Joplin, MO – Today’s student-athletes have at their fingertips access to the latest technological equipment and coaching to enhance their physical performance on the field of play. But what about the mental aspects of their game?

Freeman Ozark Center and Missouri Southern State University officials on Wednesday announced the joint Performance Excellence Initiative, a program that effortlessly embeds mental health wellness into the everyday culture of Missouri Southern’s student-athletes.

“[The program] creates a collaborative support system of counselors, psychologists, coaches, athletic trainers, physicians and academic professionals who work together to promote the overall health and success of every student-athlete,” said Vicky Mieseler, Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer at Ozark Center. “Instead of responding only when challenges become a crisis, we are taking a pro-active approach that helps athletes build resilience, manage stress and strengthen the emotional regulation skills they need to succeed on and off the field.”

Missouri Southern Lion student-athletes will have increased access to specialized resources, counseling services, performance support and educational programming provided by Ozark Center’s Performance Coach Dr. Brett Miller and Performance Therapist Morgan Cristy. Mieseler, who championed the program and worked closely with MSSU athletic officials over the last two years to get it up and running, said it is the future of collegiate athletics.

“We are investing not only in athletic performance, but the health, development and future success of student-athletes across our region,” she said. “The future of athletics is not simply building stronger athletes; it is building healthier, more resilient people. The strongest athletes are not those who never face adversity, [but] those who have the support, resources and courage to overcome challenges and grow stronger because of them.”

The Performance Excellence Initiative represents the type of programming and services that typically only student-athletes in the NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] Division 1 schools might have access to, said Missouri Southern Director of Athletics Rob Mallory said. 

“It positions Missouri Southern as the leader, not only in the MIAA [Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association] but across the Division II landscape, when it comes to providing mental health services and care for our student-athletes,” he said. “It’s not just the access to these services; it is the fact that they are embedded within the daily operations of our athletics department that takes this initiative to the next level.

Dr. Miller has trained closely with Missouri Southern’s volleyball and football student athletes over the last 24 months, helping them perform both on the field and inside the classroom. 

“This is just a really exciting and unique resource and it’s not something you would normally find in Joplin, so it’s great to see Missouri Southern spearheading this,” Dr. Miller said. “It has been a fantastic experience.”

This fall, Cristy will embed herself in the university’s soccer program. Men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball programs will also benefit from the two Ozark Center professionals’ expertise.

“For us, mental health is just as important as physical training,” said Missouri Southern Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Joshua Moore, “and having someone like Dr. Miller within our program has been huge for training our [student-athletes’] minds to be prepared for competition, be prepared for practice, and to get through adversity in a healthy way and to do it together.”

The impact of this initiative extends well beyond graduation, Mieseler concluded. “The lessons learned through mental wellness, self-awareness, resilience and coping strategies will remain with these young men and women for the rest of their lives.”