The Lamoureux Twins and Family Background
The director used extraordinary opportunities, family background and 10,000 hours to become a success.
By Emily Auge | Elementary Education Major
With six minutes left in regulation Team USA trails by one. Don’t get too upset, they may still have a chance… Monique scores one for USA to bring it into a shootout round. We’re five rounds into the shoot-out, the skaters getting exhausted. Sweat dripping from the women’s faces onto the ice and the thought of being so close to bringing home the gold goes through their heads. Everyone in the stands and at home watching on TV wonders, “Can they do it?” Coach calls Jocelyne in to shoot for team USA in the shootout. She starts at the center of the ice and skates down the ice, heading toward the Canadian goalie. She fakes out the goalie with a fake shot, then drags the puck on her stick from her right to left back to right hand and scores. Jocelyne wins the shootout for team USA. Twenty years in the making and the Lamoureux sisters’ dreams come true. “These two twins were key players in tonight’s hockey game USA vs. Canada” (Pepitone).
The Lamoureux’s spent 20+ hour weeks with their brother’s out at the prairie pond and the ice arena to prepare for the girls first hockey season playing on the boy’s pewee team (Smith). As girls, the Lamoureux’s were aware they’re not as strong as the boys they are competing against and must prepare to be pushed around. That wasn’t hard for them to adjust to though, because their brothers enjoyed plowing them into the snow banks and roughing their feathers (Whiteside). Their brothers taught them the mental and physical toughness they needed to succeed. Before you know it, the Lamoureux’s pewee hockey team won the North Dakota state title.
Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux, twin sisters and teammates on Team USA, in 2009 were ranked 3rd and 4th in the nation in scoring and are praised by many for their strength and work ethic. From a young age to now you can see how their positive mindset and training habits have carried through their life. Therefore, as Outliers: The Story of Success author Malcolm Gladwell writes, “Achievement is talent plus preparation” (Outliers). The Lamoureux’s extraordinary opportunities, from their family background, and 10,000 hours from a young age allowed them to get ahead of their peers and see more opportunities.
The Lamoureux twins were key players on and off the ice for Team USA. It’s March 2017, the USA women’s hockey team has been negotiating with the USA Sports Committee for 15 months (Berkman). The women want what they deserve. Better pay and support they can live off. They’re #1 in the Nation, why not give them that at least. “At the time the women were ranked №1 in the world, with three world championships under their belt” (Langone). The women are upset, frustrated, and exhausted. They have had enough working 2 jobs and playing hockey (which is a full-time commitment) on top of having family to take care of. It’s nearly impossible to imagine what is expected out of them. It’s two weeks until the International Ice Hockey World Championship. Team USA is set to take on Canada, their biggest rival. Meanwhile, it’s still just talk between the women on team USA and the USA committee. Until, Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux get the whole entire women’s team and their alternates to boycott the most important game of the year vs. Canada. Now, it’s a couple days before the big game and there’s no word. Everyone is on their toes; will the game happen? You could say last minute, but finally. The USA committee and the Women’s USA Hockey Team has come to an agreement. They have gone on to play the game. You wouldn’t believe it; they have won two of the biggest battles on and off the ice in just a couple of short days compared to the long-haul fight for over a year. There’s NO backing down for the women’s team.
Extraordinary opportunities come on and off the ice for the Lamoureux’s. Their incredible work ethic from boy’s pewee league in 6th grade, to being shipped of the Shattuck St. Mary’s in MN for high school. Then, spending college playing Division 1 hockey at the University of Minnesota, and back to home to play hockey for the University of North Dakota (Gregory). They have finally made the journey back to where their talent originated. But wait! The Jocelyne and Monique have both made the cut. A dream come true; they’re officially representing the United States. At age 21, the two have made the roster for the women’s USA hockey team.
According to the article, Ordinary magic and extraordinary performance: Psychology resilience and thriving in high achievers, “high achievers have resilient qualities such as positive and proactive personality, experience and learning, sense of control, flexibility and adaptability, balance and perspective and perceived social support” (Sakar). As we look through the Lamoureuxs life we recognize these characters portrayed. They show us adaptability through every chapter of their journey. To maintain a healthy balance in professional sports it is known that many athletes take on American past times. These high-quality traits allow the Lamoureux twins to be presented with all kinds of opportunities. Malcolm Gladwell says in Outlier, “it is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success” (Outliers). Extraordinary opportunities allowed Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux the 10,000 hours they needed to succeed. Family background gave them the physical and mental toughness they need to persevere through adversity.
The Lamoureux family in North Dakota. It’s a freezing cold day, one where most would stay in and bundle up in 10 blankets with the fireplace on. But with the Lamoureuxs its different, they take advantage of the frozen over prairie pond nearby their house. The four brothers showing their twin sisters no mercy as they’re being plowed into the snowbank (Gregory). Skating on their days off in negative degree weather, because they know the importance of training outside of set practice times. Jocelyne and Monique do whatever it takes to get ahead of their competition. At the Lamoureuxs’ house, it’s nothing less than a circus. Running from one game or practice to the next. All six of their children succeeding at high levels of college hockey and beyond (Smith). Jocelyne and Monique’s brothers have played a huge role in the two sisters hockey career. The brothers have helped their sisters grow the strength physically and mentally by never taking it easy on them. While their parents have supported them continuously with time and money.
Only the best in the world could be away from their family for most of the year and spending your whole day in class or practicing, without getting drained and burnt out.
Believe it or not but our characteristics growing up has a lot to do with our success throughout life. In the article, Student Characteristics and behavior at age 12 predict occupational success 40 years later over and above childhood IQ and parental socioeconomic status, the researchers watched a group of people closely over their lifetime and “The results revealed direct and indirect influences of student characteristics (responsible students, rule breaking and defiance of parental authority and teacher-rated studiousness) across a lifespan on career success after adjusting for difference in parental SES and IQ at age 12” (Spengler) Jocelyne and Monique are a prime example of this study, from taking their hockey career up a few notches to one of the most prestige private schools in the country for high school to playing in the Olympics. Only the best in the world could be away from their family for most of the year and spending your whole day in class or practicing, without getting drained and burnt out. The characteristics the six children displayed at a young age by taking the lead and training as much as they did, the way that they did. They took the initiative to push each other, hold each other accountable and be committed. Whether it was on a pond or at the rink they always found a way to put in the work. The Lamoureuxs have learned from their coaches and parents to make no excuses.
Looking back, their family background made a big impact on how they continue training to this day. You see the twins still competing against each other to get better on and off the ice. They hold standards for themselves in the Olympic games and during the boycott for equal pay. Scouts continue to praise them for their work ethic and strength. Author Malcolm Gladwell writes, “Who we are cannot be separated from where we are from” (Outliers). Monique and Jocelyne growing up in a hockey household really worked in their favor. The overwhelming amounts of training and pressure taught them the attributes they needed to overcome the challenges of hockey. Hockey has been a lifestyle for this family since day one. This passion for the game is embedded in their blood.
“The Lamoureuxs — who spent 20 hours a week at the coulee and another dozen during the week amass thousands more skating hours than their peers” (Smith). Imagine spending your free time training year around, almost never getting a day off and having to sacrifice time with your friends. Could you do it? The passion and drive you must have to make the 10,000 hours before all your peers. You need to be dedicated 110% of the time. Not giving into any temptations. “Competing against each other every day of our entire lives, pushing each other, it’s pushed us to where we are today. It really has been 24/7 a built-in accountability with everything we do with hockey” (Whiteside). These extra hours have allowed these two women to get ahead of their peers. Working hard continuously day-in and day-out, they have been able to perfect their mistakes and learn what works best for them. Their biggest advantage to 10,000 hours is the healthy competition between each other every day.
According to, The Risk Attitudes of Professional Athletes: Optimism and Success Are Related, “Professional hockey players were substantially more optimistic than recreational players” (Bleichrodt). As athlete’s your mindset plays a big part in how successful you are. You need to want to spend the extra hours at the rink for it to be useful. “One finding of note is the difference in matching between using goals as the reinforcer and hitting the net as the reinforcer. It is possible that the verbal rule of hitting the net and the subsequent reinforcement are influencing value of hitting the net even at a professional level” (Seniuk). Each and every individual on the team plays a huge role in your teams’ success, being optimistic and coachable allows for growth throughout the whole team. Having a set goal for your team and individual players is proven to give motivation and hold your teammates accountable.
Malcolm Gladwell explains, “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good” (Outliers). Monique and Jocelyne weren’t just born talented. They’ve spent day after day putting in the 10,000 hours that had to be done to reach their level of achievement. The Lamoureux’s and Bill Gates have a lot in common, both families were financially well off to support their kids dreams. At young ages, they were sent off to private schools and experiencing talent within what their passionate about. Don’t get me wrong though, it took a lot of time and effort from Jocelyne, Monique and Bill Gates to become the real deal.
In 2003, Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux are playing boys Bantams hockey, but are told they aren’t allowed to continue playing boys hockey in high school. They’re in a panic, the Lamoureux twins have never played girls hockey before. Unsure of what to do next, they go on to look at Notre Dame and Shattuck St. Mary’s. Both places being private schools, Notre Dame being more elite than Shattuck St. Mary’s. The girls wanted to change that, Monique and Jocelyne decided to go to Shattuck St. Mary’s. Quickly, the two of them turned Shattuck St. Mary’s girls hockey program into one of the best in the country. In the four years of attending the school, the Lamoureuxs and their teammates won three national titles (Bates). The twin’s made their mark wherever they played. “If you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires” (Outliers). Their family background allowed them to reach 10,000 hours before their peers to get ahead of the game presenting them the extraordinary opportunity to play at Shattuck St. Mary’s to win three national titles.
WORK CITED
Bates, Greg. From Students to Sochi: Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux took Shattuck St. Mary’s to national girls hockey stardom. Max Preps, February, 2014.
Berkman, Seth. With Contract Fight Over, Hard Work Begins with the Women’s Hockey Team. The New York Times Company, 2017.
Borzi, Pat. Twins Give Minnesota a 1–2 Punch. The New York Times Company, 2009.
Bleichrodt, Han. L’haridon, Olivier. Van Ass, David. The Risk Attitudes of Professional Athletes: Optimism and Success Are Related. American Psychology Association, Vol 5, №2, 95–118, 2018.
Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink. Back Bay Books, Little, Brown, 2005.
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers. Back Bay Books, Little, Brown, 2008.
Gregory, Sean. The Enforcers. Time Magazine, February 10, 2014.
Langone, Alix. Before Team USA Women’s hockey won Olympic Gold, They won Equality off the Ice. Timeinc.net, February, 2018.
Pepitone, Julianne. The Lamoureux Twins Named to Forbes 30 Under 30. NBC News, November 13, 2018.
Pepitone, Julianne. Lamoureux Twins urge women to take on challenging situations. NBC News, June 20, 2018
Pepitone, Julianne. The Lamoureux Twins on promoting positive change. NBC News, June 18, 2018
Sakar, Mustafa. Ordinary magic and extraordinary performance: Psychology resilience and thriving in high achievers. Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology, Vol 3(1), February, 2014. pp. 46–60.
Seniuk, Holly A. Brunswick, Fredericton. Williams, W. Larry. Reed, Derek D. Wright, Joshua W. The examination of matching with multiple response alternatives in professional hockey. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, Aug-Nov 2015.
Smith, Gary. HOUSE OF HOCKEY. Sports Illustrated, February 1, 2010.
Spengler, Marion. Brunner, Martin. Damian, Rodica. Ludtke, Oliver. Martin, Romain. Roberts, Brent W. Student Characteristics and behavior at age 12 predict occupational success 40 years later over and above childhood IQ and parental socioeconomic status. Developmental Psychology, Vol 51(9), September, 2015. pp. 1329–1340.
Whiteside, Kelly. Siblings for Sochi. USA Today Sports, 2013.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Auge, a freshman at Bethel University, spends her time with family and friends. Auge enjoys Christian music and watching hockey.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
Research made me realize how to utilize the resources around me. How to reach out to the librarians, use textbooks, and find scholarly sources.
The success paper taught me how to write papers in bits and pieces. it showed me how to name dogs, drop readers in a moment and find interest in writing.
Gladwell’s success traits taught me a lot about myself. He made me understand why I’m not as successful as others.
Book club participation pushed me out of my comfort zone. It made me feel more comfortable reading out loud and having others read over my material.
Inquiry Seminar taught me how to write one of my first papers and gave me a lot of new tools. The class allowed me to use my interest. Everything I know now is because of Professor Winter.
Seagulls was handy while creating my MLA work cited page. I had never created a work cited page correctly until now.
Outliers is the first class book I haven’t used spark notes for. I truly enjoyed reading Outliers and Blink.
Writing every day in class and then reading them out loud made me grow as a writer and reader.
I Hope that I keep practicing and no matter how big of a challenge that I face, that I make my dreams become a reality.
It’s the first day of class, we’re told we need to share what deodorant and tooth paste we use. My stomach drops. That’s such a personal question. But that’s what you get yourself into when you take Inquiry Seminar with Proffessor Scott Winter.
(Editor’s note: This paper was written as a part of a GES160 Inquiry Seminar does at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn.)
