Championing Mental Health in Sports: How to Support Your Athletes

Being an athlete and a coach often means pushing boundaries, digging deep, and showing strength. But behind the grit, there can be a quiet tension: the pressure, stress, expectations, and isolation that can come with competition of it all. At WLD, we believe part of building stronger athletes is caring for them as people first, and that includes mental health.

October is all about mental health from National Awareness Week to World Mental Health Day (10/10) - so we could not think of a better time to highlight some organizations dedicated to making a real difference 💚🧠

Founded by former Division I volleyball player Victoria Garrick Browne, the nonprofit is dedicated to breaking the stigma around athlete mental health. Through campus ambassador programs, speaking engagements, and a wealth of online resources, The Hidden Opponent creates space for athletes to open up about the struggles that aren’t always visible. For coaches, their platform is a valuable tool because it not only helps us recognize the “hidden opponent” our players may be facing, but also gives us language and strategies to support them.

✨ Check out their Resources page and filter “For Coaches” - From sports psychology, to women’s empowerment, diversity and inclusion, to eating disorders, there is a wealth of information covered here that is especially relevant to us lacrosse coaches.

✨ Host an Awareness Game to raise visibility, create meaningful conversations, and show your team that their value goes far beyond performance.



MORGAN’S MESSAGE

Founded in memory of Duke lacrosse player Morgan Rodgers, who lost her battle with mental health in 2019 🦋 This organization works to break the stigma around mental health in sports by publishing open letters, hosting mental health matches, and training ambassadors across all age groups to share stories and educate us about athlete mental health. 

✨ This summer WLD teamed up with Morgan’s Message - check out the training session ‘Mental Health Challenges: Warning Signs & How to Take Action’ which gives us lacrosse coaches practical tools to recognize and respond to mental health concerns on our teams.

✨ Host a Dedication Game with your team. These events honor Morgan’s legacy, raise awareness, spark meaningful dialogue, and show athletes and your community that mental health is just as important as performance.


OTHER GREAT RESOURCES



WLD’S COMMITMENT TO MENTAL HEALTH

At WLD, mental health isn’t a seasonal focus, it’s part of everything we do. We understand that supporting and coaching our athletes goes beyond physical skills development, and we aim to equip coaches with the tools to create environments where players feel safe, supported, and empowered all year round.

✨ Mental Health Trainings

  • Annie Morris and Krystina Bertolone lead sessions helping coaches recognize warning signs and have meaningful conversations. and foster supportive Additional training on Building Connected Athletes gives skills to help us coaches create a team culture where everyone feels a safe sense of belonging.

✨ Book Club

  • This group gives coaches a chance to explore leadership, resilience, and mental well-being through curated reads and weekly check in chats. Recent selections have included: Dare to Lead by Brené Brown, Reach for the Summit by Pat Summitt, Pound the Stone, and Confessions of an Imperfect Coach by Kate Leavell.


HOW WLD COACHES ARE BRINGING IT HOME


One of our WLD coaches shared after learning about the organization through our training with Anne Morris, how their team weaves Morgan’s Message into the spring season with a Dedication Game.

This year, the team came together for a pregame dinner, building comradery before the first whistle. On the field, “the pregame speech included a write-up about Morgan and what Morgan’s Message does, and both teams came together to exchange something with each player.” Her team made Morgan’s Message themed hair ribbons to share with their opponents, who in return shared hand written notes of encouragement and support.

💚
This simple, player-led tradition is a perfect example of how WLD coaches and athletes bring mental health awareness to the field. It shows that even small actions, like a ribbon, a note, or a shared message, can create connection, spark important conversations, and remind everyone what sports is all about.

Jenna Birnbohm-Kaminski