Hi friends! My name is Amanda Dahlman and I’m the founder of Hope for Athletes. Growing up, I participated in a wide variety of sports – volleyball, gymnastics, tennis, and basketball. I fell in love with volleyball in middle school and never looked back. However, after coming face to face with crippling performance anxiety in high school, I began questioning if I wanted to play volleyball in college. Nonetheless, after going on a recruit visit and praying about it, I took a risk and committed to play on the women’s volleyball team at Messiah University.

As a collegiate athlete I learned how sports can be a form of worship – an avenue where we bring glory to God through our motives, competition and interactions with others. In other words, I learned how to play for an audience of one. As this realization continued to permeate deeper into my heart, I was able to compete with more freedom and less anxiety.

Having experienced anxiety, depression, power abuse, and trauma throughout my years as an athlete, I wanted to foster community, break the stigma, and raise mental health awareness for athletes like me, who felt alone in their struggles. Hence, with the support of others, I launched Hope for Athletes in April 2022.

I graduated from Messiah University in May 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training. After undergrad I went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling through Messiah University and graduated in December 2023. I am a National Certified Counselor, Licensed Professional Counselor in Training (LPC-IT), and have obtained clinical experience at Charleston Southern University, Concordia University Wisconsin, and a faith-based non-profit. My deepest passion is working with athletes and the greater athletics community, where I can intertwine my love for sports and mental health.