The networking portion of the program was the most memorable for me. I had never been in a cohort of high school students that don’t live within a 10-mile radius from me. Seeing over 200 PLE students on Zoom calls, some from countries I barely knew about, continued to impress me even after the final lecture. As we talked about the impact of community projects, different school systems, and YYGS as a whole during our free time, I became more outgoing because I truly felt comfortable with everyone.
With my deep interest in psychology and love of sports, I created an organization called Mind-Design Sports in September of 2020. The goal of Mind-Design Sports (https://www.mind-designsports.org/) is to promote sport psychology to help student-athletes perform at their best. To me, this initiative is much bigger than scoring more points or playing a better game. Mental health struggles are very real among athletes. Some figures cite that half of athletes suffer from some form of a mental health crisis. Depression and anxiety in athletes can lead to eating disorders, burnout, and more serious conditions such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Unfortunately, many young people are too scared or ashamed to acknowledge their feelings.
By educating others about the prominent role that the mind has in sports performance, I hope that athletes will not only perform better but also learn to enjoy the experience at the same time, something that I was not able to do as a basketball player because of the pressures I faced to perform perfectly.