Hope Ave Therapy partners with club and collegiate sports programs to build the mental skills infrastructure that keeps athletes healthy and competing at their best.
What We Believe
Performance and wellbeing are the same conversation.
The same habits that build steadier athletes — sleep, fueling, recovery, honest communication, room to fail — also protect mental health. We don't separate them. Our work makes both better at once.
The need is real — and most go without.
Research finds that roughly half of elite athletes experience a mental health concern at some point, yet only about one in five who are struggling ever seek support. The skills and culture we build close that gap — normalizing the work before a crisis forces it.
We work on the gym floor, not in an office.
We work in the language of coaches, parents, and athletes — concrete skills for specific moments, real conversations instead of lectures. Space for athletes and teams to talk through their own experiences, barriers, and questions.
Kobe. Phelps. Serena. Biles. The athletes who reach the top — and stay there — tend to share one thing: they trained the mental side as seriously as the physical.
That isn't reserved for professionals, and it isn't about talent. The habits that protect elite careers are teachable — and a youth-club player benefits from them as much as a pro, long before most programs think to teach them. That's the work we bring to clubs and college programs.
Who We Serve
Clubs
Season-long partnerships built around your calendar. Athlete talks, coach workshops, parent education, co-branded resources for your families. Designed to protect your culture and your athletes.
Colleges
Programs designed for the unique pressure of collegiate athletics — identity, recruiting transition, NIL stress, mental health amid academic demand. Coach education, athlete workshops, and ongoing consultation.
Families
Resources and education for parents and athletes navigating the demands of competitive sports. When an athlete needs more, our clinical practice offers therapy and comprehensive evaluations — attention, learning, and mood — with priority intake for partner-program families.
Athletes leave with tools, not takeaways.
These aren't lectures. Every session is built around concrete skills athletes can use in the moments that actually decide a match — and the space to practice them out loud, together.
The reset between points
A repeatable way to let go of the last mistake and lock back into the next ball — so one error doesn't become three.
A focus cue that travels
A consistent way to start a point, a serve, or a routine on their own terms — the same under pressure as in practice.
Mindfulness & breath skills
Simple, evidence-based ways to steady the body and quiet the noise — so nerves become readiness instead of a spiral.
Confidence built on evidence
A method for trusting their training and tracking real progress — rather than waiting to “feel ready” before they compete.
Help-seeking language
What to say, and to whom, when something's wrong — so reaching out feels normal long before it becomes a crisis.
Showing up for a teammate
How to recognize a teammate who's struggling and respond well — turning a team into a first line of support.
The full protocols, sequencing, and live practice are delivered in our sessions and partnership materials.
Four ways to work with us
We have a flagship, but we're flexible. Every offering can be tailored to your program's size, season, and specific needs — all worked out in a free consultation.
What a full partnership includes
| Service | Audience |
|---|---|
| Pre-season mental performance talks | AthletesCoaches |
| Mid-season check-ins (return visits to reset & reinforce) | AthletesTeams |
| Coach education workshops | Coaching Staff |
| Parent education sessions | Families |
| Co-branded playbooks & handouts | All Audiences |
| Anonymous athlete Q&A platform | Athletes |
| Priority therapy & evaluation intake for referred families | Clinical Care |
| Brief referral consultation for coaches | Coaching Staff |
Specific scope and investment vary by program size and partnership tier. We'll build a package that fits — let's talk it through in a free consult.
Built as a partnership,
not a one-off.
Discovery
A brief conversation to understand your program's culture, calendar, and specific challenges. No pitch deck — just a real conversation.
Partnership Design
We build a season package matched to your program. Athlete talks, coach workshops, parent education, and co-branded resources for your community.
Ongoing Delivery & Review
We show up consistently across your season — and review the work with your leadership at the end so we can keep improving together.
Real change requires real reinforcement.
Our work with clubs and collegiate programs is structured as season-long partnerships, not single-event talks. Programs that partner with Hope Ave receive an integrated package designed around your competitive calendar — so the mental skills work compounds over time, not just once.
Start a Partnership Conversation- A hand in the design. Shape the program around your culture, your calendar, and your athletes.
- Priority scheduling. First claim on dates across your competitive season.
- Preferred founding terms. Founding-partner pricing, locked in as the model grows.
Building the model
together.
We're forming a small group of founding club and collegiate partnerships — programs that want to build this work with us from the ground up and become the case studies the model is built from. If that's your program, we'd like to talk.
Become a founding partnerResources built to be used.
Our playbooks turn the research into plain language for the people who need it — on the sideline, in the car, and in the staff room. The full set is developed with and delivered to our partner programs.
Parent Playbook
How to show up well after a tough match, read the warning signs, and keep sport a source of confidence — not pressure. Co-branded for your families.
Athlete Playbook
The reset, the focus cue, the breath skills, and the help-seeking language — written for athletes, by age, in their own language.
Coach Education Guide
Climate, communication, the mistake response, and clear referral pathways — so staff know what to say and when to bring us in.
Warning Signs & When to Reach Out
A one-page reference for telling normal ups and downs from the moments that call for support — and exactly what to do next. No partnership required.
The People Behind the Work
Dr. Aaron Kaplan, PsyD
Aaron leads Hope Ave's work in sports mental health and performance, specializing in the mental health of competitive athletes, college and graduate students, and high-achieving young adults. PsyD from William James College, postdoctoral training at Brandeis University Counseling Center.
Grace Edwards, MA
Grace co-presents with Aaron on athlete sessions, bringing the lived experience of having competed at the Division I level. A Master's-level clinician trained at Boston College, she offers something rare in this space — a former high-level athlete in the room alongside a licensed psychologist. Read Grace's full profile →
Frequently Asked
Let's Talk About Your Program.
Whether you're a club director, athletic director, coach, or family — we'd love to hear from you. No pitch deck. Just a free, real conversation about your program and what we might build together.