Direction
Know what you stand for. Before you can lead others, you get clear on your values, your standards, and the leader you're working to become.
Leadership coaching for athletes, captains & teams — rooted in elite hockey
Find Your Direction. Lead With Purpose.
Real coaching for the moments that actually shape a leader. Show up with your hardest challenge — leave with a clear plan you can execute.
Want to learn more? Explore programs
The Compass
Three habits that keep you oriented.
Awareness
Understand how you influence others. We work on reading the room, naming your blind spots, and seeing the effect you already have on your team.
Action
Practice leadership through real experiences. You put it to work with your team — on the ice and in the room — and we turn what happens into growth.
Develop the confidence to lead honestly and strengthen your team culture.
Testimonials
Leaders forged at the highest levels.
Sophie has coached captains who went on to lead well beyond the rink — in professional hockey operations and in the business world. The habits that made them leaders on the ice carried into everything after.
Katelyn Parker
Colgate University → Seattle Kraken
Two-year captain at Colgate and program-record holder for games played — Parker went on to become the first woman on the Seattle Kraken's player development staff, serving as Senior Manager of Player Development and Scout for Team USA.
Neris Archambault
Norwich University → JP Morgan
A senior captain at Norwich who led on the ice and in the locker room — remembered for the overtime winner that toppled a top-ranked rival. Known for her composure under pressure and her ability to elevate everyone around her. Now pursuing her MBA and a career in finance.
The fastest way to learn is from someone who has led inside pressure, been in locker rooms, and built elite culture up close.
Offerings
Captain's Academy
The flagship: ongoing, in-season coaching for captains and emerging leaders — trust, hard conversations, accountability, and leading under pressure, with your coach kept in the loop.
Leadership Assessment
The easiest place to start — a focused look at how you lead, your communication style, and your impact on a team. Credits toward Captain's Academy if you continue.
In-Season Coach Advisory
For coaches: season-long mentorship from a former NCAA head coach — a steady, been-there voice for the hard moments as they arise.
Hey there,
I've spent years as a captain, a national champion, and an NCAA head coach, and I've learned one thing: talent alone doesn't build great teams.
Too often, the people carrying a team are left to figure leadership out alone. Captains get a letter and no manual. Coaches hold the whole room together with no one to call. Some find their way. Many don't — and trust erodes, accountability slips, and culture suffers.
That's the gap I built this practice to close.
It's intentional leadership development — for the athletes stepping into leadership, with or without the letter, and for the coaches who guide them. No generic advice, no motivational fluff. Just practical tools, honest conversations, and principles proven in elite athletic environments.
The goal was never just better captains. It's leaders — on the ice and off it — who strengthen culture, build trust, and raise the people around them.
Sophie Leclerc Doherty
NCAA champion · head coach · leadership developer
A real-life foundation
Forged at a military college.
Sophie played and coached at Norwich University — the oldest private military college in the country. This is leadership grounded in grit, honor, and honesty: doing the hard, right thing when no one is watching. Not mainstream. Not buzzwords. A standard your athletes will feel.
This coaching works because we start with clarity — not a generic curriculum.
1
Start the conversation
We talk about where you are as a leader right now — and the kind of leader you want to become.
2
Get honest
Together we name your strengths, your blind spots, and the moments that challenge you most.
3
Build the foundation
We work on the real skills of leadership — communication, trust, accountability, and leading under pressure.
4
Lead for real
You put it into practice with your team, and we work through what actually happens on the ice and in the room.
5
Reflect and grow
We look at what worked, what didn't, and how you're showing up differently than when we started.
6
Lead beyond yourself
You become the leader who raises the standard and develops the people around you — long after we're done.
FAQ
Captain's Academy is Sophie's signature, season-long coaching for captains and emerging leaders — peer leadership, hard conversations, trust, and shaping team culture, with your coach kept in the loop. Athletes often begin with a Leadership Assessment; coaches can work with Sophie directly through the In-Season Coach Advisory.
National championship-winning player, three-year team captain, and NCAA head coach (Norwich University) and Division I assistant coach (Colgate). She has mentored national award winners and professional athletes at both Division I and Division III levels.
Sophie has competed and coached inside elite hockey environments for over a decade. Content is grounded in locker rooms, playoffs, and real team dynamics — not corporate keynotes repackaged for athletes.
Most athletes begin with a Leadership Assessment — a focused, one-time look at how you lead before committing to season-long coaching. Many then move into Captain's Academy. See the programs.
Primarily virtual — it keeps things flexible around your schedule and works wherever you are. In-person is possible on occasion, usually arranged through your program.
Sophie's deepest expertise is hockey, but leadership, culture, and captain development principles translate across team sports. Reach out to discuss your sport and context.