The Beyond the X’s & O’s Podcast is hosted by Dr. Cassidy Preston, a Mental Performance Coach & founder of CEP Mindset, & Chris De Piero, a High-Performance Coach that has spent the past 30+ years in the game of hockey within the NHL, Hockey Canada, OHL, and European pro hockey. Cassidy is one of Chris’ former players where they won OPJHL Championship together in 2006. This podcast was born from their shared passion for helping coaches and leaders to go Beyond the X’s & O’s and develop the ‘human’ skills of leadership. Outside of the podcast they work together at CEP Mindset where they coach elite athletes, coaches, teams, and high-performing executives to achieve Consistent Elite Performance.
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Lee Elias is a two-time award winning author and has coached at the international, professional, collegiate, and youth levels. He is also the founder of Hockey Wraparound and Game Seven Group. In addition, Lee’s professional experience includes having helped organizations such as the NHL, NBC, Hearst Media, A&E, Madison Square Garden, and several sports organizations. Lee is an acclaimed keynote speaker in both virtual and in person events, and is the co-host of Our Kids Play Hockey, a top podcast in the hockey market. Lee is passionate about his mission to make the world believe in trust and teamwork through his coaching, speaking and consulting work.
Lee is all about bringing people together. His enthusiasm is contagious and will leave you inspired to be a better leader. Furthermore, he provided numerous practical strategies any coach and leader can use to help bring people together. Specifically we covered:
- How his work with military veterans integration into society applies to teams and the importance of transitions and identity work
- The process of communication
- The accountability chart
- Trust being a foundational piece to any relationship
- The coaching staff is a team within the team
Enjoy this episode as we go Beyond the X’s and O’s.




Blair has over 13 years of experience as a Professional Dancer, Assistant Dance Captain & Cast Manager, as well as an additional 17 years of training. Over the last 3 decades, she has lived and experienced first hand the highest of highs & lowest of lows that come with pursuing a career in the Performing Arts.




As a former member of McMaster University’s women’s soccer team, Emilie intimately understands the demands and challenges athletes face on and off the field. Although she encountered many challenges as a high-level athlete, particularly struggling with self-doubt and overthinking, Emilie was able to make a remarkable transformation when she began to embrace the principles of sports psychology.








Danielle Hanus, MA
Monica Russell, MA






