The Inner Game: Wellness Group for Student-Athletes by a Former Student-Athlete

As a former undergraduate student-athlete, Stevenson University alumna Alyssa Gibson recalls a lack of mental health resources offered that encourage the success of student-athletes. When she joined the Health and Wellness Center at Fisher as an intern, Gibson’s goal was to combine her bachelor’s degree in psychology with her passion for sports.

Coming to Fisher, her idea was to create a space for student-athletes from various sports to collaborate, but with the over-seeing guidance of a mental health counseling student on concepts such as building confidence, identity outside of athletics, time management skills, and positive self-talk. Thus, The Inner Game was formed. 

The Inner Game will focus on engaging in dialogues that allow Fisher’s athletes to grow, become more confident, and figure out ways to manage their time and responsibilities instead of just accepting the pressure to succeed.

Student-athletes face ample pressure to perform well both academically and within their sports. With an assortment of responsibilities, there are few resources available to them on how to manage them all at once. According to Gibson’s experience, there is an unspoken expectation that these students will simply find a way to make it work; being both academically accomplished and a highly-skilled athlete. “You’re told you have to succeed academically in order to play your sport, but you're not going to play your sport if you're not succeeding in your sport either,” she said.

The title of student-athlete becomes a part of one’s sense of self. When a student-athlete’s confidence is low and the pressure is high, their negative emotions can bleed into other facets of their life. “When you’re not succeeding or doing well, or you're not confident in what you're doing in your sport, that bleeds into everything because that is your identity,” Gibson said.

“It’s little things that you’re not even paying attention to, like the things you say to yourself when you make a mistake. All those things play into how you move forward in your performance.”

Gibson’s former collegiate athlete status makes her a relatable source for the feelings of pressure to succeed that student-athletes at Fisher may experience.  

Though Gibson has knowledge in mental health counseling, she intends for the students in the group to drive the majority of the conversation. She plans to focus on a topic for the day and discuss how confidence plays a role in and out of sports. There will also be activities for the athletes to work together in a group setting to come up with different ideas and have open discussions.

The formal sign up for the group is online, though walk-ins at meeting times are welcomed and encouraged. Students are also invited to fill out an athlete’s questionnaire to assist in the development of the group. The first meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 13 during free period (12:30-1:30 p.m.) and will occur weekly.

This article was written by Brooke Eastman, a senior media and communication major. Eastman currently serves as an intern with the Marketing and Communications department at Fisher for 2024-25.