On Nov. 3, Oswego state men’s hockey players Noah Bull and Tyler Flack secured the first place prize at the 2023 Launch It Finals, hosted by the Park School of Business.

What started as a school project for their class has now slowly progressed into the developmental stages of becoming a real business.

Bull and Flack’s idea, named “Anonymous Athlete,” is a 24/7 online service that college and professional athletes can utilize for free, where they can discuss and open up about their experiences and overall mental wellbeing. 

As athletes themselves, they understand how busy the schedules can be; thus, they wanted to provide some way for athletes to fit mental health counseling into their schedules, Bull said.

“A lot of student athletes are very busy,” Bull said. “The burden of having to go inside or go in person to places would make an online space more beneficial.” 

Current or prospective athletes would be able to connect with former athletes or mental health professionals through a Zoom call, email or over the phone anonymously. 

“The big part of us [athletes] being anonymous on our service as well as it being free is it kind of lets people who are maybe afraid to reach out say, ‘let’s give it a try,’” Bull said. 

Aside from scheduling issues, it is also hard sometimes for players to open up about things such as their mental health as they may feel embarrassed, Bull said. 

“There’s been a stigma, like a gladiator mentality, that athletes are strong and can’t reach out,” Bull said. “But in reality it makes you stronger to reach out.”

Injuries, along with performance, play a huge part in an athlete’s career and can easily affect players mentally, Bull said. 

Flack, who has faced some injuries throughout his career, understands the toll an injury can have on a player. 

“You kind of go into this place where you feel isolated when you aren’t practicing with your teammates or you don’t have the ability to participate in many things,” Flack said. “You [feel] just alone… when you are really not.”

By having a service like “Anonymous Athlete” available, athletes who may be suffering from an injury or any other conflict such as performance insecurity can open up about their experience if they do not feel comfortable talking about it in person. 

Not only that, they can discuss their experience with former athletes who may understand how they are feeling and empathize, which was important for Bull and Flack to implement. 

“Having those former professional and collegiate athletes on our calls can provide a more relatable experience,” Flack said. “Rather than talking to someone who maybe would deep dive into it, you might be able to talk to someone who has gone through it before.” 

Bull and Flack feel this service will benefit a large number of people. 

“Nobody deserves to struggle,” Bull said. “That’s why we wanted to create this service so any athlete can reach out whenever.”

Photo by: Kiley Wren