Cape Breton University’s connection to the Cape Breton Eagles is about more than just a shared love of hockey. For Dr. Lynn LeVatte, Assistant Professor in CBU’s Education Department, it’s about showing gratitude to the players who inspire the next generation, both on and off the ice.
For the past six years, Dr. LeVatte has coordinated the Cape Breton Eagles School Visiting Program, where players from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) have touched the lives of more than 12,000 youth in elementary and middle schools across Cape Breton. During their visits, players engage with students in classrooms, gyms and sometimes, outdoors on school grounds. Dr. LeVatte says the program features physical activities, nutrition, creative arts and a focus on social emotional learning.
“Social emotional learning contributes to positive youth mental health as it equips young people with the skills to manage emotions, build healthy relationships and make responsible decisions,” says Dr. LeVatte. “The goal is to build pathways toward resilience and overall well-being. We’ve uncovered a wonderful opportunity through the sport of hockey to support healthy futures.”
The school visits with the Eagles are made up of group activities, presentations and conversations. Players lead discussions on everything from how to be a good friend and showing kindness, gratitude and respect, to talking about the importance of sleep, limiting screen time and the benefits of physical activity. They play floor hockey with students and teachers, read stories, do artwork and share healthy snacks. Some of the artwork and mindfulness journaling activities will be displayed during the School Visit Day at the Nest, happening on Sunday, March 2.
“Research shows that when students feel connected to their schools, it impacts their overall health, with an interdependence between health and education,” Dr. LeVatte says. “Healthy students are better learners and better educated individuals are healthier.”
Dr. LeVatte says the excitement, level of participation and joy students experience when they get to meet the Eagles makes it all worthwhile. “The impacts are not only visible, as the kids jump up and down hug each other with excitement,” she says. “But they’re audible too. They cheer so loud they could raise the roof. It’s an experience they’ll never forget.”
Dr. LeVatte works with the individual schools to plan visits with maximum impact. They customize the topics and activities to engage everyone from small groups to large student assemblies. She adds that as much as the visits are enjoyed by the students, they are equally beneficial to the Eagles players who get to demonstrate their leadership skills and community-mindedness.
“The players who visit the schools are eager to grow their skills as mentors,” says Dr. LeVatte. “They are often humbled by the attention they receive and take great pride in their responsibility as role models.” As an educator and researcher, Dr. LeVatte was motivated to examine how coaches in other organized sports might be able to help their players develop these skills. She began connecting with colleagues to identify initiatives that have defined success in youth engagement, both on and off the ice.
In the spring of 2024, after discussions with the Atlantic Hockey Group and the support of a federal Partnership Engage Grant, Dr. LeVatte and her team launched a podcast called Beyond the Ice.
“The Beyond the Ice podcast examines the role of social emotional learning in the sport of hockey,” explains Dr. LeVatte. “Conversations with coaches, players, parents and hockey operations staff focus on relationship building, and using effective practices to improve confidence, motivation and collective performance.”
Dr. LeVatte encourages anyone involved in youth hockey to check out the seven-episode series. “We have some amazing guests who share their experiences working with hockey kids, including Sylvain Couturier and Isabelle Morrier, who talk about it from a parenting perspective,” she explains. “They raised two hockey kids, with one now serving as captain of an NHL team.”
The research project has expanded to include a partnership with Hockey Nova Scotia which will build upon coaching experiences through inclusion, leadership and culture in ice hockey. A second season of Beyond the Ice is planned for 2025, sharing these results.
Dr. LeVatte says she’s building on the relationship with the QMJHL, as the organization looks at ways to focus on player development, with an understanding of social emotional learning. “We’re also continuing to gain interest abroad,” she adds.
For the past two years, Dr. LeVatte and her research colleagues have delivered presentations in Sweden during Linkoping University’s annual hockey conference, supported by the Swedish Research Council for Sport Science. They attended the NHL draft conference in 2024, where they collaborated with Doug MacLean, a former NHL Coach, General Manager and SportsNet host, with a focus on communication and leadership practices. Most recently, the team is in conversation with post-secondary organizations in Spain, who are interested in applying social emotional learning to coaching and leadership development within higher education and innovative teaching practices.
“We’re excited to represent CBU’s strength in community-engaged research and pride in our hometown hockey heroes made up of coaches and players,” says Dr. LeVatte. “They do us proud both on and off the ice.”
Dr. LeVatte acknowledges an incredible research team, including Assistant Professor Dr. Kristin O’Rourke in CBU’s education department, Assistant Professor Shaun Ranni, faculty in experiential studies in community and sport, Sarah MacRae, Senior Communications Lab Instructor, along with Dr. Christina Phillips, faculty at the University of Toronto. Several CBU students from the Bachelor of Education program have also worked on the project.
Congratulations to Dr. LeVatte for scoring a goal with this important research!