Building Resilience in Youth Through Sport & Play
PRODUCED BY: Sport Psychology Committee
PRESENTED BY: Sean Tuohey, Alecsander Wortman, Katherine Zhukova
The Intellectual Athlete
DATE/TIME: Monday, November 7, 2022. 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
LOCATION: Zoom
REGISTRATION IS CLOSED
PROGRAM:
The Intellectual Athlete (IA), a proactive mental fitness company, fusing sport, play and elite athlete mental skills packaged for the everyday kid, will present their school-based "Play Built Resilience" curriculum.
IA offers children a foundational skill set similar to what elite athletes use at the height of competition, through play. These skills (breathwork, imagery, positive self-talk, mindfulness, focus) give students a competitive edge on the playing field, in the classroom, and can be used to combat stress in everyday life. Using a physiological, not clinical approach, they tap into the therapeutic core of sport and play to help young people practice these skills and experience their benefit first-hand. The Intellectual Athlete (IA) team believes that Resilience needs to be experienced.
PRESENTER(S) & BIO:
Sean Tuohey is the founder of Intellectual Athlete. He has been working to discover the highest and best use of play since 2000. A former college basketball player, Sean has been involved in sports-based youth development for the past 20 years. He is the founder of Peace Players International, a global non-profit that blends proven theories of social modeling, conflict resolution and public diplomacy to operate year-round programs in historically divided regions (4). While he was witnessing conflict between young people, he was also witnessing conflict within young people. In founding Intellectual Athlete, Sean aspires to deliver mental health as an advantage skill set through play.
Alecsander Wortman is a former Division 1 Track and Field pole vaulter and current performance psychology Master's candidate pursuing a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) certification. He has 5+ years of youth coaching and instructing experience and a passion for mental preparation, breath work, and mindfulness.
Katherine Zhukova is an Oxford graduate and a licensed family medicine physician in the UK who oversees Monitoring & Evaluation at Intellectual Athlete. During medical residency, she trained in inner-city Glasgow and Manchester, influencing her decision to work at the intersection of psychological resilience and sport. She believes positive youth experiences in the form of play in concert with coached healthy coping strategies will enhance kids’ mental performance allowing for increased capacity to manage stress at home, in school, and in the world.
