Carl Henson, CEO of LifeLink, is on a mission to teach kids that making the perfect shot is only one part of the game.
"When you think about a typical kid, a lot of these kids are great athletes, and they are really good at what they do on the court, but we want to build the child up in totality," Henson said.
VIDEO: Organization brings mental health and academic support to student athletes
So he, along with LifeLink Co-Founder Hope Law, is bringing mental health services and academic support to Wintarian Athletics starting Saturday.
"We'll have in-house therapists, we'll have tutors on site, we'll have Spanish lessons, we'll be offering summer camp this summer, and then we'll also have a day-to-day after-school program."
He explained how it'll work.
"They'll get their homework done, and then after they do that, they'll go and see a therapist and do a therapy session where they learn a coping skill, whether that be anger management, how to deal with stress on and off the court."
Kids at the gym told WMAR 2 News they already love spending their time there.
"Because here we get like a lot of training, and it's a lot more fun when we do, like, at the end we have, like, basketball games at the end, and when we have basketball games at the end, we get to experience our skills after practice," nine-year-old Khalief James said.
And they can't wait to get some use out of the new game room.
"Cause I'll be here overnight all day. Yeah, I'll be here all night and not leave here. I won't leave until I'm 25 years old, sorry," James and nine-year-old Levi Hebron added.
There will be a grand opening of the LifeLink services at Wintarian Athletics Saturday from 11 am to 4 pm with food, music, games, and more.
