ReThinking Breaking leadership barriers with hockey coach Jessica Campbell
22 snips
Mar 17, 2026 
Jessica Campbell, trailblazing hockey coach and the first full-time female NHL assistant behind the bench, shares stories from being the only girl on teams and her unconventional path to pro coaching. She outlines her three leadership tenets: listen, lift, love. Conversations cover tough feedback, building team standards, resilience under skepticism, and the costs and rewards of being a pioneer.
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Unexpected Weight Of Being First
- Jessica Campbell never expected to be the first woman behind an NHL bench and felt a flood of responsibility when it happened.
- She traced that moment back to childhood experiences of being the only girl on boys teams that built her resilience and sense of belonging.
Growing Up As The Only Girl On Boys Teams
- As a child Jessica often skated on boys teams, sometimes facing extra softness or harsher targeting from opponents.
- Her parents coached toughness: play unless you can't walk, which fueled her drive and reframing of threat as validation.
Use The Three Ls Framework
- Use the three Ls: Listen, Lift, Love as a coaching framework to build trust and psychological safety.
- Listen to players as humans, lift them with process-focused belief, and love by setting high standards and celebrating wins.