(7).png?width=250&height=125&name=HONE%20Logos%20(250%20%C3%97%20125%20px)(7).png "HONE Logo")
BREAKING BARRIERS IN JUNIOR HOCKEY
How Sarnia Sting Transforms Mental Health Culture Through Data-Driven Insights
"The HONE app really allows us to break through some of the stigma just by creating a conversation around players individual mental health and wellness on a weekly basis. It removes the stigma from the conversation and makes it part of what we do here."
- Matt Barnes, Mental Performance Coach - Sarnia Sting Hockey Club
AT A GLANCE
The Sarnia Sting, a premier Ontario Hockey League (OHL) team, has been on a relentless pursuit of their first championship. Under the guidance of Mental Performance Coach Matt Barnes, the organization recognized that breaking through mental health barriers was crucial for both player development and team success.
In 2017-2018, Barnes joined the Sarnia Sting to address the unique challenges facing junior hockey players: 16-17 year olds navigating new cities, billet families, intense pressure, and demanding 68-game seasons while balancing school, relationships, and social life.
The team's core values of character, pride, inclusion, and process guide their mission: "the relentless pursuit of pride among the Sarnia Sting community through unquestionable work ethic, integrity, and leadership."
"Athletes, and especially student athletes, are a vulnerable population. They struggle more with anxiety, depression, and substance abuse issues than the general population. On top of that, we have this stigma and culture, especially with boys and men, where struggling emotionally or mentally is seen as a weakness."
- Matt Barnes, Mental Performance Coach, Sarnia Sting
.png "U of T Case Study Image (2)")
THE CHALLENGE: KEEPING A FINGER ON THE MENTAL PULSE
With HONE, the Sting were able to customize key questions to reflect their organizational values. These targeted items reflected recurring themes that arose in one-on-one sessions, self-criticism, perfectionism, and internal pressure while also reinforcing the organization’s core values of humility, pride, inclusion, and process.
HONE’s consistent use has transformed how the organization approaches mental wellness:
-
Stigma Reduction: Regular check-ins have normalized mental health conversations across the entire organization.
-
Proactive Interventions: Data allows for early identification of trends such as fatigue, burnout, or disconnect, leading to timely adjustments in schedule, team-building activities, or additional support.
-
Leadership Development: Team leaders review aggregated HONE data, empowering them to support teammates and build stronger leadership habits.
-
Athlete Empowerment: Players have an anonymous way to request support directly through the app if they are struggling.
TRANSFORMATIVE RESULTS
The team is its own organism, constantly shifting, changing, and evolving. Barnes and the coaching staff identified critical gaps in understanding player wellbeing.
Increased Self-Awareness
Players are more checked in and attuned to themselves, with improved understanding of their functioning throughout the season.
Continuous Connection
Players reach out even during non-survey weeks, showing the tool's impact on help-seeking behaviors.
Leadership Empowerment
Captains and leadership groups use Hone data in meetings to identify issues and implement actionable solutions.
Proactive Interventions
Data guides targeted workshops on sleep hygiene, self-talk, pressure management, and team building activities.
"The number one thing that sticks out is the amount of conversations we're now having about mental wellbeing among the staffing group, with players, as an organization. It's constant, it's regular, and it's frequent. Over time, this has whittled away at any stigma or barriers to having these discussions."
- Matt Barnes, Mental Performance Coach, Sarnia Sting
.png "U of T Case Study Image (1)")
COACHES PERSPECTIVE
Matt Barnes views Hone as the perfect complement to traditional coaching methods, providing the science and data to support the art of player development.
- Regular agenda item in bi-weekly team meetings
- Identifies patterns in fatigue, pressure, and team dynamics
- Guides decisions on rest days, team building, and leadership engagement
- Provides confidence that all athletes have opportunities for support
- Connects with players through their preferred communication method
"There's something really powerful about reaching out for help when you're struggling. Knowing that guys are struggling but not reaching out for help is really one of the most difficult parts of this job. When you talk about those stats of players reaching out, it fills up my heart."
- Matt Barnes, Mental Performance Coach, Sarnia Sting
READY TO BREAK BARRIERS IN YOUR PROGRAM?
Discover how Hone Athletics can help your team normalize mental health conversations, identify at-risk athletes, and create a culture where seeking support is seen as a strength, not a weakness.