Youth National Teams take part in Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness workshops

Youth National Teams take part in Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness workshops

[June 26, 2024 – Harmon, Guam] For young Guam National Program athletes, understanding the concept of good mental health and wellness among teammates and its contribution to both individual and team success on the pitch is significant for success in the sport.

“There’s a lot of things you have to overcome as an athlete – physically and mentally,” said Nathaniel Graves, a member of the Guam U17 National Team training squad. “There’s a lot of pressure that you can feel playing in the Guam jersey representing the island and wanting to do your best. It could weigh on you, but having good mental health helps athletes to push through hard times and better enjoy the successful times.”

Graves joined a couple dozen teammates and other players from the Guam U20 National Team training squad in an afternoon session with Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center’s Focus on Life team Tuesday at the Guam Football Association National Training Center. Through a collaboration with GBHWC that started with GFA’s Football 4 Schools program, Focus on Life project representatives held hour-long sessions over two days with youth national team players on mental health awareness, particularly on the topic of suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.

As role models for their peers, program director Dr. KristiAnna Whitman felt working with youth national team players was key in helping to deliver key messages from the project to other youth, aligning with GBHWC’s vision “to have a safe, supportive, and holistically healthy community.”

“It’s a really delicate message, but a really important one for our community,” Whitman said. “We know that for youth, the best spokespeople are other youth, and the national team athletes are the best kind of ambassadors to influence their peers on and off the pitch.

“I hope that with workshops from these outreach programs, they’ll begin to prioritize their mental health as much as their physical health in their development in the sport and help relay this message to others,” Whitman added.

The Focus on Life project is funded by a five-year youth suicide prevention grant and administered by the GBHWC through its PEACE Prevention & Training branch, according to one of the session’s presentation slides. The three major goals from the project are to reduce the stigma of receiving mental health support or help, train natural supports, and to increase local suicide research and data (qualitative and longitudinal).

The workshop presentation included slides about the importance of language when speaking about suicide and suicide prevention, recognizing signs in others who may be contemplating suicide, and what are some steps to take to prevent suicide among their peers, including directly asking the difficult question, “are you thinking about suicide?”. Slides with local data and survey results, as well as videos created that tied in with the workshop’s major topics were presented and discussed.

Whitman and Tristen Hocog, Progam Training Coordinator, presented to players from the U17 and U20 Women’s National Team training squads Monday evening. Social Marketer Brandon Holm and Technical Assistance Coordinator Isa-Ann Gagarin presented to the U17 and U20 National Team training squads Tuesday afternoon.

In addition to community outreach to schools and organizations, GBHWC also offers training support with various programs, like LivingWorks START, safeTALK, ASIST, and Connect Suicide Postvention Training. For members in the community interested in any of the programs offered, send an E-mail to [email protected]

If you recognize any common signs of suicide contemplation in yourself or in others, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and speak to trained Lifeline specialists who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress.

Hocog

Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center’s Tristen Hocog presents a topic during the center’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention workshop as part of its Focus on Life project held for the Guam U17 and U20 Women’s National Team athletes Monday at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.

Gagarin

Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center’s Isa-Ann Gagarin presents a topic during the center’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention workshop as part of its Focus on Life project held for the Guam U17 and U20 National Team athletes Tuesday at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.

Holm

Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center’s Brandon Holm presents a topic during the center’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention workshop as part of its Focus on Life project held for the Guam U17 and U20 National Team athletes Tuesday at the Guam Football Association National Training Center.