Coaching Mental Wellness Course Now Offered on NFHS Learning Center

In an effort to provide coaches some tools to help student-athletes who are dealing with stress, depression and anxiety concerns, the NFHS has launched a new course titled Coaching Mental Wellness, available for free on the NFHS Learning Center at www.NFHSLearn.com.

With the assistance of the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, the course was created to help coaches support students with issues they are facing on and off the fields and courts. The course highlights various strategies to deal with mental health issues in a positive manner.

“The NFHS is pleased to offer this mental health course for coaches across the country,” said Dan Schuster, NFHS director of educational services. “A coach's awareness and understanding of student mental health is critically important for creating an overall enjoyable interscholastic experience. We are grateful for the expertise, time and effort from the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) Medical Advisory Committee to help develop and review this course. We look forward to the impact of this course for years to come.”

The course begins with a framework for wellness, which discusses the importance of nutrition, sleep and exercise. The materials suggest that when sleep is disrupted by schedule, stress or illness, it can have a negative impact on mood, energy and the ability to get things done.

Another chapter offers ways that coaches can help students who are dealing with mental health challenges, including expressing concern, listening, being available and understanding the struggles with anxiety. The course offers strategies to help students who are dealing with depression, including empathy, discussing the issues, writing a new script and replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

Other sections include information on dealing with traumatic experiences, substance abuse, suicide prevention and youth violence, and mental health barriers.

Originally established as the NFHS Coach Education Program, the Learning Center has evolved from just two courses for coaches (Fundamentals of Coaching and First Aid for Coaches) to more than 100 online education courses, over 75 of which are free, and recently surpassed more than 25 million courses delivered.

NFHS Learning Center course offerings extend across 17 different sports with sport-specific courses and performing arts programs. It also serves 51-member state associations, more than 19,000 high schools and more than 12 million students. In 2022, the NFHS earned accreditation through Cognia, which signifies its commitment to high standards and continuous improvement.