Ohio State Program Aims to Teach Coaches About Coping With Student-Athlete Mental Health

.....The issue is personal, Thompson said, after he saw firsthand the signs of mental-health challenges when a player showed up late for practice one day.

“He told me the reason why he was late was that he was contemplating killing himself that morning," Thompson said. "That completely floored me, and it was something that for the next hour and a half, he and I sat in my office and we talked, and I hadn’t been through this type of training or anything like that."
Dawn Anderson-Butcher is the co-executive director of the LiFEsports program at Ohio State, which administers the training. 

She said the training helps coaches spot signs so they can identify when they need to intervene and connect the player with a mental-health professional.

“Coaches, who have these really great relationships with young people, who see them on an everyday basis — the weight room, they’re out in the field — you know, can be better at sort of picking up some of these signs and symptoms," Anderson-Butcher said.....

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Bethany`s Notes: Training people to recognize issues and signs is a big component of treating mental health concerns. Recognize and refer.