Mike Valley: 10 lessons from career of former Stars goalie coach part 10
- Surround yourself with people who challenge your growth beyond the hockey rink, not just those who validate your existing beliefs.
- Mike Valley drew leadership lessons from Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell — the real-life subject of the film Lone Survivor — to apply to goaltender development.
- Clint Bruce, former NFL player and Navy SEAL, provided Valley with frameworks on team, trust, and accountability relevant to goaltending coaching.
- Valley's career spanned nine teams in three leagues as a player, then AHL coaching under Mitch Korn, and eight NHL seasons with the Dallas Stars.
- Looking outside hockey — to military, motorsport, and elite sport — is a recurring theme in Valley's coaching philosophy, spanning this entire 10-part series.
Part 10: Find Your Tribe featuring Clint Bruce and fellow Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell
It’s fitting that we conclude this 10-part series with former Dallas Stars goaltending coach Mike Valley with a story about Marcus Luttrell, the Navy Seal who was portrayed by actor Mark Wahlberg in the 2013 movie Lone Survivor. We promised when we started to feature several unique aspects of Valley’s fascinating and diverse career path on the ice as a player and coach, and off it in a variety of capacities as a self-described serial entrepreneur. It’s lived up that billing at the end, with lessons from soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic a NASCAR pit crew, Clint Bruce, a former NFL player and Navy Seal, and now one from Luttrell.
It’s an important lesson for goalies, coaches and parents about who we choose to surround ourselves with and learn from, and looking beyond hockey and our own egos:
Valley’s presentation was part of the WHL / Hockey Canada Goaltending Symposium presented by InGoal Magazine, and thanks to that partnership, we get to share them with our readers. If you haven’t already watched the other nine parts, you can find them by clicking these links:
Part 1: Balancing technique with letting a goalie go out and play
Part 2: Lessons from head coaches: ‘There’s Winning and There’s Misery’
Part 3: Wisdom from Stu Barnes: You Can’t Cheat the Game
Part 4: You Can’t Change the Past, featuring Niklas Backstrom
Part 5: Taking Ownership with Kari Lehtonen
Part 6: Perspective from Rich Peverley
Part 7: The Power of Swagger with Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Part 8: Important goalie lessons from a tough NASCAR pit stop
Part 9: Time and Tide Wait for No Man, a lesson from the Navy SEALs
~ Valley’s pro career included playing for nine teams in three leagues over six seasons, including two in Sweden, then one year as an American Hockey League goalie coach under Mitch Korn with the Predators, followed by eight seasons in the NHL with the Stars, first as the goaltending coach and then the director of goaltending development. He has co-authored three books on the position with Justin Goldman of The Goalie Guild, founded and sold three other hockey-related companies (Next Testing, AXIS goaltending, and Price Blocks), helped start Network Goaltending (their symposiums start back up this month) and is also currently involved with Elite Goalies, Power Play, a sports agency for coaches, and House of Leaders, which runs a variety of online educational courses, including hockey training, for high school credits. Add all that experience into the relationships Valley has built with leaders from all areas of life and different cultures — from spiritual to martial arts to Navy SEALS and beyond — and the way he’s learned to apply them back to goaltending, and it’s safe to say there are a lot of great lessons he can share with the rest of us. Look for Part 5: Taking Ownership with Kari Lehtonen next week.
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