MNUFC Academy, in partnership with Allina Health, today announced the collaboration with Allina Health’s free, award-winning “Change to Chill” program, an online mental health resource and curriculum that Academy players, coaches and staff can access and utilize throughout the year. The Change to Chill online resources and programming partnership notably makes MNUFC Academy one of a few MLS-affiliated academies with a mental health resources partnership that is readily available to be utilized by players and staff.
MNUFC Academy’s U15, U16 and U18 players will learn how to access a teenage-tailored, online-based curriculum focused on educating and providing resources to strengthen their mental awareness and fortitude, helping them become more aware of the things that stress them out while equipping them with relevant tools and resources to better manage stress and anxiety.
“These Change to Chill resources will be available to help our Academy players better understand and recognize different stressors and their own mental wellbeing. The fact that the MNUFC Academy has a club partner in Allina Health, and the ability to directly access the Change to Chill programing, is so perfect,” said MNUFC Academy Player Welfare Manager Anne Moelk. “With Change to Chill’s resources, we aim to equip all of our players, coaches, and youth development staff with the tools to help them recognize and manage mental health challenges, and we truly believe that those resources will make a lasting impact within our Academy for the long term, on and off the field.”
“This current generation of teens seems to understand the importance of de-stigmatizing mental health challenges in a way that didn’t happen in the past. We applaud their willingness to speak up, and as adults, we should harness this opportunity to support them,” Shannon Woulfe, Ph.D., LP, Allina Health Mental Health & Addiction Clinical Manager.
“By meeting teens where they are and educating the coaches, teachers and parents in their lives, we hope to provide everyone with stress-coping skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives,” said Sydney Hobart, Allina Health Community Health Improvement Consultant. “Change to Chill is a free tool distributed online for accessibility, and we are thankful for partnerships with schools and now MNUFC Academy so we can work together to best reach the teens in their communities.”
At the end of August, players from all three levels of the MNUFC Academy sat in on an interactive Change to Chill presentation at the club’s training grounds at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota. The young Loons learned ways to recognize and reduce stress from Allina Health, while also participating in quick activities that reinforce the lessons they had just learned.
Then, MNUFC Academy coaching and support staff members were presented with a similar course as their players later in September. This presentation emphasized the importance of supporting player mental health and well-being, along with specific ways that coaches and staff can utilize Change to Chill resources to do so.
About Minnesota United:
Professional soccer has been a part of Minnesota for over four decades, and since 2013, Minnesota United FC has been at the forefront of growing the game at all levels. MNUFC currently competes in three different levels established by Major League Soccer: Minnesota United FC (MLS), MNUFC2 (MLS NEXT Pro) and the MNUFC Academy (MLS NEXT). Allianz Field – constructed in 2019 in the Midway neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota – is the home to Minnesota United games, and the club trains at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota. In 2024, MNUFC’s first team returns to the pitch for its eighth season in MLS.
About Allina Health:Allina Health is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of illness and enhancing the greater health of individuals, families and communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. A nonprofit health care system, Allina Health cares for patients from beginning to end-of-life through its 90+ clinics, 12 hospital campuses, 14 retail pharmacies, and many specialty care centers and specialty medical services, home care, and emergency medical transportation services. Learn more at allinahealth.org and join us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
