InGoal Radio Episode 178 with Kimberly Newell
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Kimberly Newell, a Princeton graduate and professional goaltender, represented China at the 2022 Beijing Olympics after recovering from a badly broken ankle suffered just two and a half months before competition began. She credits mental training and mindset work — developed through sports psychologists, pre-game rituals with her father, and ongoing self-discovery — as central to that recovery and her long career. Newell now applies those lessons as a goaltender coach and mentor with Empower Hockey in the Vancouver area.
- Kimberly Newell recovered from a severe broken ankle in roughly 10 weeks to compete for China at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, crediting mental training as a key factor in that comeback.
- Mental skills work — including sports psychology, pre-game routines, and mindset development — can begin as early as childhood car rides with a parent and evolve throughout a goalie's career.
- Goalies, coaches, and goalie parents at every level can benefit from intentional mental performance training, not just physical practice.
- Newell's custom Brian's Custom Sports golden dragon pads, made for the Beijing Olympics, represent a notable example of goalie equipment design tied to cultural identity and occasion.
- The Bauer M5 Pro pads and gloves offer pro-level features at a lower price point than the top-end Mach line, making elite-level technology more accessible.
Episode 178 of the InGoal Radio Podcast, presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports, features Princeton graduate, European league pro and Olympian Kimberly Newell.
Feature Interview
presented by NHL Sense Arena
In the feature interview, presented by Sense Arena, Newell shares her incredible path to playing for China at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, including the story of her remarkable recovery from a badly broken ankle suffered just two and a half months before they started. That incredible comeback wouldn’t have been possible without the mental training and mindset work she’s done throughout her career, starting with some great stories about pre-game pump ups in the car with her dad, and continuing through a journey of self discovery, including work with sports psychologists, in college and pro. Those examples, and so many more involving her search now for better ways to train on and off the ice while working as a coach and mentor with Empower Hockey in the Vancouver area, make this undoubtedly one of our best interviews yet. It’s a lengthy conversation loaded with insights and examples that goalies — and coaches and goalie parents — at every level will benefit from hearing. (And oh yeah, we also get into the story behind what was arguably the best set of custom pads from the past season, Newell’s golden dragon Olympic set made by Brian’s Custom Sports).
Weekly Gear Segment
presented by The Hockey Shop Source for SportsAll that, plus a trip to The Hockey Shop Source for Sports for a look at the new Bauer M5 Pro pads and gloves, which offers many of the same pro-level features and incredible value at a lower price point than the top-end Mach line we debuted recently in this same space.
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