Flagler College Volleyball Digs Deeper to Assist Athletes with Mental Health Struggles

By Holly Hearn

Every athlete, college-athletes especially, faces mental health issues to some degree or another. Many grow up thinking they must push these issues aside and just focus on the sport, despite the negative consequences of doing so.

Flagler College Volleyball has seen this and is taken a proactive approach to driving the conversation with their athletes: weekly mental health check-ins in the form of sending a coach an emoji.

Under the new coaching administration of Jeff Reynolds, Asima Mulalic and Charlie Ogilvie, consistent mental health support throughout the season has been an important addition to the team.

“[They] message us with their grades and they give us a heart emoji,” Ogilvie said. “Each color represents their mood. Red being really good, yellow or orange being ‘I’m a little bit down, but nothing to be worried about’, and so on. If they shoot us that message of how they feel, sometimes it’s due for a conversation and sometimes it’s just, like, ‘Are you good?’”

According to a survey from NCAA Research, 44% of female athletes consistently felt overwhelmed by their many responsibilities in the 2022-2023 academic year, an eye-opening reminder for how important it is to acknowledge this in a team setting.

Mental health struggles, if ignored, can directly impact the athlete’s performance.

“I have seen it in myself,” said Lainee Mack, member of College of Charleston Volleyball. “When I am happy and allowing myself to play freely, I play my best. Oftentimes pressure from your coaches, other members on the team or even yourself, can be the greatest obstacle impacting your performance and mental health.”

Mental health support comes from the people around you. Everyone can receive mental health support from friends and family, but athletes also must have this support from coaches and their athletics department. However, it is arguably most important for athletes to have support and a good relationship with their teammates.

“You are spending a majority of your time with these girls, it can often make or break an athlete’s experience,” Mack said. “Forming great relationships with your teammates off the volleyball court will create stronger bonds and greater trust in them on the court.”

Athletic teams often become a sort of family due to the time that players and coaches spend together working toward a common goal. This makes it all the more important to find mental health support from each other. The same goes for the schools and athletics departments.

“As schools continue to improve their mental health care services while fostering an environment of well-being, student-athletes will continue to reap the benefits of wellness and mental health care seeking,” said Brian Hainline, the NCAA chief medical officer in a release about the study. “That being said, we need to understand better the gap in perceived mental health concerns between men and women student-athletes.”

The Flagler College Athletics Department prioritizes this support and works to build a connection with their athletes. They have an open-door policy for student-athletes that may be struggling.

Flagler volleyball wants to always know who on their team needs some extra support so they get what they need to succeed as an athlete and a person. On top of weekly check-ins, they also follow up with a check-in conversation if needed.

“We do our part as coaches to make sure they are taken care of, and they are happy and all of those things,” Ogilvie said. “We are their supporters. If we can’t listen to them, then what are we doing? Our first job is to listen to them, and if they want feedback or help or anything, then we offer that.”

Flagler College Volleyball, a NCAA D-II team in the Peachbelt Conference, ended their regular season 21-12. They are set to play Carson-Newman University of the South Atlantic Conference on Dec. 4.

For more information on the team, click here.