Lisa Chesson An Olympic Hockey Player Silver Medalists 2010 & NWHL's Buffalo Beauts

Welcome to the Mike Hartman Show. Mike is a performance coach and former Stanley cup champion with the New York Rangers. Topics on this show are focused around stories, mindset and champions. Mike will also go into details about helping you with your pain points and struggles and finding motivational solutions on how to have the mindset of a champion. Now, here's your host, Mike Hartman.

Welcome to another episode Today. My guest is Lisa Chessen, and Lisa has a fantastic story that all of our listeners should listen to. And it's great to have you on. Lisa, how are you?

I'm doing well. How about you?

I'm doing great. Doing great in these crazy times. I'm trying to make the best of it is what is what we could say. So I heard a lot about you. It went, you know, being a former Olympian, professional hockey player, you're playing in my favorite place, one of my favorite places, Buffalo. And just we'd like to hear a little bit about you. I know you're from Illinois, so just share a little bit about your story. Our listeners would love to hear it.

Yeah, sure. So as you said, I'm from Illinois. My brother and my dad both played hockey, so naturally I wanted to do what they were doing. So I started skating pretty young. At that time, I was one of very few girls playing, so I had to grow up playing boys. And as the years went on, there were more and more girls teams and more and more girls playing in the area. So I was able to join teams there. And we saw Kimmy Granado. She is not too far from my hometown. We saw her and the 1998 team win Olympic gold. That kind of sparked all of us to, you know, aspire to be just like them. And the fact that we could play in college and go on to play with the national team and hopefully the Olympic team, it was just something that we didn't have those women role models growing up from that early age. Right. So I ended up playing college at Ohio State for four years from 2004 to 2008. And then I went on to train with the national team and then the Olympic team in 2010. I kind of traveled around a little bit with hockey and took a few years off when I was done with the national team. And now I live in Columbus, Ohio, and I play for the Buffalo Buttes.

Well, before we, we keep going on with this conversation. You might not want to go on with the conversation after I say this, but I'm from Michigan, by the way, and, but I didn't play hockey there. Actually. I, I was going to play for Michigan or Michigan State, and I chose a different route. But I. I had a friend that played football for Michigan, and it was these guys, like, they're crazy, these. These college. These football players. His name is Jeff cone, and he was one of my closest friends. He was in my wedding at the time, and I even asked him if he wanted to go see the movie Rudy, and he went crazy on me. He goes, we don't allow red in our house, and we certainly don't allow green. I said, no matter what. So I got the gist of what he was talking about. So tell us about your playing days at Ohio State. How was that for you?

Yeah, it was great. Like I said, I started in 2004, and I was just really excited. It was a college. I was close to home, so it was easy for family to come visit. And it was just, you know, when I stepped on campus for my visit, I just felt like that was where I needed to be. So I just really grew as a player and a person there. We had a great program. Unfortunately, we didn't win any championships, but I learned a ton there. And it's friendships that you make in college and hockey in general that you're going to have for a long time. But, yeah, it was just great, the atmosphere at Ohio State. Hugely involved with other sports and watching them succeed. So it was just a really great four years, and I decided to stay.

There, you know, and you talk about the college days, and I feel so bad. I was just with a young player, having a coffee at a distance, actually, just before we did this. And he plays for Mercyhurst, and he's a goalie, and it's just. It's really tough. I mean, there isn't any fans in the building. You're not even sure your schedule, what's going to happen. Can you imagine what would it be like if you had to go through those struggles when you played? Like, how do you handle that?

Yeah, it's something. I think it just kind of came as a shock to everyone when it all happened, you know, at the beginning of the year. I know the women's college season got cut short. They were just about to go to play NCAA championship, and it just ended. So it's definitely, you know, mentally, how do you handle that and how do you wrap your head around that? And it's a huge adjustment, and especially that age, too. Yeah, it's just a tough adjustment.

So a lot of what we talk about is mindset and preparing, but it's very hard. Everybody could say, well, you have to be mentally strong. It's very hard to do that sometimes just to be mentally strong. The old cliche, you know, get your mind into it. You have to have that mindset. But when it was tough because I knew as a player that I had to prepare a night before a game, or if we had two games in two nights, I had to readjust my schedule or we knew we had the schedule laid out for us. I just, like, I'm sure in college, you, you, you knew what your practices were like for the entire month and what time you had to be there and what you had to do and your training schedule, and you have to put that in with school, which is most important. And, and now that, I don't know, I don't really know how they're doing it. I, I feel bad for the athletes. They're missing so much of the great years. You only have four years to do this, and it's tough. I, I, I, I feel bad for the all, like, all sports.

Mm. Yeah. Definitely a change. And luckily, the schools have great support systems, you know, that they can go and talk to, and they have, they're not the only ones going through it. So hopefully there's, you know, a support group there that they can all kind of get along and talk about things. But, yeah, it's definitely a total 180.

Yeah. So you work your way and you play in the Olympics. I think that's, I can't speak for everybody, but that's everybody's dream. I mean, to play for your country and to play into the, you know, you're playing in the, in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Where were the 2010. I knew where they were because with everybody. Where were the games in 2010?

They were in Vancouver, Canada.

That's one of my favorite places on the world. They. Yeah. I don't know how much time you had there, but they have that Stanley park, which is just gorgeous. Going for a walk. I mean, the mountains and we always love going to play the Vancouver Canucks. Just a great place. But tell us, share your experience with the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Yeah, it's pretty wild, like you said. It's, you know, it's a big dream for everyone. I think just the fact that I was going there. How do I process this? And to be honest, I still think I'm trying to process it, that it happened, but we actually, we went to a test event prior. It was a couple months beforehand, so we got to kind of see the area, and the village wasn't done yet, but Just to kind of get a gist of how things were going to run and how it felt and everything into practice and see the facilities. So that definitely helped a lot for us. Yeah. Just walking in, you're given so much gear and food. It's whatever you want, you get. Right. But seeing all the athletes and walking in for the opening ceremony, that's just surreal and pretty crazy. And like I said, I'm still trying to process it, but it was nice that my family was able to go. And we had some family friends that were able to come along, too, so just to be able to share that with them. They've been supporting me since day one, so it was pretty special.

Yeah. And the team did. How did the team do?

We ended up with a silver.

Silver medal.

Yeah. So we played Canada for the championship, and you're in Vancouver, and you couldn't even hear yourself think. It was just so loud in there.

Yeah, it's a great place. Great building. And it's tough. I mean, Canada had that advantage. I mean, especially. I mean, they're waving the Canadian flags and the. It's so loud. And it's like, now you're competing against Canada, which is always known to be the powerhouse, let's face it. They've always. I mean, ever since the. You know, right through the women Olympics, I mean, they're predicted. They're really predicted to win it every year. I mean, they go into it knowing if they. If nothing is. You know, if they get. If they get a silver, it's not acceptable in Canada.

Right. We definitely got that vibe. It was, you know, all the athletes are walking around outside of the village, and somehow everyone that wasn't an athlete knew who the hockey players were. So they. And they would say stuff to us, and we're like, what's going on here? But, yeah, you could definitely feel that. And they're very passionate about their hockey.

Yep. And who was your coach that year?

Oh, yeah. Mark Johnson. So he's the women's coach at Wisconsin.

Okay. So I knew that. So, Mark, I. So I played for a couple of. I played for the. The world junior team, and then I played for this qualifying round where we had an older team that was in Clagenford, and I played with Mark Johnson. That's a great guy. He was a guy that. He was a little bit older, so he was more of those guys that came off. You know, he played on about the fourth line, I think, and he took spot duty, and his just. His presence was. Was phenomenal there. And there's nothing like playing for your country. It's like when you put that jersey on. Just share that feeling. The first time you put that USA jersey on, what was that like?

Yeah, it's pretty unreal. And you put it on, you almost get like goosebumps. You know, it doesn't matter where you're playing. U18 or U22 World Championship, the Olympic team, it's that same feeling. You're representing something so much bigger than yourselves. And the fact that you trained so hard and you're with your teammates that did that as well. It's pretty special.

Yeah. So tell me a little bit about your training schedule back then. Then we'll get into your pro career. But how did you train as like with the Olympics? I know you're up at Lake Placid. They still have the training camp up there or did they move it after a few years?

When I was playing, they still had it up there in the summers. And then they built the facility where we were Centralized prior to 2010 in Minnesota. In Blaine, they have the big super rinks there. So we had a locker room and our own ice. I think they had like eight sheets. So yeah, we would practice every day and off ice workouts a couple times a week. Then we would travel for games and whatnot. But yeah, it was always. We were always on and always training and we loved it. It was great.

I was there with coach. Coach Smith. He was my coach in. He was my coach for the world junior team. And then he was the assistant co chair then the head coach of our team that was in Clagenford. And then he asked me, I've always done performance work. And he said, do you mind coming up to Lake Placid? Right. Just before Thanksgiving? Because that's when some of the girls get a little bit depressed. It's a. It's been a long summer. They're training every day. They need a little bit of just talking to you. I know Cammie Granada was up there and I was working with the team on a very small level. Just. And he was. And there was. You know, the coach was female and coach Smith was the one of the only males. He says, these. These women are getting sick of me. Can you come up and talk? And I did. And I didn't realize. And it's. You know, as a pro hockey player, you play, then you go home or you have training camp for three weeks. But people have to understand the commitment that it takes to be an Olympic athlete. Share that a little bit with us. And being in Lake Placid and how hard it is every day is a grind.

Yeah, it's definitely tough. I mean, like Placid, you're pretty isolated. It's hard to get in and hard to get out of. But yeah, you're there training all the time. And definitely, you know, it's easier said than done. But mentally, you got to be strong and you kind of work through that. And you, you do have the support there too. You know, if you need anything, talk to whomever. But yeah, it's, you're away from your family, your friends, and you know, even when you get a break and get to go home, you know, you're, you're thinking about training and you're not going out with your friends or stuff like that. So it's definitely, you're making those sacrifices, but it's all worth it and you're all there for a common goal and you don't want to let anyone down.

Well, I'm going to put you on the spot because. And I did not know this as a player until I talked to Don Luce, who maybe you'll meet in Buffalo. He's one of, he's such a great hockey guy. He was in pro hockey for 40 plus years, so played for the Sabres for many years, the Red Wings, the Rangers. And he was the head of scouting for the Buffalo Sabres, director, player personnel for the Flyers, Toronto. And he said to me, he asked me this question and I'm going to ask you, he says, mike, what percent of the game is mental? Now I'll give you my answer. I said, I don't know, 80% back then. So I'm going to ask you, what percent of the game is mental as. As you look at it, like an Olympic hockey player. And there's no wrong answer. But I'm just going to go by what I learned later on.

Yeah, initially when you first asked, in my head I was like 80, and then right after I was like 90. Because it's, it really is. You know, I think at a certain point your, your body's trained right. You can do anything off the ice and your body knows what to do, but it's all up top. It doesn't matter what you can do if you're not in the right mindset.

Well, there's. Oh, I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. But I, I said to Don Luce and he's been involved with, at every level. Like I said, now his son is with Vegas, was with Florida as a director player first and out. And so I said, yeah, about 80%. He says, no, it's 100%. It's 100% mental. Because I don't care what you do, you have to think about doing it. If you have to put your skates on, you have to think about it. You have to be prepared for practice. You have to be ready, especially with the Olympics, because it's tough for. For a lot of the players, because I know they carry so many people up to the games, and then you could be cut just before you're ready to go to Vancouver. So that has to be mentally draining and tough as well.

Oh, yeah. It's always on the back of your mind until that roster set. You know, you're like, what if this, what if that? And running through all the scenarios, but you still have to perform with that in the back of your mind. So how do you kind of block that out and perform? I definitely understand that.

So then you go on to pro hockey, and women's professional hockey is really picked up. They call it the nwhl, and I know you play for the Buffalo Buttes. You're in your third. Is this your third season?

This will be my fourth, I believe. Yeah.

Oh, wow. So, okay, tell us what the NWHL stands for.

It's a national women's hockey league. So it started. I don't want to butcher. The first year I was around, they had four teams. A team in Buffalo, New Jersey, Boston, and Connecticut. So I didn't play that first year. They gained a lot of traction in that year, and a lot of young girls wanted to follow the league. And aside from the Olympics, when do you get to see women's hockey unless you go to a college rink? So now here's the opportunity post college for these professional women to play. So each year, the league's just built on everything. Now they're able to pay players and certain money from T shirt and sales like that go back to the players. And now we have TV deals for our championships coming up in January. February.

Yeah. So that's great. I mean, I always thought for sure that. That the women have to have a chance to. To play professional sports. I know they did it at wnba, but for. For hockey, it's great to see. And I share this with a lot of people. Like, so I've been at different levels. I was a player coach at the end of my career, thought I wanted to be a coach. And I realized I did not want to be a coach. I didn't want to travel around on a bus and do that. But for me, I. I was in coaching. And I could say that when I was on the ice with the women's team with Ben Smith, I could tell you that the women were more structured. I mean, they listen, they did the drill. They were like, it was almost like, wow, these, like, all these women have ocd. They're doing, they're right on the line. They're doing the drill at 100%. They're, they're competitive. And I noticed that right away. That was the first thing I noticed when I went on the ice. Do you find that to be true?

Yeah, absolutely. And it's funny that you mentioned that because I think every coach that's come in or came to a practice does the exact same thing. That's just what we were trained to do. And to be honest, when I think about it, I think about starting when I played boys and I had to prove myself that I belonged there. Right. So I was like, I had that mentality from day one, like always going, you're always on type of thing. So I definitely can relate to that.

Yeah. And it's, it's highly respectable. And I'm not just saying that because of. You're on. I mentioned this before to coaches and I've worked with, you know, like I said, in the minor leagues and we always have a couple drill busters. If anyone doesn't understand what that means, we have a kid come in and you tell him to go right, he's going left, or he's making a bad pass where, I mean, the women were spot on. Crisp passes, going to the net, stopping in front of the net, you know, sticking there, you know, near the ice, and good body position defensively, always on the defensive side of the puck. The coach would show a drill that, okay, let's get right to it. So I, so I highly respect that. But going, going back into the game a little bit because everybody says, oh, wow, you made it to the Olympics. There had have been some struggles along the way. Can you, can you share those? Because I don't think I've ever met a perfect athlete before.

Yeah, definitely. So I played college at Ohio State. I was done in 2008, so maybe just a little bit before I was done, I got an invitation to try out for the U22 team because at that time they didn't have an under 18 team. I got cut the very first tryout. I was like, what am I even doing here? You know, why do you even bring me here? So I think it was just kind of, you know, getting over that initial kind of failure I guess. And how. How can I improve to make sure that that doesn't happen again, or if it does, I'm doing everything I can with what I know, you know, make sure that it wasn't something I did or, you know, I didn't prepare for. So, yeah, it's definitely mentally draining. And you question a lot of things, and how do you. How do you kind of overcome that? Yeah, definitely little setbacks here and there. That's what makes you better and stronger.

That's so true. They say going through. They use that word adversity a lot in hockey. I don't really use adversity too much, but coaches will say that you have to go through adversity to win a championship. And I'm sure that year in 2010, it wasn't easy. There was probably some games that. That you could have probably, you know, the exhibition games. You're playing certain groups that you don't really. It's hard to get prepared for because I'm speaking for myself and I want. I. Maybe I should hear you speak. But how did you prepare for, like, it with. Within the Olympics in that year? You're playing against a team that maybe is not so good. How did you mentally prepare for that game?

Yeah, I think you just try to prepare for any game like it's the game, right? You're not worried about who your opponent is, because the moment you start being like, oh, they're not as good or not as skilled or we're gonna walk all over them, that's when, you know, things can happen, bad things can happen. Yeah, we played all different kinds of teams, even leading up to going to the Olympics. We played men's teams, we played high school teams, girls teams, college teams, you name it. So I think we were prepared in that aspect. And we also played an exhibition series with Canada, so just kind of preparing Every game is that gold medal game.

So I could tell you the girls do not take things lightly. So now I'm an old guy, and I was. I played. I was living in. Outside of New York City. I was playing with Stephan Matteo, which I know Stephan's daughter is. Is playing with you on your team right now in Buffalo. But I was playing in a game, and I'm not going to say her name. She's a former US Olympian. And I was out there, and maybe I wasn't, you know, my age now I'm just having fun. And she won the draw, and she got mad at me because she goes, you're not trying, are you? I go, well, I'm trying. She goes, no, you're not. You let me win the draw. She says, come on, pick it up, Mike. You know, I'm here to play hockey. And I said, oh, boy, I must be feeling my age. So I know the women do not mess around. She gave me a hard time and wow. Yeah. So I was playing hard against her then. She was, you know, making it tough for me and, you know, at 53, I'm trying to keep up with her. And the women could skate. That's the one thing they could do. They have the skating abilities. And why is that? Is that something that you have to skate to be a hockey player? But is that one of the first things you worked on as a young kid, you continued working on your skating?

Yeah, I think for me personally I learned to skate. It's hard to play without being able to. But we had power skating two nights a week, so that was like a main focus. But the girls game starting out and now it's a lot more physical. But before it wasn't. So it's more of like that skill based game, finesse game. So I think those skills are, you know, what we really shine at. And now that it's becoming more physical, we kind of have the whole package.

Well, how can you give advice or maybe just like, I know, I'm sure, you know, being an Olympian and being a professional hockey player, playing college at that level, what. We have a lot of young athletes that may be listening. How do you deal with butterflies? I had one athlete tell me they get sick before a game at 13 years old. Another one says, boy, I don't play well during the game, but I'm a great practice player. How do you overcome that? Or how did you overcome that?

Yeah, to be honest, I haven't really started getting nervous until like after the Olympics and I'm playing in Buffalo. But it's just a mental thing being like, you, you've prepared for this, right? So you know what to do. So there's no reason to be nervous about performance. Definitely understand being nervous about just being excited to play. But usually that wears off after your first shift or whatnot, and then you're in go mode. But I think just not. It's hard to say, don't think about it, but just try to relax and have fun with it because then you're not thinking as much. But you know, if you've done all the preparation and practice hard and put all the hard work in, those nerves should wear off.

Yeah, we would do like imagery or breathing techniques. Or different things to get us focused for the game. I don't. I mean, some coaches would say, if you don't have butterflies, you don't belong here. I don't necessarily agree with that all the time, but definitely, you know, we do get nervous. So what, what was your why that big why behind playing hockey? Did you have something to prove? Did that, you know, you had. You said your father and your brother played hockey. Was that that. What was that why behind being a hockey player?

Yeah, it was just obviously I saw them playing and I wanted to do that, and it was just a sport for me that always stuck. I played soccer, basketball, softball, you name it. I played all the sports in the street with all the neighborhood kids. And hockey was always that thing that, you know, if I have to miss a practice for another sport, I'm missing because of hockey. And it was just. I was always so passionate about it, and I just found that I was using other sports to kind of practice or prepare for hockey in a sense. But I just loved it and I can't imagine my life without it. Now I'll be involved with it, you know, whether it's, you know, mentorship or coaching or just playing pickup hockey. Something that I'll always be around.

Yeah, it's something we love. It's sometimes, like, now you're getting paid, but I'm not going to say this too loud in case, but sometimes you play, play for free. And I'm not saying that you would play for free, but I remember as a professional athlete, I told my father when I was like 17, 18, you know, dad, if I could play in the NHL, I'd play for free. But that's. You just have to love the sport and it's hard to teach that. So a lot of parents will, will come to me and say, well, how do I get my kid motivated? And I would say, well, motivation starts within. You just can't motivate them to want it. There has to be that why in those goals behind it. And it's just a whole different. For me, it's. It's tough to teach. So you probably had that drive and that desire ever since you were very young to be a, a top level athlete, elite athlete.

Yeah, I just, every day I used it to do something. You know, if I was by myself, I would shoot pucks at the wall or first, even soccer. You know, I just kicked. I was a goalie in soccer. I kicked the ball at the wall and practiced saving it. Just stuff like that, you know, it's. We didn't you know, not to saying video games are keeping kids away from sports, but we just wanted to be outside and we took every opportunity to get better and practice something just. And it was fun for us. It was never like a chore. It was always something we wanted to do.

Right. Right. Okay. So what about life after hockey? So I don't know how many years you want to play? I. I had Glenn Healey on and he works in the NHLPA, played with us on the 94 Stanley cup team. And he works with a lot of. A lot of players when they're, when they're finished with hockey. And he told me by the time they're. Most of them start around 23 and by the time they're 27, their career is just about over for a lot of players. So. Have you ever thought about life after hockey?

I tried it. There was a gap between playing with the national team and playing with Buffalo. Like I said, I didn't play that first year. The NWHL was around, so I just focused on work. So I'm 34 now and I'm still playing, but I tried it. I tried to just work and move on and I was coaching and I needed to keep playing. I needed to be involved. So that's what I'm doing now. And you know, as I'm more comfortable in my career, you know, away from hockey, maybe in a couple years I'll think about it. But right now I'm just enjoying it and it's still working. I can play hockey and work and travel and I don't know if I think about it too hard and I don't know.

Well, it's tough when you're done. I know for me, and I've shared this, I share this a lot. You know, for me, I don't, I don't lift weights. I like to skate. You know, not now. I won't be allowed in the house. I was told by the. By the boss here, she said, if you want to go out and skate with COVID don't plan on coming home, but I'll be kidding aside. Yeah, she. So I missed that a little bit. Just going out and having some fun or exercising. But I, you know, I do what I do personally now. I have to. Life after hockey, I'm always learning from other people, but I do my, my T2 ISO trainer. You know, I train. I don't lift weights and I take my protobite. That's my, my healthy bioavailability vitamin. I feel like a salesman here, but. And I don't lift weights and I feel amazing. Are you going to keep training? You ever think you're gonna, did you stop training? Cause you stopped for a while. Did you stop training or did you keep playing hockey? Because I know for me it was tough just to stop and not get back into it. How about you? Did you keep back, did you keep training or what did you do to stay in shape or not stay in shape?

Yeah, I wasn't on the ice. I needed a break and to focus on starting my career in Ohio. But I was still working out. I think that's something I'll always be passionate about. Just staying fit and I need to move. I'm not someone that can sit at the desk all day, even though that's what my job entails. But I'm up and about and moving and I find it very therapeutic to go to the gym and take a walk or run around the park or whatever. So I think if I'm not skating, I'm still going to be active and working out at some capacity.

Well, we work with a lot of professionals, big corporations and we tell them to have the mindset of an, of a champion or the mindset of an elite athlete and they heard it from you. You have to take care of yourself all the time. Even when you're done, you play at the highest level. You trained. I remember when I was playing, I said a boy, I'm not going to train when I'm done. But not me, you know, I'm doing my, my T2 ISO trainer. I'm taking my protein, I'm staying in shape and I'm always going to take care of myself. I Lisa, it was great to have you. Well, you're still in your career. You've had a fantastic career. You should be proud playing for our country, everything you've done. And not that you're old, but playing at 34 is not easy. You're playing against a lot of 22, 23 year olds out there and I'm sure it could be challenging.

Yeah, it's, I definitely have to, you know, more now than ever, you know, stay on top of training and, you know, really get that extra recovery or pre workout stretch and foam roll or whatnot. So. And then like I said, just not think about it. Just go out and do, do what I've been doing.

Okay, give us one takeaway that you could leave with our listeners. If you're a young athlete and you have the, if you're inspired to get to the level you did give us in a one sentence what can somebody do to to live the life that you live?

Lisa I think most importantly and sorry, this might be more than one sentence is have fun. Days aren't always going to be easy and the best but have fun with it and things will fall into place.

I love that I say that to everybody that plays sports. The number one thing is having fun. My son and my daughter both played in high school. They played sports and just for fun, they never really want to go anywhere. So that's the number one thing. Lisa, thank you so much for being here. It was great having you on the show and I'm sure our listeners love this and you're an inspiration to everybody.

Thank you very much. I appreciate you having me.

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