Sports are fun but some war,
Melville high school athletes say being a student athlete can also be stressful,
trying to balance school and all what you got going
on in life and not having to go to practice.
We stress a lot, a lot about like
outside influences with like social media and I think sometimes we
let that get the best of us on the field.
You're good. I got you. That's where Leah Jansen comes into.
She's the school's first mental health and performance coach,
the pressure to perform and to when you heard the kids
is, is real for these kids. So why not give them an extra layer of support?
Jansen says her goal is to help break the
stigma of asking for help with mental health issues.
The stigma of mental health and asking for help for athletes
is, is an issue because what is an athlete,
you know, and what is asking for help?
That's a weakness and we need to do something about that,
that it's ok to not be ok.
It's ok to ask for help Jansen meets on a regular basis with the school's
35 varsity teams empowerment positive mindset and team
building are common themes in our talks.
I'm out there on the field, I'm at their practices.
I'm meeting with the teams so that if something happens or there's
discussion, somebody struggling,
we can get ahead of it and put in the necessary people.
Miss Jansen is, you know,
a very experienced guidance counselor and coach and athlete.
So,
um having that direct connection and her available to
the students after school has been a great help.
The biggest thing I took away this year so far from her was
just whatever happened, happened and you can't change anything.
So you just have to look forward to the next play.