Elevate Your Game
Learn about the ACE ATHLETE CERTIFICATION
ACE Athlete Certification is a practical athlete-development program that teaches young athletes the
habits,
mindset,
self-control
and life skills
that support long-term performance
—on the ice and beyond.
Built around the 10 ACE Rules,
athletes learn to take responsibility for their choices,
manage their energy,
prepare their bodies,
control their thoughts
and become stronger, more confident athletes and people.
NOTE:
"No reproduction of course materials without written permission."
DEDICATION
ACE Athlete Certification is dedicated to every athlete I have had the privilege of teaching, from young athletes learning their first habits to players preparing for the next level.
Over the years, sport has shown me that talent matters, but the habits athletes build around that talent matter too.
How they prepare, recover, respond to mistakes, manage their energy, support teammates, and lead themselves can shape who they become on and off the ice.
ACE was created to help athletes understand those habits, practice them, and take ownership of them.
Build the habits.
Lead yourselves.
Inspire others.
Simply said, to help you become the best you can be and live a happy, healthy life.
❤️Annabelle
10 ATHLETE RULES
The 10 ACE Athlete Rules are the foundation of the ACE Athlete Certification Program.
Athletes are expected to learn and memorize all 10 rules.
The rules encompass simple routines, habits and principles that athletes can use every day to help reduce unnecessary stress, improve physical preparation and minimize the physical strain and issues that can interfere with performance.
The goal isn't simply to know the rules.
The goal is to live them.
When these habits become part of an athlete's routine, they can help create a stronger foundation for performance, recovery, self-control and overall well-being.
Learn the rules.
Memorize the rules.
Practice the rules.
Make them habits.
THE CHOICES ELITE ATHLETES MAKE
The 10 ACE Rules provide the foundation.
But becoming an elite athlete
—and becoming a strong, capable person
—requires more than following a set of rules.
The choices you make every day matter.
This part of the ACE Athlete Certification Program is about giving young athletes information they can use to make better decisions for themselves, both during their athletic years and long after their playing days are over.
We talk about the things that can have a real impact on an athlete's life:
how they manage their emotions and energy,
how they handle alcohol, money, time and stress,
how they communicate,
how they use technology,
and how they think about their education, future and leadership.
These aren't rules you are being told to follow.
They are choices you get to make.
The purpose is not to tell athletes what to do with their lives.
It is to give them enough knowledge and awareness to understand the consequences of their choices
—and to make those choices with confidence.
Because talent may open a door.
The choices you make
after you walk through it
can determine where you go.
THE YOUNGER YOU START THE SOONER YOU SEE RESULTS THAT HAVE LIFELONG IMPACT
1. ALIGNMENT AND POSTURE:
Teaching proper foot, knee, hip, pelvis and spinal alignment early helps make efficient movement habitual, rather than something they have to fix later.
2. BONE DEVELOPMENT:
Unusual weight-bearing activities place healthy stress on bones, depositing calcium which stimulates bone remodeling and helps build stronger bones during these important growing years.
3. STRENGTH AND STABILITY:
Developing the muscles that support the joints gives young athletes a better foundation as their bodies grow.
4. MOBILITY:
Good mobility established early helps them maintain usable range of motion as strength and body size increase.
5. BODY AWARENESS:
Kids learn to recognize how their feet, hips, spine, shoulders, and breathing affect their movement.
6. MOVEMENT PATTERNS:
The younger they learn good mechanics, the less likely poor habits become deeply ingrained.
7. INJURY PREVENTION:
They begin to understand the difference between a productive physical challenge and simply pushing through pain.
8. HEALTHY HABITS:
Sleep, hydration, recovery, nutrition, emotional control and managing energy become normal behaviors, rather than things they have to learn after problems develop.
9. BREATHING
AND NERVOUS-SYSTEM CONTROL:
Learning diaphragmatic breathing and reset techniques early gives them tools they can use not only in sport, but in school, competition, and everyday stressful situations.
10. CONFIDENCE:
They aren't just being told to "be confident." They gain confidence from knowing how to prepare their body and mind.
11. LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT:
Perhaps most importantly, the certification becomes recognition of how they take care of themselves as an athlete, not simply how talented they are.
THEY FEEL BETTER
— MENTALLY and PHYSICALLY
Young athletes in the ACE Athlete Certification don't just move better.
They feel better.
MENTALLY
because they have learned to manage stress.
They learn how to collect information from their body — what they are feeling, where they feel tension, how their breathing is — and then choose how they use that information. Instead of reacting immediately or spiraling into negative thoughts, they learn to pause, assess, and choose their thoughts.
IT'S DATA, NOT DRAMA.
That skill helps them on the field, in school, and in life.
PHYSICALLY
because they are developing habits that make recovery easier.
When alignment is better, when strength is balanced, when mobility is maintained, the body doesn't have to work as hard to compensate.
There is less unnecessary tension.
Breathing is more efficient.
Sleep, hydration, and simple daily reset habits start to support recovery automatically.
They learn:
• How to turn off effort after effort is done
• How to use breath and position to calm the system down
• How to take care of small issues before they become big ones
• How movement itself can be a form of recovery.
Over time, that means they
bounce back faster,
stay more consistent in training,
and enjoy their sport more.
That is the real purpose of ACE.
We are not just building better athletes today.
We are giving them the habits that help them feel better and take better care of themselves
for years to come.
Expert Care
Our experienced team brings skill and passion to every project, no matter the size.
Real Results
Proven outcomes that speak for themselves and make a meaningful difference for your business.
THE GOAL OF ACE ATHELETE CERTIFICATION
WHAT ACE CERTIFICATION IDENTIFIES
ACE Athlete Certification recognizes a player's work in developing
self-control,
healthy performance habits,
personal responsibility,
and leadership skills
that can be applied on and off the ice.
For a coach, the certification provides a quick indication that the player has been taught these skills,
understands why they matter to personal growth and performance,
and understands their responsibility as part of a team.
THIS CERTIFICATION DOES NOT MEASURE TALENT.
It identifies valuable habits and skills
that cannot be fully measured
in a tryout.
The goal is not to suggest that an ACE player is a finished product.
It shows that the athlete has been given a framework for
making better choices,
resetting under pressure,
preparing the body,
and contributing positively to a team.
THE STORY BEHIND ACE ATHLETE CERTIFICATION
ACE Athlete Certification was created because
10 years of working with athletes showed me that the lessons were bigger than hockey.
For more than a decade, I have worked with hockey players, helping them understand their bodies, improve their movement, prepare for their sport and perform at their best.
But along the way, something unexpected happened.
The athletes began coming back to me and telling me about changes they were experiencing off the ice, too.
Players told me that the breathing techniques they learned had helped them not only during games, but in everyday life.
Others told me that the work we were doing with movement had helped with problems they had been experiencing in their backs, hips and bodies.
I began to realize that what I was teaching wasn't simply about becoming a better hockey player.
It was about learning how to take care of yourself.
How to manage your energy.
How to control your thoughts and emotions.
How to prepare your body.
How to make better choices.
How to take responsibility for yourself.
And how to develop habits that can stay with you long after your playing days are over.
That realization changed the way I looked at the work.
The ACE Rules began to take shape—not as a list of things athletes were told they should do, but as practical principles they could actually use in their everyday lives.
And eventually, I knew these lessons needed to become more than something I taught in my studio or on the ice.
They needed to become a program.
ACE Athlete Certification was born from that belief.
The goal isn't simply to create better hockey players.
The goal is to help young athletes become more aware, more responsible and more capable of leading themselves—on the ice, off the ice and throughout their lives.
And ultimately, the young athletes who have trusted me, listened, questioned, learned and come back to tell me how these lessons have affected their lives are the reason I created it.
They are the reason ACE became a certification.
BRINGING ACE ATHLETE CERTIFICATION TO YOUR ORGANIZATION
ACE Athlete Certification was created to give organizations a way to teach young athletes lessons that go beyond their sport.
ACE Sports Mobility provides the ACE Athlete Certification Program, while trusted organizations deliver the program to their athletes in the way that best fits their students, coaches and schedule.
THE ORGANIZATION'S ROLE
Organizations are trusted to ensure that each athlete who receives an ACE Athlete Certification has actually learned and understood the lessons of the program.
This is an important responsibility.
An ACE Athlete Certification should represent something.
It should not simply be a certificate that is handed to a player for participating.
The organization knows its athletes.
It knows how the program was delivered,
what was taught and whether the athlete
has learned the principles well enough
to earn the certification.
ACE Sports Mobility trusts the organization to uphold that standard.
THE CERTIFICATION NUMBERS
Each organization receives its own designated series of ACE Athlete Certification numbers.
The numbering system identifies
the organization associated
with each certification
while allowing athletes
to choose an available number
within that organization’s assigned series.
A couple examples an organization might be assigned are a series such as:
ORG1-00 through ORG1-99
or
RR1-00 through RR1-99
The organization purchases
certification numbers in blocks of 25.
They may begin by purchasing 25 numbers
from their assigned series.
If they offer the program again
and want to certify another group of athletes, they can purchase another 25 numbers
from the same series.
This allows the organization to grow the program gradually without having to commit to 100 certifications at once.
HOW THE CERTIFICATION IS ISSUED
ACE Athlete Certification — Certification Process
Once an organization determines that an athlete has completed the program and learned the ACE lessons, the organization sends ACE Sports Mobility:
- The athlete’s name
- The athlete’s chosen certification number from the list assigned to the group
ACE Sports Mobility then prepares
the official ACE Athlete Certification card, including the certification number,
signs and dates it,
laminates it,
and sends it back to the organization,
along with
the ACE Athlete Certification booklet,
providing information about the program
and the ACE lessons
The name of every ACE Certified Athlete and their certification number, shown in red on the card, will be officially registered with ACE Sports Mobility.
The certification card also includes the ACE Sports Mobility verification email:
A coach or organization can contact ACE Sports Mobility at any time to verify that an athlete’s certification number is registered and valid.
The organization then presents the official ACE Athlete Certification to the athlete.
A PARTNERSHIP BUILT ON TRUST
This model allows organizations to deliver
ACE Athlete Certification
at their own pace
and in a way that works for their athletes
and their schedule,
while ACE Sports Mobility maintains control
of the official certification and certification records.
The organization delivers the lessons.
The athlete earns the certification.
ACE Sports Mobility issues the credential.
The number on the card represents more than participation.
It represents an athlete who has been taught
the ACE principles, learned the lessons
and earned the right to call themselves an
ACE Athlete.
HOW A PLAYER CAN USE THE ACE ATHLETE CERTIFICATE
A tryout gives a coach only a limited amount of time to evaluate a player.
Some athletes quickly stand out.
Others may immediately show that they are not the right fit.
But there is often a large group
in the middle — players a coach does not know yet.
This is where the ACE Athlete Certificate can give a player another way to introduce themselves.
A player approaching a new coach could simply say:
“Have you heard of ACE Athlete Certification?”
If the coach says no, the player can hand them their ACE Athlete Certificate and say:
“This is my ACE certification card. This booklet explains what it means, if you’d like to learn more.”
The player is not asking the coach to choose them because they have an ACE certificate.
They are giving the coach another piece of information about who they are as an athlete.
The certification tells the coach that the player has been taught and has worked on:
- self-control and emotional control
- healthy performance habits
- preparation and recovery routines
- personal responsibility
- making better choices under pressure
- understanding their role as part of a team
- leadership and positive team behaviour
These qualities may not be obvious during a short tryout.
The ACE Athlete Certificate gives the player a way to say:
“This is part of who I am as an athlete, and I take these things seriously.”
SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF
For the athlete, earning the ACE Athlete Certificate is also something to be proud of.
It represents the time and effort they have invested in developing themselves — not just as a player, but as a person.
That sense of accomplishment can build confidence and help an athlete carry themselves with greater self-belief.
Confidence does not have to come from being the best player in the room.
It can also come from knowing you have put in the work to become the best version of yourself.
The ACE Athlete Certificate does not replace talent, skill, hard work or performance.
It simply gives a coach one more reason to take a closer look at the person behind the player.
BECOME AN ACE ATHLETE CERTIFICATION TRAINER
Start with the ACE method. Make it your own.
Every group of athletes is different.
Their age, experience, personalities, attention span and level of understanding will all affect how the ACE lessons are best delivered.
As a trainer, you will naturally discover what works best for the athletes in front of you.
For that reason, ACE Athlete Certification
is not designed to tell you exactly
how you must teach every lesson.
Instead, you will receive a
step-by-step delivery guide
based on more than 10 years of teaching
and delivering these lessons to young athletes.
This guide is built from real experience
—what has worked,
what has connected with athletes
and what has helped them understand
and remember the ACE principles.
The guide provides the structure,
key teaching points
and activities to help you deliver
the program with confidence.
It also includes
games,
challenges
and practical activities
that can be used throughout the program
to reinforce the lessons
and make them memorable.
Your ACE Athlete Certification Trainer Program will be provided
in hard-copy format,
giving you a resource
you can keep with you
and refer to as you deliver the program.
Use the guide.
Learn the material.
Get to know your athletes.
Then make the program your own.
The goal isn't to create trainers who simply follow instructions.
The goal is to create trainers
who understand the ACE principles well enough to teach them effectively.
For more information contact
Annabelle Juneau
Founder of ACE SPORTS MOBILITY 2015
Creator of
ACE ATHLETE CERTIFICATION 2026
506-466-1314
© 2026 Annabelle Juneau. All rights reserved.
ACE SPORTS MOBILITY™ and the ACE ATHLETE CERTIFICATE™ name and logo are trademarks of Annabelle Juneau and are the subject of trademark applications filed with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the copyright owner, except for brief quotations used for review or other purposes permitted by law.
ACE SPORTS MOBILITY™
Move the Body. Train the Mind.