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DHS athletes reveal the hidden mental health struggles they experience during the school year
By: Emma Bishop, Ali Genske & Brynlee Williams
Sophmore Vienna Wallace was one of the leaders of the Dexter JV volleyball team every Tuesday and Thursday night. Wallace has the highest passing percentage on the team and has 1,568 touches this season. She also has the highest serving percentage. When the game is over, life becomes reality. Wallace struggles with anxiety when she is not on the court.
Mental struggles and huge obstacles pushed an athlete to be the captain of the volleyball team. This athlete is Vienna Wallace. She shared her story and wants to show that even if you fail in the beginning, you can still end up on top in the end.
During her 7th-grade volleyball season, Wallace was brand new to volleyball and didn’t know much about the sport. However, she still wanted to try out for the team. Wallace knew a lot of friends who were trying out for the team, and she decided to go to open gyms with them to get ready for tryouts.
Walking into the gym, she had confidence in making the team. Wallace soon found out she was one of the three girls who were cut. This took a massive toll on her mentally.
She wanted to make this team more than anything, and her defeat pushed her to practice and work to become better the next year. Wallace explained how something clicked in her brain. “I didn’t want to give up something I loved, so I pushed even harder to make the team next year.”
Next year, when she walked into tryouts after working hard during the off-season, she made the team. Her coaches were amazed at how much she had improved in just a year. Wallace now continues to improve her volleyball skills by hitting the weight room and practicing whenever she can. With the hard work and dedication she has gained after get-
ting cut from the 7th-grade team, Wallace is now captain of the JV volleyball team.
She continues to practice every day and puts in a lot of work. She still feels stress and anxiety about making sure she continues to improve.“Even if something doesn’t go your way, don’t give upon something you love,” she said.
“Everything happens for a reason, and trust in God to guide you.” said Vienna Wallace
Sophmore Raiden Kipfmiller is a varsity pole vaulter. Kipfmiller started pole vaulting in 7th grade and improved throughout the years. She has even broken school records.
Currently, Kipfmiller’s highest jump is 11’9. Socializing at practice is an important aspect of pole vaulting. Once practice is over Kipfmiller feels that she does not need to socialize as much since she had time at practice to chat with her friends. But when Kipfmiller gets home she struggles to stay on task. “My phone is not a distraction, my friends are,” she said. Kipfmiller’s friends play a bigger role in her staying on task due to them continuously texting her.
An equally important perspective on mental health struggles comes from the teachers who see the student-athletes in their classes.
After health teacher Eric Williams was asked if he pressures his kids to do well in their sport, he stated, “No. I pressure them to work hard. I don’t care if they do well, as long as they try.” Williams pushes kids to try their best, while still maintaining fun in their sport.
As a teacher, he often sees behavior changing in the classroom when coaches or parents place pressure on kids to do well.
“You can tell if someone has a bad game if they are down, kind of out of it, or sad”, he said “They seem quiet, not who they normally are. I will ask a few questions about how it went, and talk to them about it if they want to, and give advice.” Whether you are a teacher or a coach, you should be aware of the performance of your athletes. If it changes in a negative way, pulling them aside and talking to them for just a minute could make all the difference to that student.
Injuries also play a huge role in an athlete’s mental health. Having an injury can affect how much an athlete is able to compete. Many student-athletes at Dexter High School have injuries that force them to take a step back from competing. Junior swimmer Annie Ralls has had a shoulder injury for the past two years.
This requires her to modify her swimming from what a typical athlete would do. “I don’t swim the full warm-up… I still cool down and warm up for each race, but it’s never more than a 150. Also, I don’t usually push myself to swim as fast as I possibly could,” Ralls said. Due to Ralls’s shoulder, she has to limit the number of yards she is swimming during meets and practice, and how much effort she is able to put in depends on how much pain she is in that day.
Having an injury can be extremely isolating, especially in a team sense, as Ralls expresses, “Yeah, I would say I feel more isolated. Every year there are a few different people you grow closer to, and this year it’s kind of like that for all the injured people.”
Being isolated in an individual sport can result in athletes feeling like they aren’t a part of the team. Taylor Onsted, captain of the swim team, has been struggling with injuries since her freshman year. “Last year I definitely didn’t feel like I really belonged on the team…I just felt very cut off from the team and people didn’t really want to include me because I haven’t been there,” Onsted said. Because of her injury, she wasn’t able to go to practice, and that has led her to feel left out of the team.
After interviewing many school athletes and hearing their stories, it’s apparent that different sports come with different struggles. From three hours of diving practice causing Ellie Saah to worry about homework, Mallory Brandt having to stay on the good side of her coach, or just staying in shape for their season, student-athletes face many different types of mental struggles in sports.
Student-athletes from all sports in DHS aren’t alone in their struggles, and teachers, parents, coaches, and fellow athletes all play a role in taking care of teammates
