With mental health issues becoming more prevalent in today’s society, officials from the Atlantic Coast Conference decided to be proactive on the topic and hold the first annual ACC Mental Health and Wellness Summit – and several representatives of the Virginia Tech Athletics Department took part.
Six members of the department, including a coach and two student-athletes attended the two-day event, which was held in Durham, North Carolina on May 21-22. The group included volleyball head coach Jill Wilson, women’s tennis player Nika Kozar, and women’s golfer Emily Mahar; along with Natalie Forbes, a senior director in student-athlete development, Paul Knackstedt, a staff counselor, and Hisham Ziyout, who works as a director of sports medicine with the Tech men’s basketball program.
Officials from the ACC invited all schools to send members to the summit, and more than 200 people took part, wanting to learn and get out in front of a subject that affects so many. The league targeted members of institutional “mental wellness” teams, including student-athletes and coaches. Also, representatives from the following areas were encouraged to attend the summit: mental health practitioners, team physicians, athletic trainers, sports nutritionists, academic support staff, student-athlete development staff, and campus counselors.
When offered the opportunity to attend, Wilson, entering her third season as the Hokies’ volleyball coach, quickly took it.
“I am grateful to Virginia Tech and the ACC for the opportunity to attend,” she said. “Spending time listening and training with so many athletic staff members in different fields was a unique opportunity. Everyone shared ideas and had a common goal of providing more resources to help student-athletes. One of the most impacting parts of the summit was having the chance to collaborate with our student-athletes through discussing some tough, but very important, topics.”
The main focus of the summit centered on the de-stigmatization of mental health issues and the integration of that philosophy within athletics. League officials wanted summit attendees to work together and identify areas in which they could work together to reduce stigma and promote access to mental health services at their respective universities. The summit also helped to identify strategies for integrating care between multidisciplinary providers at each institution to promote mental health and well-being.
The summit included 10 breakout seminars. Some of the topics that were discussed included exploring the best practices around integrative care, providing time for campuses to get together and devise an action plan, suicide prevention programming, student-athlete mentor programs, self-care and more.
“Having an opportunity to attend gave me a better understanding of the importance of mental health,” Kozar said. “I attended various sessions, and they all taught me something I did not know before. I am happy I could attend, so that I can raise awareness of the importance of mental health at Virginia Tech and among student-athletes.”
“This is a topic that needs to be focused on more so that we can each work on changing the stigma behind mental health,” Ziyout added.
The summit also featured guest speakers. The parents of Tyler Hilinski, a quarterback at Washington State who committed suicide early last year, told their heart-wrenching story – and more importantly, their response to their son’s tragic passing. They started a foundation called Hilinski’s Hope, which seeks to “educate, advocate and de-stigmatize mental illness.”
Also, former Tennessee great and WNBA superstar Chamique Holdsclaw spoke about her struggles with and recovery from depression and bipolar disorder. Holdsclaw has long been a champion of mental health awareness as well.
The ACC took time to put together a reception at the ACC Baseball Championship in Durham, allowing for the mixing of sports, pleasure and business.
Rest assured, the business component – finding solutions, removing the stigma and encouraging the discussion of mental health topics – stayed front and center.
“I am proud to be part of an institution and conference that demonstrates the importance of mental health and wellness support and programming for student-athletes and athletic departments as a whole,” Forbes said. “Attending the inaugural ACC Mental Health and Wellness Summit provided me with the unique opportunity to connect with fellow conference members and learn strategies to positively impact the lives of our student-athletes.”
That was the goal – and league officials plan on remaining vigilant on the topic. Commissioner John Swofford attended the summit and wants the league to be a leader in providing mental health services, but more importantly, he and league officials want the attendees to take what they learned and apply it.
Immediately, too. Lives are at stake, and the league and member schools recognize it.
–VT Athletics