Image by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels

Building on five years of partnership, Play At The Core and Doc Wayne Youth Services are excited to be teaming up again in 2023! During the height of the pandemic, Doc Wayne launched The Champions Network — a training portal created for clinicians and youth development professionals to harness the power of sport to improve mental health for all. The initial content and associated resources for the Creating Champions curriculum were developed in collaboration with PATC and offered training related to trauma-informed sport and Doc Wayne’s innovative sport-based group therapy methodology. Based on the success of this work, Doc Wayne is eager to expand the work of the Champions Network and deepen learning among practitioners across the sector through additional content and programming.

Creating Leaders in Mental Health

1. New Levels of Creating Champions – Each new four-day training will use an experiential learning approach to build community, deepen practitioners’ understanding of program approaches, and support sustainable practice integration within their existing work. 
   1. Level 2 will explore best practices in sports-based therapy program needs assessment, planning, implementation, and adaptation.
   2. Level 3 will equip seasoned practitioners with the skills needed to strengthen capacity (personal, interpersonal, and sector-wide) within the field of sports-based therapy.
2. Learning Communities – To cultivate a community that can support practitioners and promote ongoing practice-based learning and adaptive skill development, Play At The Core will partner with Doc Wayne to develop a framework and begin the implementation of  Champions Network Learning Communities. These spaces will create opportunities to identify and share program successes and challenges and catalyze collective learning that can strengthen sport-based group therapy practices within this emerging field. 

Content development will continue through the spring and summer, with the plan to roll out new programming to partners in the fall of this year.