While the concerns around athlete mental health and wellbeing continue to garner national attention, the youth sport landscape lacks clear direction for coaches, parents/guardians, and athletes as to how to respond to those challenges. Use the resources below to explore mental wellness through the lens of youth sport as discussed at the TrueSport Talks Symposiums.
Trigger Warning: The following resources discuss mental wellness, mental health, and mental health challenges. Some people may find this content triggering and some content may not be suitable for all ages.
Use the buttons below to jump to the various sections of this mental wellness resource page.
TRUESPORT TALKS: RECORDED SESSIONS
ARTICLES
How to Build a Community Culture of Mental Wellness
It’s easy to get into routines as a longtime coach: You likely know exactly what tactics work best, how to best run practices, and who
How to F.I.G.H.T. Anxiety
TrueSport Expert Kevin Chapman, a licensed clinical psychologist and founder of the Kentucky Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, recommends teaching your child to F.I.G.H.T.
Creating Coping Mechanisms
TrueSport Expert Deborah Gilboa, MD recommends sitting down as a family to create a list of coping mechanisms for future times of upheaval. Click the
How to Communicate with Empathy
Nadia Kyba, MSW, TrueSport Expert and President of Now What Facilitation, has a list of steps and statements to help you support someone’s grief through
Ask Dr. G: Coping Mechanisms
TrueSport Expert Dr. Deborah Gilboa provides an activity to complete and coping mechanisms to learn to better handle stress. Click the image to download the
Ask Dr. G: Know Your Athlete
TrueSport Expert Dr. Deborah Gilboa provides some red and yellow flags to look out for in your young athlete that could be the sign of
VIDEOS
DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES
Humanizing Sport: Best Practices Guide to Support Student-Athlete Mental Wellness and Resilience for Anyone with an Athlete in their Life
The purpose of this report is to highlight current challenges in sport that hinder student-athlete mental wellness, and to provide human-centered, values-based opportunities for growth and improvement for all stakeholders across sport. These recommendations are evidence-based and prioritize the development of mental wellness and resilience in student-athletes across ages and competition levels, in public and private, and community and school-based sports. Challenges and opportunities are outlined according to levels of influence present in sport culture today.
ADDITIONAL EXPERT RESOURCES
LINKS
U.S. Center for Mental Health & Sport: https://mentalhealthandsport.org/resources/
National Center for School Mental Health: https://www.schoolmentalhealth.org/
National Alliance on Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org
National Child Traumatic Stress Network: https://www.nctsn.org/
Apps for Smart Phones
- The Safe Place – Free smartphone app focused on psychoeducation and self-care for minority mental health, geared towards the Black community.
- Liberate – Free meditation app designed specifically for the BIPOC community and led by BIPOC teachers.
- MindShift – Free “cheerleader in your pocket” for teens and young adults with anxiety.
- Happify – Free games, activities, and gratitude prompts to help overcome negative thoughts and improve mood.
- Breathe2Relax – Stress management tool to decrease “fight-or-flight” stress. response.
Content is inspired by the 2021 TrueSport Talks: Mental Wellness & the Young Athlete: The Path Forward, with media support from Sports Engine.