Have you ever looked up to someone so much that you copied their every move? That was me with my older brother. Hockey wasn’t just his passion – it was his identity and I made sure to make it mine too.

We bonded over hockey and all sports, but in almost every other way, we were complete opposites. My brother was big and strong, while I definitely was not. He was calm and quiet, while I was energetic and loud. He wanted nothing to do with school, while I loved the classroom. And on the ice, he was clearly much better.

As I got older, it became obvious that if I wanted to compete in Jr A, I had to put on size. So, I committed to a strict diet and intense workout plan. But the results never came. I struggled to gain weight and strength, and worse, I picked up injury after injury from mismanaging my training.

Simply put, things didn’t go as planned. I was decent — but not good enough. That’s when I decided to go all in on school.

Separate Paths

The human experience always fascinated me, so diving into psychology was a no-brainer. My brother, on the other hand, chose the more challenging and daunting path…at least in my opinion.

At 16, he joined a Jr team in an unsanctioned league – where he spent the next two years collecting stories that are beyond any other ‘crazy sport story’ you may have heard. He then moved on to play three seasons in the OJHL, where he was forced to deal with everything else that comes with Jr hockey — the politics, the clashes with coaches, the long bus rides, the crappy post-game meals, the injuries, and eventually worst of all: a broken back just one month after committing to an NCAA program.

Against all medical advice, he returned to play within three months. But when he arrived at college, he found himself out of the lineup and in the stands as a healthy scratch. After all that sacrifice, he wasn’t even getting the opportunity to play. Imagine how strong the feelings of wasted time and self-doubt must have been for him!

Meanwhile, I had my head down in school, preparing for the next chapter of my life.

When Journeys Collide

This is where my brother’s and my paths intersected once again. He was struggling to earn his spot in an NCAA lineup, and I was enrolled in a specialized psychology program, preparing for graduate school in Clinical Psychology.

At the time, I didn’t even know Sport Psychology was a profession — it simply wasn’t talked about when I played. But I began applying what I was learning in university to help my brother stay focused, composed, resilient, and confident through the ups and downs of his college hockey career.

I vividly remember this one conversation we had – when we talked about the overwhelming fear of failure and constant worry about falling short of expectations that he was experiencing. The overbearing uncertainty around having any success at the college level was taking over his life.

In this specific conversation, we walked through what I now call the Slot vs Vending Machine Mentality. The main idea, in short, is that you don’t want to fall into a Vending Machine Mentality – where you’re caught up with your results and rewards exactly matching the amount of effort and passion you put into your sport.

Instead, you want to have a Slot Machine Mentality – where you know you need to do everything you possibly can to develop and perform, you embrace the uncertainty between your work and the results, and you lean into the hope that comes with all that uncertainty.

It worked – he started to see results both on and off the ice! Soon after, I was sharing concepts and strategies with his teammates, and that’s when it hit me: I could combine my love for sport with my passion for psychology.

P.S My brother went on to be an Assistant Captain as a Sophomore and earned the Captaincy in his Junior and Senior seasons, all the while maintaining his Dean’s List status in the classroom…all of which I of course take complete credit for.

A New Way Forward

Fast forward several years since then, I have completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology, followed by a Master’s and Doctorate in Sport & Exercise Psychology at York University.

Most of my academic research focused on behaviour change — specifically in areas like mindfulness, grit, motivation, effort, and self-regulation. But my work as a Mental Performance Coach began in June 2019, when I met Dr. Cassidy Preston. Since then, I’ve worked alongside Cassidy as Vice President to not only grow and refine the CEP Mindset System, but also significantly expand our coaching team so we can have the greatest impact on the largest number of athletes possible.

Today, CEP Mindset is one of the top mental performance coaching firms in North America, if not the world! Together, we’ve been able to build a relatable and expert team of coaches who have helped tens of thousands of athletes get in the zone and achieve Consistent Elite Performance.

Personally, I have had the honour to work with a full range of athletes over the years — from youth chasing their first big dream, to college and semi pro players grinding to get to the next level, to pros competing on the biggest stages. No matter the sport, age, or level, the struggles are often the same: nerves, pressure, setbacks, and self-doubt.

That’s why my focus is always on strengthening what I call true mental toughness — the ability to become aware of your thoughts and emotions in the moment, accept them without judgment, and then choose what you’re going to do next. It’s not about pretending that the pressure and fear don’t exist. It’s about learning how to stay present, centered, and confident when it matters most.

When approached with the right mindset, sport isn’t just about creating better athletes — it builds better people. It teaches awareness, discipline, resilience, and confidence in ways few other experiences can.

That’s why I do what I do – to help athletes free themselves from the weight of results and achieve consistent elite performance, both on and off their field of play.

You can learn more about Coach Nicholas by clicking the video below: