CS Slide 1

Connecting Mental
Health & Sport

Connecting Mental Health & Sport

Sports support the development of positive mental health, and in turn, positive mental health supports good athletic performance

Coaches and parents will be better equipped to meet their athlete’s needs while improving their own understanding of mental health.

Connect Sport training will develop a shared language around the topic of mental health by developing a basic understanding of mental health, mental disorders, the impact of stigma, how to access help, and the connection between mental health and athletic performance.

Coaches and parents will be better equipped to meet their athlete’s needs while improving their own understanding of mental health.

CS Slide 2

Connecting Mental Health & Sport

Connecting Mental
Health & Sport

A connected coach enhances athletes' development by going above and beyond just skill development. A coach embracing a holistic coaching approach plays a pivotal role in fostering comprehensive growth, encompassing the physical, mental, and personal facets of an athlete's development.

Connect Sport training will develop a shared language around the topic of mental health by developing a basic understanding of mental health, mental disorders, the impact of stigma, how to access help, and the connection between mental health and athletic performance.

Coaches and parents will be better equipped to meet their athlete’s needs while improving their own understanding of mental health.

CS Slide 3

Connecting Mental
Health & Sport

Connecting Mental Health & Sport

Mental illness/disorder stigma can manifest within the context of sports, affecting both athletes and anyone involved in the sports community; addressing mental health stigma in sports is critical.

As coaches, parents, players, and sports associations we need to speak up about mental health/illness, normalize conversations, and advocate for others. Implementing accurate education, providing resources, and fostering a culture of openness are ways we can start to combat mental illness/disorder stigma in the sports world.

Connect Sport training will develop a shared language around the topic of mental health by developing a basic understanding of mental health, mental disorders, the impact of stigma, how to access help, and the connection between mental health and athletic performance.

Coaches and parents will be better equipped to meet their athlete’s needs while improving their own understanding of mental health.

CS Slide 4

Connecting Mental
Health & Sport

Connecting Mental Health & Sport

Connect Sport training will develop a shared language around the topic of mental health by developing a basic understanding of mental health, mental disorders, the impact of stigma, how to access help, and the connection between mental health and athletic performance.

Connect Sport training will develop a shared language around the topic of mental health by developing a basic understanding of mental health, mental disorders, the impact of stigma, how to access help, and the connection between mental health and athletic performance.

Coaches and parents will be better equipped to meet their athlete’s needs while improving their own understanding of mental health.

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Connecting Mental Health & Sport

Connect Sport training will develop a shared language around the topic of mental health by developing a basic understanding of mental health, mental disorders, the impact of stigma, how to access help, and the connection between mental health and athletic performance.

Coaches and parents will be better equipped to meet their athlete’s needs while improving their own understanding of mental health.

Upcoming Events

Connect Sport Online Courses
Coming Soon 

Be a part of the connection

Connect Sport was launched August 1st, 2022. To date, we have had the following number of participants complete our courses

Connected Coaches

Connected Parents & Caregivers

Member Associations

Our Purpose

a.

Educate

By improving the mental health literacy of coaches, parents and youth, we can improve mental health outcomes for all participants. Through informed conversations we can better support the development of positive mental health and the life long enjoyment of sport.

b.

Provide opportunities

Not all youth have equal chances to participate in sport. Connect Sport strives to provide opportunity so that more youth can build their mental health.

b.

Provide opportunities

To relieve poverty by providing children of low-income families in Canada with subsidized sports activities and sports equipment necessary to participate in sports-related activities that promote social inclusion in their community.

c.

Develop community

Connect Sport is a non-profit organization. Develop shared literacy and resources to support sport and communities.

Parent & coach feedback

What people think about us

Parent & coach feedback

What people think about us

Real life feel to mental health

This program acts as a short but important reminder of key indicators of what a mental health situation looks like. This program brought a real life feel to mental health and the stigmas around it. It made you look at the questions from another perspective. We all feel or deal with mental health in some way in our lives, and this program reminds us of our role as supporter and patient of mental health and how we can get help before it negatively affects our lives or someone else's around us. Read more

Connect Sport was an enlightening experience.

This platform offered valuable tools that better equipped my staff to better support the mental health challenges of our players.

Part of a much needed shift.

Connect Sport has been a huge part of a much needed shift in the mental health support of our athletes during the 2022/23 season. We currently host 12 minor hockey programs within CNHA with 220 players and 50 coaches. Following our Connect Sport Coaches on boarding I received calls from a large number of our coaching staffs thanking us for this resource. I have also had a member for each of our staff outline at least one instance where Connect Sport training has helped with better Connect and support an athlete on their team this season. Arming our coaching staffs with better tools to support mental health literacy has been a great investment into their development to become better coaches far more valuable than any X’s and O’s training would have. We will continue to work directly with Connect Sport as more support is needed in this area in sport. Read more

Real life feel to mental health

This program acts as a short but important reminder of key indicators of what a mental health situation looks like. This program brought a real life feel to mental health and the stigmas around it. It made you look at the questions from another perspective. We all feel or deal with mental health in some way in our lives, and this program reminds us of our role as supporter and patient of mental health and how we can get help before it negatively affects our lives or someone else's around us. Read more

Connect Sport was an enlightening experience.

This platform offered valuable tools that better equipped my staff to better support the mental health challenges of our players.

Part of a much needed shift.

Connect Sport has been a huge part of a much needed shift in the mental health support of our athletes during the 2022/23 season. We currently host 12 minor hockey programs within CNHA with 220 players and 50 coaches. Following our Connect Sport Coaches on boarding I received calls from a large number of our coaching staffs thanking us for this resource. I have also had a member for each of our staff outline at least one instance where Connect Sport training has helped with better Connect and support an athlete on their team this season. Arming our coaching staffs with better tools to support mental health literacy has been a great investment into their development to become better coaches far more valuable than any X’s and O’s training would have. We will continue to work directly with Connect Sport as more support is needed in this area in sport. Read more

Connection

Our objectives

Connected Coaches and Parents will have a greater capacity to identify mental health problems, model good mental health and link themselves and others to resources and help.

Asking for Help can be Difficult

Due to stigma surrounding mental disorders and the limited knowledge of mental health literacy many adults and youth do not access pathways to care. Few people know how to talk about mental health or seek resources to support themselves or others.

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conversation

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