Oskari Setänen: “Coaching has helped me perform more consistently”

”Mental coaching is a very important and significant tool for me. It provides a great opportunity to develop as a player and as a person. It has played a big role in finding myself and my values.

Coaching has allowed me to really enjoy hockey. It has helped me endure the long season mentally and be able to perform longer periods consistently well, and be at my best when it has mattered the most.

Coaching helps me identify thoughts, recognize emotional states, and find tools to regulate them and correct course when needed.

Especially when I feel lost with my thoughts, I need Mirjam’s clarifying questions. It’s important that she steps in when she hears there’s something more to what I’m saying, that I myself am not aware of.

Photo: Valtteri Flinck

It’s difficult to get to the core of the issue on your own.

Superficial solutions may in reality lead you in the wrong direction. There’s usually something more to it. Mirjam’s questions guide my thinking deeper, enabling a real solution. She challenges my thoughts and hones in on what actually matters.

Although coaching enables consistent performance, I use it for holistic growth, not just hockey.

It’s important to me to grow as a person, to be balanced and able to treat myself and others well.

I trust Mirjam in this so much. The trust between us has deepened when I’ve been open about my weaknesses and seen that she doesn’t judge me. Mirjam wants to help, and you don’t ever have to worry about what you can say.

Years of working together is a sign that this has really worked for me. I’ve been really happy with our process. It's been open and honest from the start and I wouldn't change a thing about it.

For 5 years we’ve always picked up where we last left off, and continued to grow. As my thinking has evolved, we have been able to go deeper each season.

Photo: Ella Taponen

Coaching is one of the most important tools to keep my mind in check.

It regularly offers a time and space to stop and reflect on past weeks – what’s been going well and what hasn’t. It’s key for my growth and well-being, and I will continue to use it as part of my daily life, to support me with the mental demands of hockey.

I recommend coaching to others as well.

When someone helps you to understand, you get more capacity for your development.

I myself have been damn happy with coaching from the very beginning. I'm still continuing with it, because it’s not just an important part of hockey, but of my life. 

After all, the price is just a small investment in yourself.”

-Oskari Setänen, Professional Hockey Goalie, KooKoo

Finnish professional hockey goalie Oskari Setanen recommends mental coaching to all athletes looking for that next step in their development. Oskari believes the mental aspect offers an endless reserve for growth and development. He has been working with mental coach Mirjam Wallin for the past five years.

Follow Oskari on Instagram: @tulipekka