Marlins lend mental health support for South Florida student-athletes
MIAMI - It's called Great Minds Great Athletes, the purpose is to provide mental health support for student-athletes in South Florida, and what better way for these young athletes to connect and feel heard than with the professional athletes themselves?
The Miami Marlins joined forces with Miami-Dade County public schools and others to highlight the importance of mental health in student-athletes.
"Think about mental health, it wasn't something I really thought about. I didn't fail a ton growing up in high school and baseball and I wish that I wish I would have known how to deal with failure a little bit better once it came because for everybody, it's going to come."
A taboo topic in the sports world that professional athletes are trying to change for the younger generation.
"I'm a pitcher myself. How do you cope when you have a bad outing on the mound," said Brian Pita, student-athlete.
"Hearing them talk and telling us how to think when playing our sport is like a switch up for life after hearing them were like wow we could be them one day."
It gave the student-athletes a way to connect and relate to players they aspire to be.
"I wish I had something like this at this age, dealing with failure is really hard when you're not used to it," said Braxton Garrett, Marlins pitcher.
A volleyball player at John A. Ferguson is going through one of the more mentally challenging aspects of athletics, overcoming an injury.
"It gave me hope, seeing how good these guys are coming back from the injury because right now like the mental part, kind of scary," said Jennavieve Aleman, student-athlete.
"So, seeing how they came back and they could still be who they are is encouraging"
And the advice was endless…
"Lean on the people that you love for, help your friends and family, John, I think she had an ac so she's probably got several months. So, just find those hobbies and healthy habits and it will all turn out to be good," said Garrett.
Something the Marlins are hoping to continue doing for student-athletes here in South Florida.
"It's really special, you know, they can reflect on their careers and what they've gone through and share that with the kids and help them. It's a big deal and to see the kids react, they were so excited when the players came in That means a lot to the players too," said Caroline O'Connor, President of Baseball Operations for the Miami Marlins.
This was the 3rd annual event they've put on for mental health awareness month.
