Mental Strength Training

Motivation

Adolescent mental health is in crisis, with more than one in three teens reporting persisting feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and one in five considering suicide. But these are not just statistics– these are kids who go to your local school and play baseball or run track.

Mental health is a part of life, and we can’t wait for teens to reach a crisis point. We need to build their mental foundation early, teaching them to recognize stress and emotion and cope in healthy ways.

The sports field is one of the best places to teach emotional coping skills. Being on a team offers exercise, mentorship and belonging, but it also presents challenges like losing a game or missing a free throw. Coaches are on the front lines, and athletes often tell them things they wouldn’t tell a parent or other adult.

Unfortunately, most coaches haven’t been trained for this. A 2022 survey of 10,000+ youth sport coaches found only 1 in 5 coaches were comfortable managing emotional issues and two-thirds wanted more training in mental health.

Approach

Mental Strength Training (MST) equips coaches with evidence-based tools to help young athletes understand how stress and emotion affect the body and learn how to manage emotions in a healthy way.

We start with the part athletes care about: performance. When teens learn managing stress helps them play better, they’re drawn in. Along the way, the MST program normalizes emotion and stress as a part of sport and makes asking for help a sign of strength.

Three pillars:

1. Train the coach: An interactive online course gives coaches the language and tools to build a supportive team culture around managing stress
2. Empower the athlete: An app lets teens take charge of their own mental strength journey, on their own time
3. Shape the field: Convening leaders, laying the groundwork for new programs and informing youth sports policy across Washington and beyond

“Our goal is a culture where stress and emotion are recognized as a part of sport, and every young athlete has the skills to thrive, on and off the field.”

-Dr. Sara Chrisman, pediatrician, TSI faculty, and program founder

Where We Are

Built with teens, not just for them

We piloted Mental Strength Training with 3 schools and 300+ athletes in the Seattle region, teaching coaches foundational skills for developing positive team culture. The athletes we worked with then told us something important: they wanted to own their own journey.

So we listened. We brought teens into co-design sessions to build an app around what they actually need. When the beta version is ready, our youth advisors will test it first, and only then will we be ready to bring the program to schools and teams statewide.

Progress thus far:

1. Coach course launched ✔️
2. Pilots in Seattle area high schools ✔️
3. Teen co-design of the app—in progress
4. Statewide rollout and impact study—your gift makes this possible

What your gift makes possible

You can help us reach every teen in Washington.

The groundwork is done. The program works in schools and teens are helping design what comes next. Your support turns a promising program into statewide impact.

Your gift will:

• Reach more athletes. Bring the coach course and app to teams across Washington state
• Prove what works: Fund a full-scale study of the program’s effect on athlete and coach well-being and resilience, evidence that helps the model spread nationally
• Change the conversation: Put Mental Strength Training on the agenda of the leaders and policymakers who shape youth sports.

Be part of the team behind the team.

Every young athlete deserves a coach who can help them handle the pressure, in the game and in life. With your support, Mental Strength Training becomes a part of every team’s workout.

Make a gift

Other ways to help:

• Bring MST to your team. Coaches schools and community programs email mentalstrength@uw.edu to pilot the program
• Join an advisory group. Teen athletes and coaches can help shape what we build. Contact mentalstrength@uw.edu for more information.
• Stay in the loop. Join our email list for updates on the app launch and our results.