What your athletes are carrying affects how they practice, how they compete and whether they stay.

Most of it, you'll never see.

Sam is a mentor athletes actually use - available at 11pm, over break, in the moments they can't come to you.

By the time you see it, it's already affecting the team.

A player in the transfer portal who never said they were struggling.

A senior whose performance dropped and can't say why.

Monday practice is off because something happened over the weekend.

When you try to address it, you're met with silence.

Or hear the dreaded "I'm fine, coach."

It's not that athletes don't want help. It's that they don't have the words yet - or they're not ready to say them.

That's not a failure.That's the structure.Sam is built for that gap.

You can't be available 24/7.You can't be a neutral third party.And some things athletes won't bring to their coach.

Sam exists so when athletes come to you, they're ready to talk.

Sam gives athletes something we can't: a neutral space to process. When they've already worked through what's bothering them, they show up to practice ready to hear coaching. Not stuck in their heads about playing time or a bad rep.

Coach Bonnie RosenTemple University Women's Lacrosse

Sam is a bridge, not a replacement.

Your campus already has people who can help - counselors, trainers, advisors, you. Support exists. Athletes don't always use it.

They're low on time. Seeking help isn't engrained in athletic culture. They are too unclear or unsure to bother someone else..

Sam helps athletes find the words, build the confidence, get clear on what they need. So when they're ready to talk to you, or anyone else, they actually can.

Sam doesn't replace your support system. Sam makes athletes ready to use it.

Why athletes actually talk to Sam

Sam is the one voice in their world with nothing at stake but them.

Nothing but their corner

Sam has no power over them. No hidden agenda. No incentive but to help them think through what's on their mind.

Private by design

What athletes say to Sam stays between them and Sam. Encrypted. Never used to train AI.

Clear about our limits

Sam's support has limits. They call them out when needed. Crisis resources are available in every conversation.

What changes for you

Sam works with athletes. You see the difference.

team image

Your coaching lands

When athletes aren't stuck processing, they can hear what you're teaching.

Athletes come to you prepared.

When they need a hard conversation, they've already gotten clear. You get an athlete who can say what they need.

You'll see it in how they show up.

No dashboard. When athletes are carrying less, it shows - in practice, in games, in how the team feels.

Backed by research. Validated by athletes.

Journai was selected for the 2025 NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant. Our Temple University research partnership showed statistically significant results.

Here's the data. Here's what it meant to them.

19 of 30

Reported Real Behavior Changes

71%

Described Breakthrough Moments - Putting Words into Action

When I was frustrated and didn't know why, Sam helped me understand why.

I don't usually talk about what's going on with me. This was the first time I said it out loud.

See Sam in action

An athlete is frustrated about her role. She's been stewing for weeks but doesn't know how to bring it up.

She starts a chat with Sam:

i want to talk to coach but idk what to even say. i don't want to sound like i'm complaining

What do you actually want her to know?

that i feel like i'm working hard and not getting a chance to show it

That's clear. What do you want to ask for?

i guess just... what i can do to get more reps. like what she needs to see from me

So you want feedback, not a guarantee. You want to know what to work on.

yeah exactly. that feels less scary to say

You could say exactly that. "I want to get better. What do you need to see from me?" That's not complaining. That's being coachable.

Instead of an athlete who avoids the conversation or comes in defensive, you get one who shows up with a clear question: "What do you need to see from me?"

That's a conversation you want to have.

Built by people who understand athletes and the people who support them.

team member

Robin Goetz Co-founder & CTO

Robin came to Temple from Germany on a soccer scholarship. When he was struggling, he didn't tell his coaches - he was ashamed, and they were too close to everything that mattered. He was the athlete who never knocks on your door. He built Sam for athletes like him.
team member

Dr. Jeff Nyquist Co-founder & CEO

Jeff is a psychologist and neuroscientist who built NeuroTrainer, a cognitive training program used by 35,000 athletes. But coaches kept telling him the same thing: the real challenge wasn't reaction time—it was communication, support, and developing the whole athlete. He built Journai to address what they actually needed.
team member

Dr. Liz Taylor Head of Research

Liz spent her career studying what makes athletic cultures work—and what breaks them. She's published over 60 peer-reviewed studies on athlete wellbeing. Before becoming a professor at Temple, she was a D3 volleyball player and assistant coach. She knows the research and she knows the room

You coach human beings who happen to play your sport.

Sam helps you do that.

We're partnering with a limited number of programs this spring. If you want to see whether Sam is right for your team, now's the time.

Book a 15-Minute Walkthrough