DAVIS ISLANDS, Fla. — Stepping onto a baseball diamond like the one at Bayshore Little League on Davis Islands can bring up a wide range of emotions, and it certainly does that for Dan Greco.

What You Need To Know

  • MaxU is a new program designed to help youth athletes' mental health 

  • MaxU is a program where young athletes fill out a questionnaire and are then designated a specific animal which demonstrates both positive traits and traits kids can work on 

  • The program will also give those kids and their parents resources approved by clinical psychologists to help them grow in those areas

  • The founders of MaxU say it’s geared toward youth organizations to use for its participants as well as for parents to individually purchase the program to use for their child

“I have such a deep love for sports in general,” he said. “Baseball is near and dear to my heart.”

He and his business partner, Brian Kornfeld, played sports growing up and now watch their kids do the same.

The activity, Greco said, can shape kids’ lives.

“I look at the field like this should be a safe place for kids,” he said. “This should be a place for them to be able to explore our range of emotions, from joy to heartache, and a place for them to develop and feel safe and to be able to get confidence.”

They say that’s what it’s done for their kids.

Since 2020, though, Kornfeld and Greco said coming out of the pandemic, kids they’ve coached or have watched play are having trouble mentally staying in the game. According to the two business partners, they’ve seen meltdowns and kids having trouble being good teammates.

“Everybody wants the best for their children, not only their own, but all the ones that orbit this park,” Greco said.

In response, they decided to create a program to help kids grow mentally strong and learn skills to develop that part of their game.

According to Kornfeld, that can make all the difference in how someone plays the physical part of a sport.

“They’re learning how to be a good teammate,” Kornfeld said. “How do you build confidence? How do you overcome adversity?”

While most colleges and professional teams have sports psychologists to help athletes with the mental part of a game, not much has been invested in doing the same for youth sports. Which is why Kornfeld and Greco came up with MaxU.

It’s a program where young athletes fill out a questionnaire and are then designated a specific animal which demonstrates both positive traits and traits kids can work on.

MaxU will also give those kids and their parents resources approved by clinical psychologists to help them grow in those areas.

“Using sports,” Kornfeld said, “they can learn more about themselves and grow in these formidable years.”

Their aim is to incorporate this into youth organizations like little leagues or AYSO so that even if someone’s child isn’t the next Tom Brady or Derek Jeter, they can carry these lessons into whatever career they go into.

“It’s, you know, beyond the ball field or the basketball court or the swimming pool,” Greco said. “It’s really about setting them up for success in life.”

So that the work kids do while playing on the ball field will be beneficial no matter where their lives take them.

Greco and Kornfeld came up with the idea in 2021 and made the website accessible for organizations to join at the end of September.

While they say it’s geared toward youth organizations to use for its participants, it’s also possible for parents to individually purchase the program to use for their young athlete as well.