Formally known as student-athlete mentors, SAMs are college athletes trained to help their teammates cope with life off the field. Among the places you'll find them are Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech, Richmond and the University of Virginia, where the program started nine years ago. Joe Gieck, Virginia's director of sports medicine and professor of education, co-founded the program with a U.Va. He found that athletes at every level of competition endure intense pressures other students don't face.
Studies show that athletes drop out and flunk out at a higher rate than other students.
Gieck said if not for the SAMs program at Virginia, at least two student-athletes in the last nine years would have died from alcohol poisoning. But because SAMs are trained to spot it, and to take action rather than look the other way, people immediately received medical assistance. Gieck said Virginia SAMs also have spotted suicidal tendencies in several athletes, and helped them receive counseling. The SAM program can work both ways. Seton Hall wrestler Jerry Barry credits being a SAM with keeping him on the right path.