Our Kids Play Hockey Our Girls Play Hockey: From 9-Year-Old Dreamer to Olympian: A Mailbag with Hayley Scamurra
🏒 What does it really take to go from a 9-year-old hockey player with a dream… to an Olympian and professional hockey player?
In this special Our Girls Play Hockey Mailbag Episode (Part 1), hosts Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli are joined by our very own Olympic and professional hockey player Hayley Scamurra to answer your questions — straight from young players, parents, and families across the hockey community.
After posting a simple call for questions, the response was overwhelming. So many thoughtful, curious, and mature questions came in that this mailbag turned into a two-part series. In this episode, we focus on Hayley’s journey — from youth hockey to college, Team USA, and ultimately the pro game.
💬 You’ll hear Hayley answer questions like:
- How did she go from a 9-year-old player to an Olympian?
- What really separates good players from great ones?
- What skills Olympic coaches actually look for (hint: it’s not just goals)
- What habit did she have to unlearn to reach the next level?
- How important is mindset compared to talent?
- Why making mistakes is actually part of becoming elite
✨ This episode is packed with honesty, perspective, and reassurance for young players who feel pressure to be perfect — and for parents navigating the ups and downs of the hockey journey alongside them.
📌 Coming next: Mailbag Part 2 dives into life as a professional hockey player and the current state of women’s hockey — including the PWHL and what the future holds.
🎧 Listen in, take notes, and remind yourself (or your player) that the journey matters just as much as the destination.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: From Dreamer to Olympian: What Young Players Can Learn from Hayley Scamurra’s Hockey Journey
#OurGirlsPlayHockey #WomensHockey #GirlsHockey #HockeyJourney #MentalGame #OlympicMindset #PWHL #YouthHockey #HockeyParents
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