#437 Sam Parfitt, Founder and CEO of the True Athlete Project, on Combating the Mental Health Crisis in Sports

Sam Parfitt is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of The True Athlete Project. He holds an MSc in Sport Policy, Management and International Development from the University of Edinburgh, where he then became an associate tutor. His dissertation focused on the role of sport coaches as social change-makers, basing his research at The Crags Centre - a community sports center in an area of high deprivation in Scotland, where Sam was the sport-for-wellbeing manager.

​Sam is a certified mindfulness teacher and a USPTA professional tennis coach, with experience coaching all ages and standards - from total beginners to internationally-ranked juniors. A former tennis player, Parfitt won the 2006 London Youth Games and three British Tour doubles titles before moving to the United States in 2009 on a division one college tennis scholarship where he became a two-time All American Scholar Athlete.

​While Sam suffered with much ill health during his time in the States, Sam endeavored to use his experiences in sport - both positive and negative - to help others. His academic work centered around sport and identity, and he became intimately involved in establishing projects which used sport as an agent for social change. Thus, the True Athlete Project was born.

Connect with Sam:

The True Athlete Project: https://www.thetrueathleteproject.org/

Americas Cohort: https://www.thetrueathleteproject.org/apply-839194.html

Coach Membership: https://www.thetrueathleteproject.org/membership.html

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.true.athlete.project/

Contact email address: [e-mail] 

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