There seems to be a belief in the hockey world that once a coach reaches a certain level of coaching, say having a role on an Olympic team for example, they’ve made it. The truth is, coaching is just like playing and is anything but linear. Kori Cheverie reminded everyone that during her powerful TCS Live presentation in 2023.

Early in her career, Cheverie, the Head Coach of PWHL Montreal, was hyper-focused on doing everything perfectly and was terrified of failure. Her career path swerved from World Championships, to the Olympics, to NHL camps, and also involved U-18 hockey; the Nova Scotia product and former CWHL player was the first woman to be hired in a full-time coaching role in U-Sports men's hockey history, and with her drive and determination, nothing was going to slow her down.

Until Covid changed everything.

Cheverie was named an Assistant Coach of the Canadian National Women’s team for the 2022 Beijing Games. Prior to leaving for the games, Cheverie tested positive for Covid and was unable to make the trip with Team Canada. Instead of being down on herself, Cheverie changed her mindset. She altered her sleep schedule and continued to coach the team virtually, ultimately leading to a gold medal for Team Canada.

Following the Olympics, Cheverie led the Nova Scotia U18s at the Canada Winter Games to a silver medal and a generational upset over Team Ontario.

During all this winning, Cheverie made a drastic mindset shift as a coach realizing perfection and fearing failure have no place behind the bench.

“Instead of having a fear of failure, approach your team and athletes with curiosity of what’s possible.”

Watch as Cheverie reflects on her experiences and encourages coaches to be curious and creative about the possibilities of what can be accomplished in this 30-minute TCS Live presentation.

Noteworthy timestamps:

• 00:10 Unconventional career path
• 03:00 Shifting mindset
• 06:00 Shifting behaviour
• 07:10 Facing adversity at the Olympics
• 13:00 Being a fan for the Gold Medal game
• 14:10 Coaching at the Canada Winter Games
• 17:00 Disrupting the narrative
• 20:20 Journey to the semis
• 23:00 Taking on Team Ontario
• 25:55 Winning silver