The PTPA recognizes that players face numerous physical and mental challenges year round, including stress, injuries, health issues and much more. As part of its commitment to protecting and empowering player well-being, the PTPA is excited host players and player teams for a Mental Health & Performance Virtual Summit from Tuesday, Dec. 3 to Thursday, Dec. 5.
The summit will feature three days of unique programming designed to foster meaningful discussion, share knowledge, and provide players and player support teams with relevant tools to help manage the demands of being on tour. Curated by PTPA Mental Fitness Director Damon Valentino, these sessions will feature renowned experts from across the performance, health, and sports industries exploring and unpacking essential mental health and performance strategies, including:
- Managing pressure
- Building emotional resilience
- Maintaining mental clarity
- Empowering performance through bespoke women’s health strategies
- Protecting against social media harassment
- And more!
Players, coaches, physios, agents, and other player support team members are invited to join as many sessions as desired. All sessions will be conducted via Zoom webinar, allowing attendees to join privately without being seen by other attendees. Only the webinar hosts and panelists will be visible to attendees. To receive the webinar information, please contact playerservices@ptpaplayers.com.
Tuesday, Dec. 3: Women’s Health and Performance Education, led by EXOS
10:00-11:30 am EST
Jennifer Noiles, EXOS Senior Performance Director, will share key insights on and trends around optimizing women’s health and performance. Jenny has worked with a variety of athletes across sports throughout her career, including NHL, MLB, and NCAA DI athletes. Jenny specializes in return to performance strategy, and is a member of EXOS’ Continuous Improvement Team, bringing education and mentorship to the EXOS coaching staff.
Wednesday, Dec. 4: Mental Health Matters Panel Discussion with Industry Experts
10:00-11:30 am EST
Wednesday morning will feature a panel discussion on the intersection of mental health and elite performance, led by experts from the sports and healthcare industries, including:
- Dr. Nikole Benders-Hadi, M.D.: Chief Medical Officer, Talkspace, Inc.
- 15+ years of experience as a practicing psychiatrist
- Former Chief of Psychiatry at Rockland Psychiatric Center
- Former Vice President of Behavioral Health at Included Health
- Chris Thomas: CEO and Co-Founder, The Defensive Line
- Oversees The Defensive Line’s suicide prevention programming
- Former senior executive at Procter & Gamble, Frito-Lay, and Alberto Culver
- Father of NFL player Solomon Thomas
- Madhuri Jha, MPH, LCSW: Clinical social work and public health executive
- Founder and Principal of Thriving for All LLC
- 15+ years of experience spanning executive leadership, research, training, and direct clinical practice
- Primary areas of focus include health and behavioral health systems strengthening, trauma and resiliency, mental health epidemiology, and community capacity building
- Olivia Lubarsky: Member of Mental Health America’s Public Policy Committee and Ad-Hoc Committee on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Social Justice
- TEDx Speaker
- Deputy Director of Mental Health for the Student Bar Association at American University Washington College of Law
- Former NCAA Division I gymnast
Thursday, Dec. 5: Meta Webinar: Social Media Safeguarding Tools For Players
10:00-11:00 am EST
Meta; the parent company of Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads, and other social media products and platforms; will host a webinar on Meta safety tools available to protect against cyber bullying. Attendees will learn about the tools available to safeguard their accounts against harassment, how to enable these tools, and what to do if you are facing social media abuse.