WHEELING — Free mental health sessions geared toward coaches, athletes and parents are coming to Wheeling Park High School this month.

The first presentations are open to high school and middle school coaches in Ohio County Schools, and are set to take place at 5 p.m. on Sept. 21 in the J.B. Chambers Performing Arts Center. Sessions for parents and students will follow at 6:30, and will take place concurrently in the PAC and in the Beneke Theatre. Those attending should enter through the activities entrance.

Today’s youth are seeing a society that is becoming more opinionated, explained Chris Daugherty, athletic director and head football coach at WPHS.

“And the expectations are high both for players and young adults. The athletic world is very demanding on high school families,” he said.

“We just want to bring people in and be an agent for change. We want to ask, how do we live a little better in this world in terms of athletes and parents?”

Sharing information will be renowned mental health professionals Aimee Kimball and Erin Frohlic. Kimball has worked for 18 seasons supporting National Hockey League teams, while Frohlic has worked with several college and high school programs.

Because of their background, the presenters have a good gauge on what needs to be said, Daugherty noted.

“It’s about mental health — but it is probably just as much about sports psychology from the aspect of telling athletes how to be the best you, and how to be the best athlete you can be,” he explained. “We see athletes deal with so many pressures both on and off the field. We want to give them the opportunity to learn how to build a strong mind.”

Daugherty suggested the parent, the coach and the student athletes themselves all play into the mental success of the athlete. Coaches will hear from the presenters how to strengthen athletes from a coaching perspective, he said.

“Then one of them will speak to parents about how to give positive reinforcement to the child and help them grow as athletes,” Daugherty continued.

There will also be discussion about how parents can mentally help athletes get through injuries. As for the athletes, “everybody has bad days” and the focus will be helping them to overcome them, he added

“The athletes will focus on (the thought), ‘How do I eliminate average to bad play?'” he said.

Daugherty noted he first heard a presentation on the issue of mental health in sports 10 years ago, and that it was among the “best I had ever heard.”

“I hope parents walk away with a good solid foundation, and some thoughts on how they can help the athlete release stress,” he said. “They may not know they are doing something that is causing it.”

The focus with parents will be on how they can create mentally strong athletes, according to Daughterty.

“With high school athletes, the mind is a very dynamic, fragile thing,” he continued. “I am hoping they can get some tools to put into the toolbox to carry into the game, and some self-taught things to make them a stronger high school athlete.”