Beyond the Ice: Bringing Leadership to Life with USA Hockey
More than 90 Women and Girls hockey leaders and coaches come together in Tampa to connect, collaborate and turn leadership learning into practical action.
Six years after delivering a workshop at USA Hockey's inaugural Leadership Summit in Anaheim in 2020, Sarah McQuade and Linda Low of e.t.c. coaching consultants were thrilled to be welcomed back to the 2026 USA Hockey Leadership Convention in Tampa, Florida.
With more than 90 participants in the room, including National Governing Body staff, coaches and affiliate presidents, the interactive workshop explored a deceptively simple question:
How can we lead more intentionally, and what does that look like in practice?
Connect. Clarify. Commit.
These three words provided the framework for a session designed to move beyond leadership theory and into the everyday realities of leading people, teams and organizations.
Connect: Leadership Starts with Relationships
Strong relationships are at the heart of effective leadership.
Through interactive activities and shared experiences, participants explored what helps people connect, why relationships matter and how different perspectives shape the way we lead.
A central message was that different doesn't mean wrong. Recognizing and respecting different perspectives can transform how we communicate, collaborate and build trust.
Participants then put the GROW coaching framework into practice through fast-paced coaching conversations, experiencing the power of asking rather than telling.
Taking the learning further, groups explored how each phase — Goal, Reality, Options and Will — could be applied in their own hockey environments. Their ideas ranged from defining success through player development and enjoyment to gathering meaningful feedback, generating creative solutions and building accountability.
This was a practical demonstration of how a simple coaching framework can support better conversations, decisions and leadership intent.
Clarify: Knowing What Matters and Why
If connection is the foundation of leadership, clarity provides its direction.
Participants explored the personal values that shape their leadership and considered how those values translate into everyday behaviors.
Working collaboratively, they examined the relationship between individual and organizational values, asking what those values actually look and sound like in practice.
Because values are only meaningful when we bring them to life.
Whether demonstrating respect in a difficult conversation, accountability when things don't go to plan, or a commitment to excellence in developing others, leadership is ultimately experienced through our actions.
Commit: Turning Insight into Action
Leadership development shouldn't end when the workshop finishes.
Throughout the session, the emphasis was on practical application: how could these concepts and tools be used immediately in the workplace, in coaching environments and across the wider hockey community?
From using GROW to structure more effective conversations to strengthening relationships and making values visible through behavior, participants identified opportunities to lead differently.
The workshop concluded with a personal commitment, captured on a postcard to themselves: one intentional action to take forward.
A simple reminder that leadership isn't defined by what we know, but by what we consistently choose to do.
Learning Together, Leading Together
One of the real strengths of the session was the diversity of experience in the room. Bringing together coaches, affiliate presidents and NGB staff created opportunities to share perspectives, challenge assumptions and explore the role of intentional leadership in strengthening opportunities and environments for women and girls in hockey.
For Linda and I, returning to USA Hockey was particularly meaningful. Having contributed to the inaugural summit in 2020, it was a privilege to reconnect with the organization and work alongside so many people committed to strengthening leadership throughout the hockey community.
Our particular thanks go to Kristen Saegart, Director of Girls Hockey at USA Hockey, for the invitation, her continued commitment to developing leadership across the women's and girls' game, and the opportunity to contribute to these important conversations.
#USAHockey #LeadershipDevelopment #WomenInSport #GirlsHockey #ConnectionCounts #LeadingWithIntent #CoachingLeadership
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