By Peyton Gash, college women’s volleyball player and 2022 AVCA summer intern

Mental health is what former USC volleyball player Victoria Garrick refers to as “the hidden opponent.”

As a student-athlete playing Division II volleyball, this topic is more important for me and other players now than ever. Athletes balance so many daily tasks: maintaining a manageable routine that helps us be successful on and off the court; eating the right foods; getting enough sleep; waking up early for weights; practicing between classes; and going to bed late after study hall. These are all stressors that come with the luxury of your scholarship.

These factors can easily lead to anxiety or depression. After COVID-19, student-athlete mental health cases almost doubled. In 2021, the NCAA released results from a wellness survey of athletes, and one statistic revealed that 50% of female athletes said their coaches took mental health seriously. With that concerningly low percent, I want to speak from a student-athlete standpoint on ways coaches can be involved in helping their athletes.

The first step is to acknowledge the weight on players’ shoulders. When coaches maintain a respectable relationship with every athlete, it makes us feel safe. If I had a bad practice and afterwards my coach pulls me aside and asks if everything is OK—even if I don’t share—it makes me feel better to know I have coaches who notice when something is wrong and want to help. So many coaches are concerned with mental health but don’t know where to start.

When I first got to my school, I had no idea where counseling/mental health services offices were located. It is useful as an athlete to know who your resources are on campus, and coaches can take initiative and encourage their athletes to use these resources.

Not every school has the same access to sports psychologists or counseling. If you are a coach that has easy access to these resources, I encourage you to use them and to help players seek assistance as needed. Also, treat these mental health supporters as staff to the team. Allow them to sit in on practice and analyze the team dynamic.

Recently, I saw a webinar with Dr. Greg Dale, the Director of Sports Psychology at Duke University. Although not everyone has a Dr. Dale, he gave great advice to coaches regarding ways they can be involved in their athlete’s mental health. Maybe conducting weekly check-ins with players and talking to them for 5 minutes about anything but volleyball or meeting each class for lunch once a month.

As a team, you are around each other so much to the point where it is more like a family. It is nice to know your coach cares about you outside of just being an athlete. The important part of this is to be consistent. It is easy to think everything is OK when your team is winning, but coaches need to stay involved.

The biggest key for coaches is making it known that being vulnerable/sharing certain emotions is not a sign of weakness. The entire negative stigma around being anxious or depressed needs to change. It is 2022, and every athlete comes from a different background with a different story. It is not a coach’s place to judge or make any athlete feel “less than.” They should, instead, look at every athlete for their individuality.

As a sophomore, I was diagnosed with a torn labrum in my right hip and a fractured femur. I was pulled from competition as we headed to postseason, and it was completely devastating. Not being able to play allowed me to have a lot more time to think and I was unsure what the road to recovery entailed.

With much more free time I developed anxiety and feelings of emptiness. I felt extremely defeated because things were out of my control. As an athlete you invest so much into your sport, and it is upsetting when you can no longer do what you love.

The only reason I made it through my injury with a positive mindset is because of my support system. My head coach, Danielle Marante, saved me by keeping me involved. I didn’t see that all those mornings when she made me get up at 5 a.m. to watch my teammates lift or practice, but by just being there, it kept me motivated to work hard on recovering.

She continued to instill my importance and my role on the team even while I was injured. Both my teammates and coaches checked on me which made me feel appreciated. My athletic trainers guided my rehab while also asking how I was mentally. They pushed me to the point where exercises were hard, but not unbearable, and forced me to take the time to slow things down and listen to my body. The most important part was my coaching staff acknowledging my pain and emotions but encouraging me that everything would be OK.

My story is different, but everyone’s emotions have value. Right now, it is important for coaches to hold places in their hearts for each athlete and remember that everyone is likely going through something.