Golden Touch Chooses Athlete Licensing Company’s Platform to Help Build, Grow and Manage its NIL Program
GamedayNIL Provides a Single Digital Platform to Connect Collectives, Universities, Student-Athletes, Donors and Fans
Inspire Athletes to Openly Embrace Mental Health as a Priority Equal to Physical Health
"There were days (after injury) I didn't want to get up...but you have to get your mental health right...and take proper steps to move forward..."
"I hear all the time 'what if they call me soft?' It's deeply saddening athletes hesitate to speak up. I'm here to tell athletes, you are not alone."
“I’ve been overwhelmed this semester with school. It feels like it’s been too much to handle and I’ve had to go to my family.”
“I wanted to quit. It was a very hard time for me. I turned to God. Something my mother taught me when she was going through chemo.”
“Hearing other people’s stories puts it in to perspective how real it (mental health) is...when you see professionals reaching out to athletes to make sure they are ok that’s really important because it’s not talked about enough.”
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“I think really what makes Golden Touch and Golden Minds so special is that you look at athletes holistically. It's not just about what the athletes can do for the brand or the marketing, but it's also how can we make athletes the best versions of themselves for the brand. Because at the end of the day, if we're not the best version of ourselves, then we can't give anything in return. So I think that ability to just look at athletes, like complete people from a holistic perspective is just something that is so needed in the NIL industry and just athletics in general. ”
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call the new national suicide and crisis number — 988 — or text HOME to 741-741 for a free, confidential conversation with a trained counselor at any time. If the mental health crisis results in a medical emergency or if there is immediate danger of harm, call 911 and explain that you need support for a mental health crisis.
Want to sign up for anonymous texting? Contact us directly.
24/7 crisis intervention services are available 24/7 by calling the UCC at 574-631-7336.
574-284-4805
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[email protected]
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Wellness U is a mobile app that helps with the mental fitness & mental performance of student-athletes. Wellness U delivers personalized mental wellness resources where you can learn and practice life skills, learn coping techniques for handling stress and anxiety, measure your progress with mood journaling, and find a therapist or counselor if needed through our telehealth platform.
wellnessu.my.canva.site/wellness-u
Harnessing the power of your mind is key to peak performance in your sport and in life! The team at AthMindset is ready to create a customized plan for you to optimize your mental edge, so you can thrive in all aspects of your life.
athmindset.io
What every parent and coach want for their athlete and how to get it.
4dathletes.com
GamedayNIL Provides a Single Digital Platform to Connect Collectives, Universities, Student-Athletes, Donors and Fans
Karen Phelps Moyer's Foundation supports children dealing with the loss of a loved one, or family substance abuse.
Golden Minds provides an online resource for athlete mental health. Current Notre Dame football player Avery Davis and women’s basketball player Dara Mabrey are actively involved. Said former Irish and NFL football player Aaron Taylor: “Golden Minds is destined to make a significant positive impact.”
“Increasingly, more former and current student-athletes like Harry Miller and Elijah Wade are speaking out about the intersections of mental health and their sports. Unfortunately, the recent deaths by suicide of female student-athletes — including Katie Meyer, Sarah Shulze and Lauren Bernett — have raised more urgent questions. Mostly, why? Is the pressure to perform too extreme? Is there insufficient access to mental health resources for student-athletes?”
The biggest thing that I’ve found is asking for help, it’s just being able to reach out to people closest to you,” Thomas said. “People want to help, people want to see you live, people want to see you have the best life you possibly can, and so if you can just reach out and ask them for help, like from your coaches or your teammates or like anyone at the school, it could save your life.”
Another famous goalkeeper who has recently spoken out about mental illness, USWNT legend Briana Scurry, calls Fuller’s advocacy “an inspiration.” She adds: “We are not robots. We don’t just play the sport. We are people playing the sport and we have things that happen to us that we feel with our platform we can shed light on. And she understands that and she’s done a fantastic job with it.”
Athletes…fear the consequences of not exemplifying mental toughness…they fear their coach and teammates will see them as weak, and lose confidence and trust in them…they are too often penalized for expressing…emotions…and judged for not having everything together.
30% of college student-athletes experienced a mental health care need in the last 12 months.¹
Research indicates that student-athletes are roughly 2 to 3 times more likely to develop symptoms of depression compared to non-athletes in college.¹
54% of college athletes reported that they were open to talking to a mental health professional.¹
A study found that female student-athletes had a 3.28 times greater likelihood of experiencing clinically significant depression than male student-athletes.¹
“Peak Performance Starts With Strong Mental Health”
—Karen Phelps, Golden Minds
Director Karen Phelps, daughter of legendary Irish basketball coach Digger Phelps, has been around sports and the mental wellness movement her entire life. As the wife of a major league baseball pitcher for decades and the mother of six children who all played college sports, she is all too familiar with the high-pressure, intense spotlight and endless demands young people on campus endure.
For years, Karen built up her knowledge around mental health, leading her to launch her own foundation, now Eluna Network (elunanetwork.org) – a trailblazing endeavor establishing grief and addiction camps for children dealing with loss or drugs and alcohol. Her work has been honored countless times and the HBO documentary chronicling her humanitarian work with children in grief ("One Last Hug...") earned an Emmy Award.
As she continued to read about and hear about the alarming rise in rates of anxiety and depression in college sports – including the shocking tragic suicides of multiple players and the abrupt retirement of student-athletes over their mental health crisis, Phelps rolled up her sleeves to help create more solutions.
“We need to do more, and now – and we can,” says Phelps. “We created this one-stop online platform to make navigating mental health easier. There’s no reason every athlete shouldn’t put their mental wellness first because it’s everything. Any stigma about it must stop – we all need to be telling players, mental health goes hand in hand with physical health, that talking to others and seeking support is a sign of strength not weakness, and that they are surrounded by a community ready to lift them up and connect them to the right resource. We passionately believe Golden Minds can be a part of these necessary conversations.”
We want to work to stop the stigma around mental wellness.
We want to constantly share with and connect student-athletes to new people, programs and resources that support their mental health.
We want this to be our ultimate outcome – a mind prioritized, optimized and strengthened throughout life.
Chris Brienza has worked for more than 30 years in public relations and communications, with time primarily split between professional sports and the agency side of the business.
Most recently, Brienza ran the Sports and Media practices at Coyne PR, joining the agency in 2007 and building a business that included clients such as the Harlem Globetrotters, Daytona International Speedway, IRONMAN, the USGA, the USTA, USA TODAY Sports and ESPN.
Prior to joining Coyne, Chris served as the executive director of publicity for the Sports Group magazine brands (Runner’s World, Bicycling, Backpacker and Mountain Bike) at Rodale, the world’s leading provider of health and wellness content.
He previously spent nearly 15 years in professional sports at both the league and team level. Chris served as Vice President of Communications for Major League Soccer’s NY/NJ MetroStars (now Red Bulls), where he earned MLS PR Executive of the Year honors in 2001. That was preceded by eleven years working within the National Basketball Association, including nearly five years as the league’s VP of Media Relations.
In that role, he served as a primary spokesman for the league and supervised all day-to-day media relations efforts between the NBA and all North American print and electronic media, as well as with the league’s national broadcast partners. He also helped create all official league statements and external communications, helped supervise media operations at all major NBA events (including the NBA Finals and All-Star Weekends) and served as part of the NBA’s PR support team with USA Basketball, the sport’s national governing body, during the Olympic Games in Atlanta.
A proud native of South Orange, NJ, Chris earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from New York University, where he played three seasons of varsity soccer. He and his wife Janet reside in Spring Lake, NJ.
Diane Fox recently retired in May, 2023 after devoting 43 years as an educator. She spent her first 22 years at Saint Joseph’s High School in South Bend, Indiana, teaching and coaching. She then spent 7 years at Holy Cross College where she taught and advised students and, eventually, was named the director of Academic Advising. For the past 14 years, Diane served as the director of the Office for Student Success at Saint Mary’s College where she taught, advised, and mentored students. Also in May, she was awarded the Saint Mary’s College Belles Varsity Club Appreciation Award, which is presented to a member of the Saint Mary's College community for extraordinary contribution to the Saint Mary's Department of Athletics. Recognizing the academic, social, and spiritual needs of her students, Diane taught and mentored hundreds of students throughout her career and enjoyed every minute.
Jason Holzer is a Post-Traumatic growth storyteller and the Co-Founder of 4D Athletes. His book, Amazon Best Seller “Shattered by Suicide, Renewed by Resilience: How to Move Forward After Being Left Behind” reflects on losing his father to death by suicide and is positively influencing many readers across the globe every year. Holzer plays an impactful role in the lives of student-athletes through speaking engagements coaching mental fitness training and leadership development. He is also a certified teacher, mental fitness specialist, and accomplished basketball coach.
Angie Krilich is a former NCAA Division I rower with over 10 years of experience working with collegiate student-athletes in advising, counseling and career related roles. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the states of Indiana, Massachusetts and Washington, a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in the state of Maine, a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) in the state of Utah, a National Certified Counselor (NCC), and a Board Certified Coach (BCC). Krilich holds four degrees from Indiana University, including a master's degree in Counseling & Counselor Education and an Education Specialist degree in Mental Health Counseling. She has a passion for creating a safe space to ensure student-athletes feel heard, appreciated and valued. Krilich resides in central Indiana with her husband, Brian, and their golden retriever, Zoey.
Michael Mitchell is a Small Business Consultant/Advisor. He attended the University of Notre Dame, Class of 1981, where he served as a Notre Dame Basketball Captain. Mitchell became CEO of Dreyer’s in May 2009. Prior to that, he was the President of Sales at Nestlé USA. Mitchell started at Nestlé, Dreyer’s parent company, in 1991. Mitchell now lives in San Francisco.
Timoney Moyer is a graduate of Saint Mary's College where she played basketball for the Belles. With nearly a decade of experience in marketing, go-to-market strategy, and community management, she has significantly contributed to the success of various tech startups. Moyer now runs her own Marketing business, catering to small and medium-sized businesses in a diverse range of industries. Supporting branding efforts, crafting effective strategies, content marketing, and other essential marketing initiatives, she has influenced numerous businesses, including Golden Touch, to achieve greater brand awareness and growth.
In her approach to understanding and connecting with diverse audiences, Moyer places a strong emphasis on empathy. By customizing her strategies to cater to individual needs, she has achieved notable success in crafting marketing initiatives that resonate with the individual to foster meaningful engagement.
Moyer played a pivotal role in the launch of both Golden Touch and Golden Minds in 2022, to promote mental health and empower student-athletes as complete individuals beyond their athletic pursuits. Having been a former student-athlete in the Notre Dame tri-campus community, she understands the complexities involved in balancing sports commitments and expectations. Moyer also serves as a valuable member of the Youth Advisory Board at Eluna Network supporting children and families who have been impacted by grief or addiction.
Michelle Olson has over 20 years of experience in the fields of Mental Health and Social Work. Olson is the Clinical Practice Manager of a Community Mental Health Facility in Berrien County, MI. This allows her to work with the many populations she has specialized in while also training and mentoring the next generation of therapists. She is a specialist in her field regarding the areas: addiction, children of addiction, trauma and, severe and persistent mental illness. In 2011, she ran the adolescent addiction program for the Community Mental Health of Elkhart County. It was also at this time that she became the Director for Camp Mariposa- Indiana (Oaklawn Psychiatric).
Teresa Godwin Phelps' passion is in education. She was on the faculty at the University of Notre Dame Law School where she taught and directed legal writing since 1980. She holds three degrees from Notre Dame, including a Ph.D. in English and one degree from Yale Law School. Professor Phelps directed the Legal Rhetoric Program and taught Legal Rhetoric at Washington College of Law and directed the legal writing program at the University of Notre Dame Law School. Her other teaching and academic interests include women and the law, and human rights, and she has published over thirty articles and three books, which have helped her earn the Grenville Clark Award in 1999, which honors voluntary activities and public service to advance the cause of peace and human rights.
Lisa Bonta Sumii is a psychotherapist with over 23 years of clinical experience, licensed in both California and Nevada. She has been a private practice clinician for over 15 years and also works as a consultant and an entrepreneur. Founder of AthMindset, Bonta Sumii supports student-athletes and elite athletes to achieve optimal mental health and peak mental sport performance by focusing on the athlete as a human, with multiple intersecting identities. She is also the Mental Health & Performance Coach of the Oakland Roots Soccer Club.
Golden Minds is a one-of-a-kind and valiant aspiration and vision. Creating this new kind of open, responsive space is an innovative endeavor and timely, necessary work.
The scale of our impact depends on extraordinary goodness and generosity of bold big thinkers, who feel our passion and share our drive to make a mental health difference for young student-athletes.
If you want to be a Golden Minds marketing partner, Golden Minds donor or philanthropist, Golden Minds foundation grantor, or any other Golden Minds investor, we’ve got an idea and way to make your support meaningful.
Get in TouchKaren Phelps, CEO
Sean Collins, Director of Partnerships Golden Touch
Sofia Dolan, Executive Assistant to CEO
Kelley Rourke, Social Media Manager and Special Events
Sara Bastian, Website Manager
Pedrera, Web Designer
Student athlete internships are always available - Reach out to [email protected]