When three-time Olympic gold medalist Colleen Sostorics walks into a room, she brings more than just her medals, she brings real talk, deep laughs, and life lessons that stick.
Speaking at the All-Girls Hockey Camp as a guest speaker, Colleen shared her journey to inspire the next generation of young female hockey players, encouraging them to chase big dreams with grit and heart.
Growing up in Kennedy, Saskatchewan, Colleen didn’t grow up dreaming of Olympic gold, not at first. “It wasn’t something I dreamed of at the beginning,” she admitted. But her journey would eventually lead her to the grandest stage in sport, the Olympic Winter Games, where she helped Team Canada win gold in 2002, 2006, and 2010.
Yet getting there took more than talent. It took change, on every level.
Colleen emphasized that personal growth was just as critical as physical training. “I had to be a better Colleen,” she said. And it wasn’t just individuals who had to grow. “Hockey had to grow too. We had to do better as a team and as a sport.”
She gave the girls a glimpse of just how much the game, and training, had changed.
“In 2002, we trained by playing against Midget AAA boys’ teams. That gave us the challenge we needed. But by 2010, we stepped it up, we played a full season in the Midget AAA League in Alberta. Thirty-three games, all counted. And we won about 28 of them. We got a lot better.”
Adapt. Train harder. Get better. That was the theme.
Training for Olympic glory wasn’t glamorous, it was grueling. And it started at boot camp in Dawson Creek, B.C.
“We had to run by 7 a.m. Without coffee!” Colleen exclaimed, drawing laughter from her young audience. “Do you guys know not to bug your parents before coffee? Yeah? Imagine running before it!”
Her days were filled with intense routines: early-morning runs, on-ice practices, off-ice workouts, weights, kickboxing (“because it’s fun”), and yoga. It was their first real taste of Olympic life, training, living, and pushing through together as a team.
A video clip from that time showed team bonding, sweat, and some pretty intense pool workouts. One challenge? Swim two kilometers as a team.
That was great for Olympic teammate Gillian Apps, a former competitive swimmer. But for Colleen?
“I had my Red level. That meant I could be in the pool without a parent, but not in the deep end!” she laughed.
Apps helped her through it with a strategy, Colleen would swim halfway, and Apps would pick up the slack. Because that’s what teammates do.
“You lift each other up, even if someone has to carry you through the deep end.”
Her message was clear and powerful:
Achieving your dreams doesn’t mean doing it alone. It means showing up, growing, and supporting one another, day in and day out.
And maybe, she added, having coffee first.
From Kennedy, Saskatchewan, to the top of the Olympic podium, Colleen Sostorics’ story is one of perseverance, humility, and humour, a golden reminder to the young girls sitting in front of her that champions aren’t just born. They’re built, early mornings and all.