Trigger Warning: details of self-harm, suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety Rewind to my freshman preseason. It’s intense but I make it through. It’s my rookie season and I appear in 16 games and make 12 starts as a freshman. I’m excited about college and am thrilled by the rigors of college academia, especially since I’ve been accepted…
Sam Cary: Unapologetically Yourself
For Katie Meyer: Like so many others, last week the sudden passing of Stanford keeper Katie Meyer struck me deep. I was not a teammate of Katie, I never had the honor of knowing her or being in her presence, but like a lot of other people, I knew her from her historic match in…
Rachael Steil: Running In Silence
The following excerpt from Running in Silence speaks volumes about how my college cross country coach approached mental health. As a competitive guy, he wanted to win. But he knew that having a mentally injured athlete was not going to get us there. He knew that an athlete who appeared unwell physically and mentally was…
Erin Tudryn: Dia-Athlete, My Invisible Illness
When someone is diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes it is a lifelong contract. The moment that your body becomes insulin-dependent is the moment that your life changes forever. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when I was 9 years old. I was in 3rd grade, losing weight, eating for about two people and had…
Jordan Ormsby: Stride by Stride, Victory by Victory
For anyone trying to find the courage to recover or for anyone in need of a spark to keep going… this is for you. I truly believed that I did not have a problem. I thought my life was going in the right direction. I felt that I had everything perfectly under control. Little did…
Mackenzie Fitzpatrick: Highlights & Lowlights
I think after posting my semester highlights, I realized how fake I can be on social media. While it’s true, this past semester was the best semester yet, it was also pretty dark too. While I have been open about some of my mental health struggles and my advocacy for ending the stigma around mental…
Emily Harrigan: I fell back in love with the game
My college career was never one that I expected for myself. I was on cloud nine leaving high school, being named an All-American, breaking the goal scoring record at my school, and winning a state championship. I was more than ready to play at a top 25 soccer program. However, God had different plans for me. …
Campus Captain Emma Krause: Facing My Hidden Opponents
Basketball has given me the best and worst times of my life, but I wouldn’t change anything that has happened these past 14 years because I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the lessons my sport has taught me. I’ve hit buzzer-beaters, celebrated championships, met some of my best friends, but have also…
Kai McClelland: I’m a college athlete. Because of the mental health stigma, I almost wasn’t.
When I was 11, I ran my first 5k. When I was 14, I ran my first half marathon. And by the next year, I was on my high school’s varsity cross-country team, beginning my college recruitment process. Then I developed a chronic gastrointestinal illness. The problem started in my brain, but I failed to…
Jackie Skalski: Trust Your Own Process
“It could be worse,” is the response I constantly gave when asked about how I felt when I heard the news that I had torn my ACL. But in reality, it is okay to feel like it cannot be worse, but is not okay to feel like that for an extended period of time. I…
