“As a professional athlete, I’ve realized the importance of mental strength and focus in hockey. Susan’s Performance Coaching skills have tremendously helped me those areas.”
~Gregory Campbell, Forward, Boston Bruins
“Susan has brought forth a whole new world of tools and strategies to help sharpen the mind. Without a shadow of a doubt, these have, and will continue to, play a key role in further allowing me to progress at an elite level of baseball.”
~Aleks Radevski, Ontario Blue Jays
“Susan is a performance specialist. Her mental tools and strategies really helped strengthen my game.”
~Steve Eminger, New York Rangers
“My work with Coach Susan has given me the ability to manage and improve the mental side of my game which will contribute to my success as a freshman in Division 1 NCAA hockey next season.”
~Braden Rigney
“I connected with Susan Hobson through a mutual association in the hockey world for the purpose of performance coaching for my son, who plays at the Major Midget hockey level. Although my son had established an incredible work ethic and desire for his sport, I could see that there was something missing in his mental game as evidenced by moments of brilliance with also moments where seemingly effort was lacking. As a parent it is difficult to provide constructive criticism with it being received as such. In hiring the services of Susan Hobson, I was able to communicate my observations to her for this background to then be used in her sessions with my son.
Susan was able to reach my son and establish a connection to then effect a change. My son now puts the same effort into his mental game that he was putting into his hockey training. He is now cognizant of what works and he now also solicits my input and applies these suggestions to his play, whereas before these suggestions were perceived as criticism. Moreover, he has taken the tools Susan has taught for sport and applied these also to school and life. I highly recommend Susan Hobson’s services to any aspiring young athlete and strongly encourage parents to step back and allow a professional to coach and counsel.
~Keith Klimchuk, Parent
“My name is Victoria Leimgardt and I play for the Brampton Canadettes Midget AA Girls hockey team. I am a very dedicated player with a tremendous work ethic; however, I have always had a weakness in the areas my attitude and focus. Having these issues caused me to lose confidence and have held me back from playing up to my full potential. When I started working with Susan, she provided me with the right tools to get back into game shape and play at my best.
Working with Susan has helped me become a better leader on the ice and keep my head up after a bad game, whereas before working with her I would let it affect my confidence. Susan also provided me with multiple focus techniques to use before my game to get focused and prepared. Using the “visualization script” was one of the huge tools that changed my game drastically and helped me become the player I am today. Working with Susan has helped me realise how essential it is to have the right mindset in sports and I recommend her to anyone who is looking to play at the next level at their full potential.”
~Victoria Leimgardt, Defenseman
“I would highly recommend Susan to any parent who is trying to help their young athlete deal with performance issues. My 13 year old daughter who is a competitive swimmer was struggling with her performance at the start of the season. As a result she was lacking the confidence every time she entered a race. It was difficult as a parent to see her lose her confidence in herself when she clearly had the physical ability to succeed.
Susan gave her the tools she needed to prepare mentally before each race. I am now pleased when I see my daughter approach each race with the confidence, mental focus and commitment. She is now capable of dealing with her performance whether it is a positive or negative outcome and she continues to put the mental effort needed to excel in her sport. She has had many successes as a result of her sessions with Susan.”
~Carol Gionet, Parent
“It is not an understatement to say that Susan Hobson has changed my life. As an elite level hockey goalie aspiring to get to the next level, there is only so many push-ups and half pad saves I could make before I knew I needed to look to improve another aspect of my game. That aspect was the mental side of my performance, and as I learn to harness the power of my mind, I am truly flourishing and becoming a confident and dominant goaltender. Like any other skill I have to practice, and continually perfect this skill of being mentally tough and being able to rebound during games.
Susan has taught me skills that are transferable to every aspect of my life, from school, to hockey, to my daily organization. She’s given me the tools to enter every start with confidence, expecting to make every save and when things don’t go my way, she’s given me the tools to shift my focus back to the positive outcome I am working towards.
She’s taught me how to organize and prioritize my time, and as an elite athlete, this is a skill that is pertinent to success. Susan has taught me that when I harness the mental side of my game, my mind is the most powerful weapon in my arsenal. She is, in every sense of the saying, the game changer.”
~Molly Tissenbaum, Goalie
“My daughter has always known the drive to success, whether at school or sports is based on hard work, and what has helped Molly to excel is a focus on deliberate practice. She learned early on that this kind of practice is hard, it is physically painful, mentally exhausting and so monotonous.
When Molly began to work with Susan Hobson last summer, Molly was a good athlete, and student. Through even more deliberate practice of the principles Susan stresses, purpose, clarity, and focused action, Molly has developed strategies to look beyond physical and mental pain or disappointments. She has learned to monitor what is happening inside her and outside her, and to differentiate what is in her control and what is not. Molly has developed, with Susan, strategies, words, and methods of critical thinking that has moved Molly from relying on comparing herself to others, to comparing herself only to herself.
At Jumpstart, Molly has learned that accuracy and precision beat doing things unconsciously, that focussing on the purpose of each skill creates a pinpoint vision of what needs to be done to be successful. Susan has taught Molly how to expect the rewards she works so hard to achieve, and more importantly how to let go of the humiliation she always used to carry with her following a disappointing outcome. Susan has taught Molly that despite her preparedness, sometimes the outcome isn’t always positive, to learn from it, to regain focus and to move on.
Susan taught my daughter that after a crummy game or a less than stellar grade at school, how not to feel dejected and miserable. Thanks to Susan, it just gets left as it is, with Molly determined to work toward never having that result again. Wow!! Thanks Susan.”
~Lisa Tissenbaum, Parent
“My daughter‘s name is Victoria she is 16 and plays defense for Brampton Midget AA, her goals are to play NCAA Div 1 hockey and to play on the National women’s team. She is an amazing skater with a great shot, and works hard every day to get to that next level, but one thing she lacked was confidence and focus. She was constantly getting mad at herself when she made a mistake and showed it in her body language. As parents, we were getting very frustrated, and she was also frustrated in herself.
We first met Susan in August 2010, were we sat down with her to discuss Victoria’s confidence and focus problems. After 4 sessions with Susan, Victoria’s father and I noticed a huge difference in her one on ones, she was taking the body with confidence, and she was no longer getting down on herself when she made mistakes. We were amazed!
We continued on with more sessions, and today Victoria has a real presence on the ice, she is strong, focused and is extremely confident in herself which shows in her games and practices, she is a much more consistent player on the ice, and if she makes a mistake, she never lets it get her down, she gets right back out there and works to correct it. This also carries into the classroom; she is much more focused and works very hard to gain a higher average. This is not only noticed on the ice and in the classroom but as a person in everyday life, she has a positive attitude with a better outlook on life. It takes a lot for a player to identify a weakness and actually take the steps necessary to strengthen it.
We are very proud of Victoria’s hard work and determination to be the best that she can be and we have no doubt that she will achieve her goals in life with confidence. We would like to thank Susan for helping Victoria through this process; you have been a great inspiration to Victoria.”
~Bonnie Leimgradt, Parent
“I have been working with Susan for about 4 months and the improvements that I have seen with myself are incredible. Susan has helped me with my confidence both on and off the ice. I feel great stepping onto the ice at the beginning of every game because I know how much talent I have to offer to my team.
Susan has taught me some great mental skills that help me prepare for games and I can apply the same skills to my everyday life. The metal preparation exercises that Susan has introduced to me have significantly helped me with focusing completely on my game and staying focused throughout the entire game. Susan has also given me the extra motivation I need to get to the next level.
Susan has also helped me with prioritizing and teaching me how to organize my long list of things to do by getting the most important things done first and then moving on to the smaller things that can wait. I have learned how to set goals and create steps to make it simpler for me to achieve those goals and to eventually get to the ultimate outcome goal I have set for myself. Susan is extremely positive and encouraging, which makes the process of becoming a better athlete, student, and accomplishing my ultimate goal so much better.”
~Lauren Cusack, Forward
“As a professional, working 28 years with teams of individuals helping them to perform at optimal levels in the workplace, I naturally wanted to impart the same principles on my daughter in preparation for the long life road ahead. As a parent though, I found it difficult to bridge that generational communication gap, sounding too preachy and parental. Susan has bridged that gap. Her inspiring, real life examples and strategies have motivated my daughter to elevate her own skills and passions and to develop a game plan for life that will ultimately lead her to be the best she can be and enjoy the successes along the way.”
~Diana Cusack, Parent
“Gail and I would like to extend our thanks to you for your guidance so far with Michele. Her mental preparation before and during hockey games has becomea habit and is helping her out a lot by increasing her confidence in herself. Her contribution to her teamhas improved and she is recognizing areas for further improvement. We noticed an immediate confidence boost when she started working with you. As she applies your systems and approaches to her game she is learning to handle the ups and downs of sports. We are seeing that your assistance is helping Michele accept personal responsibility for her actions and will make her a better hockey player and person. We would highly recommend you to other parents who want to help their kids navigate the challenging environment of amateur sports and life.”
~Mike and Gail Knecht, Parents
“Thanks to Susan and the strategies she has introduced to me, I have now been able to not only improve my mental preparation before, during and after games, but I’ve learned how to use most of the tools that she has provided me with. These tools have helped improve my game tremendously as well as my overall confidence in myself as a player on and off the ice. I would encourage and recommend anyone to work with Susan.”
~Michelle Knecht, Forward
“
Susan has taught me how to improve my hockey skills in a whole different and fascinating way. She has helped me to understand how easy it is to get to that next level. By mentally focusing your time on the things you want to accomplish your options are limitless! Since I have been playing varsity hockey at York University, Susan has helped me play with more confidence. I have been able to develop into a player I was scared to be before. While competing in IIHF World Women’s Tournament for the New Zealand National Hockey Team, she was able to support me and guide me through every game. I feel I played my best hockey yet. I still have so many more things I want to accomplish and look forward to putting in the work to see the results because of what Susan has taught me!
Susan has an amazing ability to make you want to play after every session because you feel so confident and in that peak state that you want to practice what she has just gone over with you.”
~Kiri Langford
