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Beyond Sport is excited to announce that the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), the union that represents the players of the NFL, has made a $25,000 investment in our Head In The Game program as part of its charitable partner program. The NFLPA’s support marks a powerful next chapter in our commitment to youth mental wellbeing in the U.S. Together, we can advance a shared priority to improve mental health, support youth and underserved communities, and ultimately drive meaningful, long-term change.
Encompassing grants and capacity building, coaches’ trainings, targeted teen advocacy and community learning, Head In The Game has a goal to address the deep-rooted issues behind the youth mental health crisis. After training over 2,000 coaches who collectively support more than 175,000 teens, we heard one message loud and clear: coaches and leaders want to go deeper.
With the NFLPA’s investment, we’ll be able to meet that need – bringing tailored, expert-led training to cities across the country and continuing to grow a national movement that centers mental health in youth sports through Head In the Game’s virtual Learning Community. This interactive member platform provides resources, expert-led training and collaboration opportunities on the most effective ways to support youth and their communities.
This year’s Head In The Game programming includes in-person sessions and leadership cohorts in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area in California; the Twin Cities (Minneapolis–Saint Paul) in Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; and New York City, along with a virtual cohort. Each is shaped by expert partners and tailored to meet local needs in response to a call for practical tools, community-specific strategies and increased opportunities to understand and respond to youth mental health challenges.
- The Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport (CHJS) will lead sessions grounded in healing-centered approaches and brain science. This includes an in-person cohort in the Twin Cities focused on integrating trauma-informed practices into sport.
- Doc Wayne will lead a six-part virtual ‘Community Conversations: Pride in the Game’ series. As part of it, youth development professionals who have completed their Creating LGBTQ-Affirming Athletic Spaces training will explore challenges, build intervention skills and collaborate with peers to create safer, affirming environments for LGBTQIA+ youth in sport through interactive, experiential learning and practical application.
- Get Fit Fly Right is expanding its reach with a free self-paced TAPtalks course on the Head In The Game Learning Community and introducing TAPcoach. This new train-the-trainer model empowers young coaches (ages 18–24) to lead mental health-centered sessions across NYC.
- Soccer Without Borders will host trainings in Chicago and the Bay Area, equipping coaches with strategies to support youth navigating high-stress and high-violence environments.
- The U.S. Center for Mental Health & Sport (USC-MHS) returns with its ACT! Certification – a mental health “first aid” for sports – alongside Accelerate, a workshop for decision-makers focused on building policies that foster mentally healthy environments.
The NFLPA’s priority to advance mental health support in communities aligns deeply with Head In The Game’s mission to embed mental wellbeing into the fabric of youth sport. The program’s efforts directly support youth by creating safer, more responsive spaces through intentional coach education, organizational development and sustained peer learning. By strengthening the capacity of the trusted adults and institutions that young people interact with most frequently, this work emphasizes prevention, equity and accessibility.
With this new partnership, the NFLPA is supporting a proven, scalable model already impacting communities nationwide. Together, we can shift the culture of sport to prioritize mental health, build long-term organizational resilience and create healthier, more connected communities – goals at the heart of each of our organizations.
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