My name is Steve Miller and I worked as an NHL Linesman for 21 seasons. I suffered a serious injury that required surgery, months of rehab, and lots of time to think and wonder about my future in the game. It also tested my passion for the game of hockey as an on-ice official. As I was recovering I knew I had great care for the physical side of my injury but there is also the mental side of recovering/performing, which is why I reached out for support (trust me, it took me a long time to send the email to ask for help with the mental side). In my mind it's always been "do everything on your own" and "just plug away". In sport, the perception of an athlete asking for help is often seen as showing weakness, so it was hard for me to reach out. Also, not knowing what to expect from a mental health consultant was always in the back of my mind. Saying that, I was connected with a Mental Performance Consultant and it was the best choice I made with my recovery and mental performance. I was given the mental tools to allow me to manage and focus on my recovery to get back to the NHL level as an official and consider my future goals; having guidance made my path more clear. This was an important step in my recovery and even though it was hard for me to reach out, I was made to feel comfortable from the first conversation. Over time we have built trust with each other during our discussions. As as person that has been involved with professional sports I would highly recommend reaching out for support to help guide any athlete with the mental side of sport.

Over the last few years, working with a mental performance counsellor on my mental game has made such a difference in the way I prepare and view competition in sport. My counsellor's professionalism, knowledge and experience have supported me as an athlete as well as an individual. In my sessions we'd isolate an issue I might be having, and applied a direct strategic solution to aid in my development. Working with someone who is approachable and who understands sport truly makes you feel like you've got someone on your side. Working on my mental game and mental well-being made a huge impact on my life, and for that, I am very grateful.

I've been involved in sports, mainly basketball, my whole life. When I sustained a serious concussion my life changed immediately and completely: my sports medicine doctor told me I would never play again and I lost my sense of identity as an athlete. It was a really challenging time in my life. My concussion symptoms lasted more than 2 years and every aspect of my life was affected including school, personal, social and sports. As suggested by my sports medicine doctor I started working with a mental performance consultant and counsellor where I learned the tools and skills to deal with all the changes in my life. The process gave me a better understanding of myself and my life, and even though I can no longer play sports I've been able to transfer all of the skills, tools and strategies from counselling to other aspects of my life. I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I started this journey and now I am in a better place mentally and emotionally.

I worked with my Mental Performance Consultant for over 5 years, and during this time she has taught me mental skills to reduce my anxiety level when I competed and helped me boost my confidence level. Before I started working with a MPC my boccia career was going down, but with the help of my MPC I was able to pick things up and represent Canada at the 2012 London Paralympic Games! After achieving numerous world class performances, going to several Paralympic Games, and doing all that I can do in my sport, recently I retired from boccia and now take into coaching my athletes the lessons I learned through my personal mental skills training; it's been a full circle.

My daughter was progressing along the rugby pathway and we wanted to give her opportunity to develop her mindset skills to support the work she was doing in other areas of her game. The mental training program helped Courtney develop imagery skills, self-talk, goal-setting and pre-performance routines. All of these skills were instrumental in helping Courtney reach her top athletic ability. In addition to developing mindset skills our daughter got the opportunity to share her goals and dreams with a professional and feel supported and understood as an athlete. I wanted to give my daughter the best chance of reaching her potential as an elite athlete and with the support of a mental training program she had the skills, tools and strategies needed to progress up through the elite-sport pathway.