‘The earlier we can catch things, the better, a lot of youth don’t have the language or self-awareness to recognize what’s happening internally’
When youth athletes struggle, the signs aren’t always obvious.
Sometimes it looks like nerves before a big game. Other times, it’s a child who suddenly doesn’t want to go to practice anymore, even though participating in those sports used to be the highlight of their week.
That’s the gap a new free virtual seminar hopes to address.
On Tuesday, Jan. 20, North Bay parents will have the opportunity to take part in a one-hour virtual seminar focused on youth athletes and mental health, led by Dr. Mark Bruner and Stephanie Armstrong, a registered psychotherapist (qualifying) with Bay Psychology.
The session is designed for parents of youth athletes ages 10 to 18, with the goal of helping families better understand how sport impacts mental health — and how to respond when something feels off.
“I think it’s really important to support those in our community who are trying to normalize mental health challenges,” Bruner said. “Parents are often struggling in silence, wondering if what they’re seeing is just nerves, or something more.”
Armstrong said the decision to begin with a parent-focused seminar was intended.
“We wanted to target the parents first because we want to normalize some of those common challenges that all athletes experience which aren’t as recognized as they should be,” she explained. “By giving parents some tools, strategies, and resources it’s more likely to start those conversations. Sport is known to positively affect mental health that’s well established. But youth athletes experience a very different set of stressors.”
According to research Bruner and Armstrong reference in their work, about 20 to 25 per cent of adolescents outside of sport experience depressive-type symptoms. Among competitive athletes, that number climbs to around 35 per cent.
“There’s pressure, team dynamics, expectations, school, training, social life, there are a lot of layers to being a student-athlete,” Armstrong said.
Parents, she added, are often the first to notice subtle changes.
“A change in eating, sleeping, or their mood in general, parents know their children best,” she said. “If something feels off, we encourage them to be curious about it. Show that you’re noticing and that you care.”
That curiosity, Armstrong said, can open the door to early intervention.
“The earlier we can catch things, the better,” she said. “A lot of youth don’t have the language or self-awareness to recognize what’s happening internally.”
Bruner brings both academic and lived experience to the conversation.
A former varsity athlete at McMaster University, Bruner went on to teach before pursuing advanced training in sport psychology and psychotherapy. His applied work with elite teams — including the North Bay Battalion — revealed a consistent pattern.
“You realize pretty quickly that mental performance and mental health aren’t separate,” he said. “Mental health would come up, and I’d have to refer athletes out. Seeing some of them really struggle is what motivated me to go back to school.”
Today, Bruner works alongside Armstrong at Bay Psychology, helping athletes not only perform but cope.
“At the elite level, mental health is becoming more accepted,” he said. “Now the next step is bringing that down to a grassroots, community-based level.”
Armstrong, who played volleyball for the Nipissing Lakers and at Humber College is looking to use her experience as an elite athlete to connect with parents and youth.
“In my year at Humber, when I was doing wellness coaching, I was able to work one-on-one with youth at Sick Kids hospital. That influenced my decision to do my masters in counselling psychology and work with youth in a different way than I had originally planned than when I first went into teaching.”
The seminar, and an upcoming youth group launching in late February, draws heavily on Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) principles, with a focus on emotional regulation.
“A big piece is emotional literacy,” Armstrong said. “Learning how to sit with emotions, whether that’s frustration after a loss or managing success when you win.”
Those skills, she said, don’t stop at the rink or the court.
“They can practice them in sport, but also at school, in friendships, and in family relationships,” she said. “That’s what’s exciting, it carries into everyday life.”
Bruner echoed that sentiment.
“Our goal is to give young athletes tools they can use for the rest of their lives,” he said. “Not just to get through a tough season, but to handle adversity wherever they encounter it.”
The seminar aligns with Bay Psychology’s broader mission of prevention-based mental health care, according to Dr. Sachiko Nagasawa, the clinic’s clinical director.
“One of Bay Psychology’s missions is to strengthen community health through prevention-based programs,” Nagasawa said. “Our initiative begins with youth sports, focusing on helping young athletes develop emotional regulation skills to better manage stress throughout their lives.”
She said the long-term vision extends beyond athletes.
“We would also want to roll this program out to educators and coaches,” Nagasawa said.
Bruner described the seminar as a starting point not a one-off event.
“We hope this is the beginning of something that continues to grow in the community,” he said.
How to Register
The free virtual seminar takes place Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 6 p.m. (ET).
Parents can register by:
Visiting the contact form on Bay Psychology’s website
Emailing [email protected]
Calling Bay Psychology directly
While the seminar targets parents of youth ages 13 to 18, Armstrong said families slightly outside that range are still encouraged to reach out.
“If someone can’t make this seminar, we hope to keep offering more programming,” she said. “This is not meant to be a one-and-done experience.”
For Bruner, the message is simple.
“If a child is pulling away from something they used to love, that’s worth paying attention to,” he said. “Parents don’t have to have all the answers but having the right information is a powerful place to start.”
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