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Vernon gym looks to improve youth mental health

Training House in Kal Tire Place North will launch MY HOUSE program Jan. 3 for students in Grades 7-12
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Rhonda Catt (left) and Carla Rayner are partners in Vernon’s private facility, Training House, located on second floor of Kal Tire Place North arena. The pair are launching a new program in January for students in Grades 7-12 aimed at improving youth mental health. (Morning Star - file photo)

Vernon’s Training House, a private gym facility located on the top floor of Kal Tire Place North arena, has always trained athletes – adults and youth.

But with the struggle of reduced competition and decreased social interaction with the pandemic, it became obvious to facility co-owners Rhonda Catt and Carla Rayner very quickly that there was a bigger need than just physical training.

Catt and Rayner will be launching MY HOUSE on Monday, Jan. 3, an ongoing membership opportunity for youth to engage socially all year long.

They will participate in strength and conditioning programs and each month Training House will host a variety of interactions with pro athletes, counsellors, dietitians, physiotherapists, scouts and other professionals,” said Rayner. “Some of these interactions will be in person, others will be online through closed Zoom presentations. Some of the presentations will benefit the whole family and some will be directed to just the athlete.”

Catt and Rayner have been partners and gym owners for more than 10 years. They are both mothers and have had their share of adversity. The decline in youth mental health wasn’t hard to see even in their own children.

“Youth are struggling,” said Rayner. “They are not given the same opportunities older generations had as kids.There aren’t social opportunities to learn how to deal with excitement, failure, risk and reward. Youth are turning to digital socialization which is creating other issues with digital addiction and cyber bullying.

“It was the only way our children could socialize through the lock-downs and families just got used to the screen time increasing. The family dynamics have altered, shifted to situations that are creating dangerous habits in our youth.”

Rayner and Catt felt like they could make a difference and the result is MY House, the women’s dedication to improve youth mental heath.

Each participant will be enrolled in the Head Start Pro course through Mike Shaw, (www.mikeshawski.com); be given an opportunity to learn from former Vernon Vipers and NHL forward Aaron Volpatti, (www.aaronvolpatti.com) to help design their “life story;” learn from from Canadian women’s Olympic basketball coach Shawnee Harle (www.shawneeharle.com) about harnessing FEAR into POWER; and families will be able to listen to Dawn King (www.dawnking.com) share her thoughts on digital addiction and help families alter their behaviours at home to create successful, safe home environments.

The line-up for sport specific individuals will be a variety of pro/elite athletes. Each month, more professionals will be contacted to fill the multi-sport segments including mountain biking, soccer, equestrian sport, golf, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, swimming, volleyball, basketball, football and endurance sports to name a few.

MY HOUSE is open to students in Grades 7-12. Each applicant will be contacted for a personal interview with their parents to ensure the program is a good fit.

“While the program is geared towards athletes, a better representation is that the program is geared towards youth that WANT to be there and WANT to engage,” said Rayner. “While participants can start at any time (all workshops will be recorded) it is recommended that participation continue even during busier months. The skills learned throughout this program will support stress management, time management, mindset, confidence, self esteem and nutrition to name a few.

“Consistency, like in physical health is true with mental health as well.”

Interested parties can contact Rayner at: info@traininghousevernon.com and can visit the Training House website: www.traininghousevernon.com.