Research has shown that kids just want to have fun when they鈥檙e playing sports. But for many young athletes, fun is nowhere to be found. Between social media surveillance, elite training regimens and increasing commercialization, children and adolescents are being pressured to either perform at the highest level or walk away completely.
Meredith Whitley, PhD, professor of health and sport sciences at 茄子视频鈥檚 Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences, believes youth sport culture has reached a breaking point. As one of the country鈥檚 leading scholars in youth sport, Dr. Whitley has spent years working to restore what she calls an 鈥渆cosystem in crisis.鈥� She鈥檚 particularly concerned about the mental health of young athletes, which often buckles under the weight of expectations from coaches and parents. Yet youth sport participation should be a protective factor for mental health鈥攏ot a risk factor. Dr. Whitley鈥檚 solution to this crisis is a road map for systemic reform.
For the past two years, Dr. Whitley and her research partner, William Massey, PhD, of Oregon State University, have been developing the United States鈥� first-ever comprehensive youth sports mental health guidelines. In the absence of federal regulations or a dedicated government ministry, these guidelines close a problematic policy gap. They鈥檙e the product of input from more than 100 athletes, families, coaches and experts, translating both scholarly research and lived experience into actionable, evidence-based guidance for youth sport leaders.
Rethinking the Youth Sports Ecosystem
In many youth sport settings in the United States, any adult can show up and volunteer to become a coach, no prior experience or training required. Dr. Whitley wants to change that. 鈥淲e need to make sure volunteers are coaching in ways that are physically safe,鈥� she said. That means, at the very minimum, conducting background checks and sport safety training.
But training coaches to support mental health is trickier. 鈥淗ow do we help coaches understand how to build psychologically safe, developmentally appropriate environments where kids can flourish? How do we help coaches cultivate a sense of inclusion and belonging?鈥�
Dr. Whitley鈥檚 guidelines lay out a clear path forward鈥攏ot only for coaches, but for parents, too. As her research revealed, parents鈥� behavior can make or break their child鈥檚 experience. 鈥淭ime and again, we heard from young athletes that the worst part is the car ride home after the game.鈥�
鈥溾�� (Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, May 2026), a related article Dr. Whitley co-authored with Dr. Massey, recounts young athletes鈥� frustration with their parents鈥� postgame critiques. Parents becoming critics rather than caregivers, even when their feedback is well-meaning, only adds fuel to the fire. Much like coaches, Dr. Whitley believes, parents have to be trained how to 鈥渟how up.鈥�
A Landmark National Initiative, Supported by $450,000 in Grant Funding
Dr. Whitley鈥檚 research has been supported by high-profile organizations across the country. A $100,000 grant from the powered phase one, with another $100,000 from Movember powering phase two鈥攁long with a $250,000 grant from the . For this most recent grant, Adelphi was selected as just one of 10 inaugural partners in its Empower Every Coach (EEC) program, enabling Dr. Whitley鈥檚 work to be connected with a national portfolio of other systems-level youth sport projects.
鈥淢ental Health Guidelines for Youth Sport Across the United States鈥� kicked off in early 2025 with an intensive literature review, encompassing 20,000 research papers and programming from 80-plus programs and organizations, as well as a series of national focus groups and an Adelphi study, which allowed her team to get feedback from 22 experts in the intersection of youth sport and mental health. Later in 2025, Dr. Whitley and her team held a two-day expert advisory panel at Nike鈥檚 headquarters in New York City to finalize the guidelines and develop a plan for dissemination.
In July 2026, the project entered a new, much-anticipated phase: implementation and testing. Dr. Whitley and her team began working with a cohort of 鈥渁nchor partners,鈥� spanning grassroots, school-based and performance sport settings from coast to coast.
The Seven Guidelines Making Real-World Impact
For the next 18 months, these anchor partners will serve as an important proving ground. As they put the mental health guidelines into practice, they鈥檒l be reshaping their sport programs from the ground up, turning potential pressure cookers into the safe havens they were always meant to be.
The first three guidelines set a developmental baseline: prioritizing young athletes鈥� physical, psychological and social growth over performance. The rest address mental health directly, covering subjects like crisis response training, clear access to mental health resources and emergency preparedness plans.
鈥淟ots of programs have emergency plans for physical injuries, but what about mental health?鈥� Dr. Whitley said. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 a collective trauma in the community, or something really hard has happened for one athlete on the team, we don鈥檛 want program leaders to be figuring out what to do on the fly.鈥� She鈥檚 also determined to enhance mental health literacy. Coaches should be able to recognize early signs of distress and, critically, gauge if their athletes are just having a bad day, 鈥渙r if it鈥檚 something more serious that needs to be escalated.鈥�
A Healthier Future for Youth Sports
During the testing phase, Dr. Whitley鈥檚 team will be collecting data from their anchor partners, working in real time to refine the 鈥淢ental Health Guidelines for Youth Sport Across the United States.鈥� 鈥淲e鈥檒l be learning as we go,鈥� she said. 鈥淲here are the friction points? What is and isn鈥檛 feasible? How can we make sure the guidelines are ready for a broader rollout?鈥� At the end of 2027, they鈥檒l synthesize their findings into an open-access tool kit that can be accessed by any sport program leader, anywhere.
Though the guidelines will remain a work in progress for some time, Dr. Whitley is excited about the possibility of real, systems-level change鈥攅specially as some states are finally beginning to legislate mental health training and coach requirements. 鈥淚 hope our guidelines will help shape those policies,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd eventually we鈥檒l have a clear foundation for rebuilding youth sport as a healthier, more inclusive ecosystem.鈥�