Dialed & Driven Mentality Podcast
Dialed & Driven Mentality Podcast with hosts Jeff Lerg and Chris Palmer, is a space for athletes, parents, and coaches to see the depths of hockey and the mental hurdles that come with it.
Jeff Lerg has extensive experience as a former player and current coach that propels his knowledge and life advice. Jeff has reached the ultimate pinnacle of what it means to be a successful D1 Collegiate Athlete. Playing at Michigan State University, he has won countless awards and accolades displaying his success. Also, a former professional goalie for 10+ years across the U.S. and Europe, he has had first-hand experience reaching his own goals and helping others achieve theirs.
Chris Palmer, M.A. in Psychology, is a Hockey Mental Performance Coach who trains individuals, coaches, and teams from house leagues to Pro and Amateur in the US, Europe and Canada. He trains “heart, head, and guts,” with a proven process that helps clients maximize mental toughness and motivation to develop a grinding and intense compete level. As a former NCAA runner, x2 All-American, and Nike-sponsored athlete, Chris brings a great deal of knowledge in athletics and the mental performance space to positively impact the lives of athletes all over the world.
Dialed & Driven Mentality Podcast
Hockey Is What You Do, Not Who You Are: Identity, Mindset, and Growth
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Welcome to Episode 53 — Hockey Is What You Do, Not Who You Are: Identity, Mindset, and Growth … brought to you by Vaughn Custom Sports!
Today, host Jeff Lerg and Chris Palmer discuss the main topic: identity and the dangers of over-identification with being “a hockey player”. We also dive into why we linked identity to standards, or daily codes of conduct— and how youth systems that push single-sport immersion can narrow identity and increase risk.
💥 Episode 53 highlights:
- How other roles (e.g., fisherman, skateboarder, friend, artist) are very important because off-ice joy refuels on-ice performance.
- Jeff's example of founding his goalie coaching business as a college sophomore, which 20 years later has evolved into mentoring—an example of expanding identity that energized his playing years
- How identity drives standards—daily codes of conduct—that shape behavior.
- We warned that even highly successful players can feel lost post-hockey; he urged building a full life and revisiting the identity–standards–habits loop, noting brains develop until ~25
- How one can have multiple identities, because being just a "hockey player" can be suffocating.
AND A LOT MORE!
‼️ Ask us questions ‼️
We want to hear from YOU. Send us your questions—mindset, mental performance, hockey development, habits, anything. We’ll break it all down on the pod.
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