Madeline Hansen

CMHC Graduate Student - University of Lynchburg

1501 Lakeside Drive
Lynchburg, VA 24501

Scott Allison
President of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)
ODAC Executive Committee DIII
16001 Forest Road Suite B
Forest, VA 24551

October 15, 2020

Dear President Scott Allison,

I hope you are doing well through these tough times. I am writing to you in hope of emphasizing
an increasingly important topic of mental health within student athletes. I anticipate more
conversation about implementing an approach to better understand and support student-athlete
mental health within the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. I ask that the ODAC considers
improving mental health education and resources for student-athletes due to a negatively
perceived stigma surrounding these types of individuals, which results in a lack of students
reaching out for help. Such resources include identifying evidence-based programs, policies, and
practices for not only student-athletes with current mental health issues, but to also use as
prevention techniques.

A typical student-athlete can be described as self-motivated, hard working, able to manage time,
goal oriented, and adaptable. It is extremely important for the athletic community to understand
and be able to recognize the appropriate symptoms of mental health disorders in order to
accurately give the student any necessary resources. Since student-athletes have a stigma of
being tough and strong, so reaching out for help can be labeled as weak. Changing this stigma is
essential to promoting the proactive use of mental health resources and prioritizing well-being.

This all comes from personal experiences. Having faced mental health issues for most of my life
and now, a retired ODAC athlete, I know the frustration when it comes to miscommunication
and misperceiving behaviors or emotions, along with the stigma surrounding student-athletes
with mental health problems. I have realized that student-athletes will benefit the most with
access to a practitioner with an understanding of the student-athlete experience. Along with
collaboration between a multidisciplinary team of licensed professionals, such as Athletic
trainers, coaches, strength and conditioning coach, nutritionist, and sports
psychologists/counselors will benefit athletes in receiving the proper attention and best quality of
care available.
I truly believe that the ODAC has the opportunity to alter the negative mental health stigma
surrounding student-athletes. Mental health is the same as physical health and no individual
should feel a sense of weakness or embarrassment reaching out for extra help.

Respectively,

Madeline M. Hansen