Brad Schlegel, two-time Olympian and proud Homewood Health leader, shares powerful lessons from his Olympic journey. His story, woven together with the Schlegel family’s longstanding commitment to Homewood Health, represents a meaningful connection to supporting mental health care in Canada. Homewood Health applies many of these same principles to help individuals work with experts to build the tools and support strategies they need to lead healthier lives. Together, the Schlegels and Homewood Health are building an ecosystem of mental health supports that Canadian athletes can access to build strength and resilience within and outside the competitive landscape of the Olympics.
Brad has taken his mental health journey full circle from athlete to mental health advocate by drawing from his experiences in the 1992 and 1994 Olympics, where he first recognized the importance of mental health and how it extends to all areas of life, creating more resilient, healthier, and high-performing athletes and teams.
By using the same mental health skills that Brad had employed to win not one but two silver medals in hockey, like visualization, breathing and relaxation, Team Canada athletes are encouraged to embrace positive mental health as part of their training regimen. One of Brad’s clearest lessons is deceptively simple: “To stay strong is to understand that strong does not mean invincible. When athletes accept that they will feel unsure, anxious, or off their game sometimes, strength becomes sustainable instead of performative.” Brad credits that mindset and the mental skills training he received with helping him manage the spikes of adrenaline and pressure that come with Olympic competition.
Today, mental health is discussed more openly in locker rooms. Sport psychology, mental preparation and therapy are now core parts of high-performance training. Yet Brad’s reflections remain timely: high-performance environments still create intense stress, individuals can be reluctant to talk about their mental health, and the tools he learned, namely accepting emotions, breathwork, visualization, rituals, and community, are all effective in improving mental health and performance. Those same techniques are valuable beyond sport: workplaces, schools, and communities benefit from routines, honest conversations about mental health and supportive teams.
To learn more about Homewood Health EFAP services, trusted by Team Canada in the 2026 Winter Olympics, please contact us via https://homewoodpathfinder.com/book-a-demo/