports will help build skills for life. The mission is to help and encourage kids, parents, and coaches to enjoy sports and participate for life.
The podcast currently has 58 episodes available.