The Tom Shields Foundation funds mental health appointments for youth athletes and installs evidence-based mental health training at swim clubs.
Youth athletes face a unique and under-addressed mental health crisis. The pressure of performance, the fear of failure, and an athletic culture that equates struggle with weakness, while carrying the same burdens every young person carries.
Most will never see a therapist. But they will show up to practice. We meet them there.
Young athletes are taught from an early age that their worth is tied to their performance. When results falter, so does their sense of self. Without tools to separate identity from outcome, the psychological cost is enormous.
Sport rewards stoicism. Asking for help is framed as weakness. Young athletes learn to mask struggle rather than address it, often for years, until the weight becomes impossible to carry alone.
Most youth athletes will never see a sports psychologist or mental health professional. The cost is prohibitive, the stigma is real, and the infrastructure simply does not exist in most clubs and schools. We fill that gap.
TSF funds subsidized appointments with licensed mental health professionals for any youth athlete who needs support and doesn't know where to start.
Many young athletes recognize they're struggling but face real barriers: cost, stigma, not knowing where to turn. TSF removes those barriers and connects athletes directly to qualified care.
TSF installs evidence-based mental health training at swim clubs, training coaches and staff to recognize early signs of mental health crisis and respond with confidence before it escalates.
Coaches see their athletes every day. With the right training, they become the first line of support, not the last to know. The right training gives them the tools to act.