More Than Athletes: The Dependable Athlete Wellness Guide System (D.A.W.G.S.)

Volume 1, No. 1
Online ISSN: 3071-0898

© The authors. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons 4.0 License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

More Than Athletes: The Dependable Athlete Wellness Guide System (D.A.W.G.S.)

CONFERENCE ABSTRACT

Gracie Howard*, Kendall Walsh*, and Ashley Gardner⁺

School of Health Sciences, Barton College, Wilson, NC, USA
*Student author, ⁺Faculty mentor

CITATION

Howard, Gracie; Walsh, Kendall; & Gardner, Ashley. (2026). More than athletes: The dependable athlete wellness guide system (D.A.W.G.S.) [Conference abstract]. Barton Journal, 1(1), 198. https://bartonjournal.org/vol-1-no-1/2026-cat4-article-no-039

Abstract

More Than Athletes, a mental health-focused organization, was created by two psychology students who experienced the struggles of being student-athletes with multiple roles on campus. The purpose of the proposed program is to provide more mental health and wellness resources to Barton College students, specifically for those in the “athlete-plus” category. There is a growing issue regarding mental health in student-athletes that must be addressed. Applying the Eight Dimensions of Wellness Framework, More Than Athletes plans to address the mental health struggles experienced by student-athletes through the establishment of D.A.W.G.S., a peer mentoring program tailored specifically for athletes who serve in multiple capacities on campus. Additionally, each student reached will receive a pamphlet with information about D.A.W.G.S., mental health resources, and self-care tips. To accomplish this initiative, More Than Athletes is requesting a total of $500.00 to bring this proposal to fruition.

Keywords: student-athlete, eight dimensions of wellness

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