Ryan Faer, Cleveland Indians, on the Power of Coaches as Mentors

We asked Ryan Faer, Cleveland Indians Performance Coordinator, to share his perspective on the power of coaches as mentors. Here’s his take.

As coaches, we understand the impact on our athletes goes well beyond the field and the court. One additional point that we should keep in mind is that it’s not just in the words that we say or the direct actions that we explicitly try to use to guide our athletes. Sometimes, it’s just how we accept them on a day-to-day basis as a person.

Design with Ease

"It’s not just in the words… it’s how we accept [athletes] on a day-to-day basis as a person.” – Ryan Faer

I know from going through my own personal toughest times with mental health, one of the things that helped me the most was when my colleagues, teammates, and mentors, although they may have never known what I was going through, were there for me every single day. They treated me incredibly well and always were there for me and accepted me for who I was as a person. So no matter how hard a day was to start, my teammates and mentors pulled me right out from that every single day and that was the best support that anybody could ever give me.