San Diego teens develop sports psychology to prevent athlete burnout

"There are high school athletes who are often training much longer than the NCAA requirement because there is (no requirement) for high school athletes," Berry said. "And at the same time, most high schools are not even equipped to handle the regular mental health challenges of their students, let alone the athletic mental health challenges."

GOAT Mentality (greatest of all time) is a program that will provide coping mechanisms for student-athletes and those who support them. The program consists of a series of athlete interviews and curriculum videos with sports psychologists. The aim of the new initiative is to normalize discussions of mental health in athletics.

"(I'm) trying to create a more positive environment in my team itself, and providing some, like tips here and there from GOAT mentality that I've learned about in my ... research with GOAT, I've kind of been able to incorporate that into a little bit of my team setting," Randolph said. "And I've noticed that that has been some positive and healthy changes, both in the team dynamic and the team's mental health and kind of the way that we run a little bit."

Promoting physical activity

The program also aims to promote physical activity as a resource for dealing with mental health issues.

"For a lot of athletes, especially (in) high school, athletic sports is our escape ... we're so lucky that we go to school all day, and a lot of people have to go back to ... doing something academic, but we get to work on our brains all day and then in the afternoon, we get to work out our bodies and kind of bond through with each other through that way," Berry said.

Now, the students hope the new program will create a bond between athletes and offer them a resource they can turn to when stress gets too overwhelming.

"We really prioritize creating a community of athletes," Berry said. "So it's not just providing resources, but feeling the most important thing is feeling like you're not alone."

GOAT Mentality hopes to further partner with CCS (Central Coast Section, one of 10 regions in the California Interscholastic Federation for student athletics), as well as USA teams such as Gymnastics, Swimming, and Water Polo.