Youth Sports Mental Health & Wellness Alliance

In 2020, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters came together to create a platform to focus on mental wellness for youth athletes. From a shared vision, the Youth Sports: Coaching Positive Mental Health forum series was developed in partnership with Michael Cuddyer, former MLB All-Star, and Betsy Cutler, M.Ed., of Cutler Wellness Programs, LLC. The goal of the forum series was to bring awareness to the mental health crisis in youth sports and to provide resources to youth sports stakeholders, coaches, parents, and athletes. Over the course of 14 months, three programs were presented, A Pandemic Playbook, Bench the Stigma, and #WhoRU.

Following the success of these programs the Hall, CHKD, and Cutler Wellness Programs spearheaded the formation of the Youth Sports Mental Health & Wellness Alliance. The Alliance will bring together youth sports stakeholders throughout the community to promote positive mental health and wellness in sports, and to work toward the following objectives:
Alliance Objectives:

Identify mental health trends and concerns in youth sports.
Provide expertise and ideas for mental health and wellness programs for coaches, parents, and athletes.
Share mental health educational resources.
Promote, market, and advocate for youth sports mental health and wellness programs

In 2024 the Alliance will continue the conversation around youth sports and mental health throughout the year with Sports & Mental Health conversations, #SportsMentalHealthMonday social media posts, and further events and workshops aimed at providing support to youth athletes and their families, coaches, officials, and additional stakeholders. Through all of these platforms you will hear insight and expertise from stakeholders in and around youth sports in Virginia.

#SportsMentalHealthMonday and the Sports & Mental Health conversations can be found on the Hall of Fame’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube pages. Join us as we help to create a positive and healthy atmosphere throughout youth sports in Virginia.

Media Coverage – WAVY TV

https://www.wavy.com/video/changing-the-game-tackling-mental-health-in-youth-sports/8492721/

February 2025 - Sports Mental Health Monday

#SportsMentalHealthMonday - 2-17-2025, Caring Conversations - Sarah Michelle Peterson Foundation

#SportsMentalHealthMonday with the Youth Sports Mental Health & Wellness Alliance.

This week we highlight one of our Alliance members, The Sarah Michelle Peterson Foundation and the Caring Conversations program, which provides leadership in youth athletics the tools and resources to discuss mental health & wellness with their athletes. More information on Caring Conversations can be found at the link below:

https://sarahmpetersonfoundation.org/our-programs/

Thank you to the Sarah Michelle Peterson Foundation for their support of the Alliance!

#SportsMentalHealthMonday - 2-3-2025, Victory, Defeat, Injury - Alliance Panel Discussion

#SportsMentalHealthMonday with the Youth Sports Mental Health & Wellness Alliance

Our next Alliance event is official, and will be a virtual panel on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. “Victory, Defeat and Injury: Supporting Youth Mental Health & Wellness”, will feature a panel discussion on the pressures young athletes face, regardless of their performance outcomes or the challenges of returning to sport after an injury.

This panel is FREE and open to the public. Once registered, you will be sent the link to view the panel discussion on March 5.

More information and to register can be found

https://yswa.org/victory-defeat-injury-panel/

January 2025 - Sports Mental Health Monday

#SportsMentalHealthMonday - 1-20-2025, PingPongGIVES Community Outreach

#SportsMentalHealthMonday with the Youth Sports Mental Health & Wellness Alliance

Last week we highlighted the Programs & Training page on the Alliance’s website, today we want to focus on one of our Alliance members and their program available to the community.

Ping Pong for Charity offers “School Table Tennis/Ping-Pong Sports and Education Program”, which provides public, private and special needs schools with the Table Tennis Sports and Education Program – at NO cost, all designed to improve mental wellness, physical fitness and positive social engagement.

More information can be found at the link below. You can also join the Alliance from the menu bar at the same link!

https://yswa.org/programs-and-training/

#SportsMentalHealthMonday - 1-20-2025, PingPongGIVES Community Outreach

#SportsMentalHealthMonday with the Youth Sports Mental Health & Wellness Alliance

Last week we highlighted the Programs & Training page on the Alliance’s website, today we want to focus on one of our Alliance members and their program available to the community.

More information can be found at the link below. You can also join the Alliance from the menu bar at the same link!

https://yswa.org/programs-and-training/

#SportsMentalHealthMonday - 1-13-2025, Alliance Member Programs & Trainings

#SportsMentalHealthMonday with the Youth Sports Mental Health & Wellness Alliance

A strength of the Alliance is our membership. While we work collectively to increase conversation and decrease the stigma around mental health in sports, many of our members are also tackling this issue in their daily work. On the Alliance’s website you can view a “Programs & Training” page that features some of these platforms, along with more information on each and how to book/reserve for your team or organization.

https://yswa.org/programs-and-training/

Be sure to stay up to do on everything happening with the Alliance. Membership is FREE and can be done via the form on the Alliance’s website.

Youth Sports Mental Health & Wellness Alliance