By Ethan Ready

Master of Sports Psychology

Associate Coach Josh Dixon brings mental preparation to Cougars through Master’s Degree

Sep 20, 2021 | 12:42 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Prince George Cougars have been bolstering their lineup over the last few years, and they used the opportunity to bolster their bench crew as well.

With the departure of Associate Coach Jason Smith to the American Hockey League, the Cougars brought in former Saint John Sea Dogs’ head coach Josh Dixon.

Dixon has coached over 20 years at various levels. The Oakville, Ontario product spent parts of three seasons (2017-19) with the Sea Dogs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). During his time with the Sea Dogs, he served as an assistant coach for the QMJHL All-Stars in the 2019 Canada-Russia Series.

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Prior to his time in Saint John, Dixon spent four seasons in the WHL as an associate coach and assistant coach. Dixon was an assistant coach for three seasons (2011-2014) with the Regina Pats and was an associate coach on Mark Lamb’s staff with the Swift Current Broncos during the 2014-15 season.

While he brings an abundance of coaching experience, it’s his educational qualifications that jump off the page. Dixon holds a Master’s degree in Sports Psychology from the University of Calgary and a Master’s degree in High Performance Coaching from the National Coaching Institute.

During his time with Swift Current, he was finishing his Master’s Degree. His research was done through the Broncos on mental preparation in teenagers prior to practice and competition. The idea, according to Dixon, was to teach mental skills that accompanied physical skills.

“The players nowadays have a very regimented physical preparation routine prior to practices and games, but mentally they’re kind of on their own.”

As a result, Dixon wanted to make sure players had a mental plan that accompanied that physical plan. He then examined the impact that would then have on their performance.

“It was interesting to go through,” said Dixon. “Our results and findings showed that consistency in performance was achieved as a result of a solid routine prior to both practices and games.”

The study didn’t necessarily make the players perform better, but what it did achieve the window between the players “best” performance versus their “worst” performance was narrowed by implementing a mental routine that accompanied the physical routine they were working on.

Following his time as a head coach in the QMJHL, Dixon is looking at this opportunity with the COugars to step back, work with Lamb again, and review his performance as a coach.

“No different than the players, they want to keep getting better. I want to keep getting better as a coach. We all want to make it to the NHL,” said Dixon. “But before we make it to the NHL we want to win a championship, and that’s why I’m here.”