INDIANAPOLIS — A first-of-its-kind program at Arsenal Tech High School is helping student-athletes develop skills to manage stress, control emotions and strengthen their mental health.
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"I really like it so far, I really like it. If I had another year, I would do it again because it helped me in a lot of situations," said Jarron Seals, a senior at Arsenal Tech.
Seals plays football and runs track.
“I was a little hesitant, but I started coming more,” Seals said. “I was like, 'This is actually helping me a lot in games and outside of games.'”
Mental Resiliency Training is a pilot program created through a partnership between Riley Children’s Health and Arsenal Tech. Program leaders say the goal is to change the way students view mental health.
“We are working on destigmatizing mental health and prioritizing it, knowing that mental health is just as important as physical health,” said Elaine Gilbert, a clinical psychologist who helps run the program.
Gilbert said resilience is a skill students will rely on throughout their lives.
“We know it’s not a function of if hard happens to us, but really when,” she said. “The students here at Tech are the operational working definition of resiliency.”
The program is now in its second year, and school leaders say the impact has been clear.
“I’ve seen a huge confidence boost,” said athletic director Ed Buford. “Our kids feel like school is a safe area. They also feel like athletics is a safe place, and giving those kids the opportunity means the world to us.”
The Mental Resiliency Training Program is expanding. Leaders with Riley Children’s Health say more schools are reaching out to implement similar programs.
The program is free for students and made possible by the Riley Children's Foundation Mia Rose Owens Fund.
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