Seattle Times: What an Olympic medalist, homeless in Seattle, wants you to know

Posted on by

American Olympic cyclist Rebecca Twigg is profiled by the Seattle Times. After her career ended, she developed anxiety, which prevented her from keeping a job and considered suicide.

Photo by Bettina Hansen/Seattle Times

By Scott Greenstone

When Rebecca Twigg was 7, she rode a bike for the first time. There were no training wheels, but Twigg took off like she’d done it in a previous life. She fell only when she realized she didn’t know how to stop, and steered into a wall.

“I took to the road like I was born to do it,” Twigg says today. “Except for the little part about stopping. I’m not a very good planner.”

The Seattle-raised athlete went on to become one of the most famous American cyclists in the ’80s and ’90s, winning six world championships and medaling in two Olympics. She appeared on cycling magazine covers, in sponsor ads and in features in Sports Illustrated and Vanity Fair.

ut then, in 1996, she left the team abruptly during the Olympics and the next year, retired from cycling. She re-entered the workforce. It didn’t work out.

“Once you’ve done something that feels like you’re born to do it, it’s hard to find anything that’s that good of a fit,” Twigg says today. “Anything else that feels that way.”

Jimi Lott/Seattle Times archives

Rebecca Twigg has now been without a home for almost five years in Seattle, living first with friends and family, then in her car, then in homeless shelters and then, for a night, under garbage bags on the street downtown. She hasn’t had a bike for years, and no one recognizes her anymore, she says.

Twigg, 56, agreed to share her story to convince the public that not all homeless people are addicted to drugs or alcohol; that there are many like her, who have struggled with employment and are “confused,” as she said she is, about what to do next with their lives. She did not want to discuss mental health but feels it should be treated more seriously in Washington.

“Some of the hard days are really painful when you’re training for racing,” Twigg said, “but being homeless, when you have little hope or knowledge of where the finish line is going to be, is just as hard.”

Read the rest of the story on SeattleTimes.com.

Finding a New Normal

Posted on by

This article is in support of Athletes Connected’s new Life After Sports initiative to support student-athletes when their athletic careers conclude. The University of Michigan is committed to supporting former student-athletes by providing resources to finding a provider and understanding insurance.

By Rachel Amity, MSW Candidate, U-M Athletic Counseling Team

Retiring and transitioning from something that took up so much time, sweat, and emotional, mental, and physical dedication often leads to a sense of loss. You have probably gone through various phases of relief, sadness, confusion, and anxiety. I know I did.

On the one hand, I started to get used to having all this free time. I could finally go to the movies on a Tuesday or go over to a friend’s place on a moment’s notice instead of having to text back saying “I have to be up early tomorrow for practice, sorry.”

On the other hand, the novelty of that freedom eventually started to wear off, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do long term. Even though I knew retirement was coming eventually, it still took time to figure out what else I was passionate about.

For me, it’s been years since my last game. For the most part, I’ve settled into new routines and have found new hobbies, support systems, and I am on my way to a career that I am super excited about. This is my new normal. But it took time to get here, and there are still days that I miss the competition, teamwork, and the joy after a win. While I can’t say I miss losing, I sometimes miss the motivation and drive I had after a loss.

Every athlete reaches a point when their competitive playing chapter closes. Whether this is by choice, from injury, from loss of love for the sport, or from age, many struggle to find their new path. If you’re in this situation, know that it’s normal to have a lot of questions and feel a mix of excitement, hesitation, fear, and sadness. One of the biggest things to recognize is that you are not alone. Similar to college, there are resources available to help you navigate this life change.

Whether you’re recently retired or you’re years post-sport like me, you’re probably still working to create and settle into your new sense of who you are. The nice thing about creating your version of a new normal is that it is flexible. You have the ability to try new things and experiment with your time and your interests in a way you probably haven’t in a long time. While not having the built-in supports of your team and the structure of a packed schedule can feel completely disorienting, you now have time to commit to the things you never had time to do as an athlete.

Based on my own experiences as well as stories other former athletes have shared with me, I put together a few tips that may help you adjust to your new life:

  • Set goals!
    Sports gave you great goal-setting skills, so take advantage of that. Maybe it’s setting a goal to apply to a certain number of jobs by the end of the week or getting back into the gym one more day a week. For me, I lost a sense of accountability when I stopped playing, and setting goals has helped me find feelings of purpose and direction, especially on those days where it didn’t feel like I had much of either.
  • Find mentors
    While you were competing, you had coaches, teammates, trainers, and many other people who were helping to guide you through your athletic career. Now that you’re looking to start a new career and discover new passions, find the people who can encourage, support, and push you the same way your favorite coach, teammate, or strength and conditioning coach did. This could be a professor, a family member, a friend, or a coworker. You’ll remember the feeling of excitement and drive when you find someone who can help bring that out.
  • Find (new) trusting friendships
    For so long, athletes have a built-in support network. Even if you didn’t love all of your teammates, they were still by your side as you pushed through your workouts and practices. You probably made some lifelong friendships through your teams, which is just one more thing to be thankful about. However, I found that finding those friendships in the other areas of my life helped me transition out of the sports world. I still have friends that I played with, but I also have friends that I met in classes, during graduate school, and at work who weren’t athletes. Having connections with people through activities and from places where you weren’t always an athlete can help round out your identity and your social network.
  • Journal
    Sometimes you just have to have a place to reflect on all of the things you loved and hated, the things you miss, and the things you’re grateful for. Journaling is a great outlet for those emotions. It can also be great for keeping track of goals you’re setting, or as a new hobby to experiment with.

About the Author
Rachel Amity is originally from Corvallis, Oregon, where she grew up playing soccer, volleyball, and lacrosse. She graduated from Lewis & Clark College with a Bachelor’s in Psychology, where she also worked as a student athletic trainer. Rachel is currently working to complete her Master’s of Social Work at the University of Michigan, where she works as an MSW intern with Athletes Connected and the Athletic Counseling Team.

On the Thruster Finance website, you can find analysis.

With Thruster Finance Premium, you will gain access to exclusive features.

Looking for Thruster Finance tools? We can help!

Download Thruster Finance for convenient use.

Don’t miss the opportunity to get information about Thruster Finance and utilize all features.

Learn how to use Thruster Finance and start trading.

US Lacrosse: Renaissance Woman: Dropping Beats, Erasing Stigmas with Michigan’s Shane

Posted on by

Michigan senior lacrosse goalie Mira Shane was profiled by US Lacrosse Magazine for her off-the-field exploits, which include being a mental health advocate.

Photo by Benji Bear

By Jeremy Fallis

Beat boxer. Mental health advocate. Social justice champion.

These are some of the titles that Mira Shane holds as the bright, uplifting voice on the Michigan women’s lacrosse team.

Shane, a goalie, came to Michigan because she could be more than a lacrosse player.

Fueled by her musical passion, she stars in an a cappella group, 58 Greene, as a vocal percussionist.

Burdened by life’s pressures and expectations — traveling far from her Princeton, N.J., home and feeling isolated as a biracial athlete in a predominantly white sport — she shared her struggles with mental health in a widely released video for the school’s Athletes Connected program.

Shane is the president of Athletes for Community Transformation, which fosters mentorship opportunities for Michigan’s student-athletes. She also took part in the school’s “Expect Respect” public service announcement campaign promoting civil discourse and a diverse campus culture.

“I love to give to others, and I want to show others that it’s good to be authentic,” said Shane, who made eight starts for the Wolverines in 2018 and was named this week’s Brine/US Lacrosse Player of the Week. “Help others, but also raise the voice of others that aren’t usually being heard — whether that’s through race and breaking barriers or whether that’s through sports.”

Read the rest of the story on US Lacrosse Magazine, including Shane speaking about a cappella, mental health and important causes.

Swimming Alum G Ryan Opens up About Depression and Gender Dysphoria in New Video

Posted on by

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Michigan’s Athletes Connected program released a new video on Tuesday about U-M swimming alum G Ryan, who describes their mental health journey through depression, anxiety and gender dysphoria.

This video focuses on five-time Big Ten champion and four-time All-American swimmer G Ryan, who identifies as a non-binary person and previously swam on the U-M women’s team.

Before arriving in Ann Arbor, Ryan already struggled with depression and anxiety. While competing for Michigan, Ryan began to battle negative body image in a unique way unrelated to nutrition.

“It was something else,” Ryan said. “Dysphoria related to my gender identity, and I didn’t know how to deal with it.”

“There wasn’t one clear, direct path to feeling like my best self. It took time, a lot of trial and error, and a willingness to ask for help, even when I wasn’t exactly sure what I needed.”

After attending Athletes Connected wellness groups, consulting with a counselor in the athletic department and a psychiatrist at University Health Service, Ryan eventually saw another counselor outside of U-M. Ryan made balancing the demands of student-athlete life and personal life a priority to craft a necessary support system.

Ryan found their place at U-M’s Spectrum Center, which aids Michigan students in the LGBTA community and “envisions an inclusive campus community free of discrimination in all forms where social justice inspires community engagement and equity.”

“There wasn’t one clear, direct path to feeling like my best self,” Ryan says in the film. “It took time, a lot of trial and error, and a willingness to ask for help, even when I wasn’t exactly sure what I needed.”

Ryan graduated this spring with a bachelor’s in English and in Women’s Studies. They currently serve as an education and training program specialist at the Spectrum Center.

Depression, Anxiety and Gender Dysphoria; G RYAN, Swimming

About Athletes Connected
Formed in 2014 on an NCAA pilot grant by a collaboration of University of Michigan Depression Center, Athletics and School of Public Health, Athletes Connected actively works to provide student-athletes with the tools and resources possible to support student-athletes along the continuum of wellbeing. Athletes Connected does this by promoting awareness of mental health issues, reducing the stigma of help-seeking and promoting positive coping skills among student-athletes. To learn more about the program, view the entire catalog of videos, read original stories and access helpful resources for student-athletes and non-athletes alike.

Sports Gazette: Water Polo’s Maddy Johnston Plays as an Outlet from Depression, Dysnomia

Posted on by

Michigan sophomore Maddy Johnston cites water polo as her relief from her battles with dysnomia and deperssion. Sports Gazette has the story.

By Thomas Kaiser

he was only two months old at the time, but Maddy Johnston was already in her element — the swimming pool. The San Francisco native joked that she initially floated and blew bubbles during her lessons, but fast forward 20 years, and she is now a vital member of the Michigan Wolverines Water Polo team.

Those two decades have not been smooth sailing for Johnston however. Indeed, from a young age, she was diagnosed with dysnomia, a learning disability that makes it difficult to remember names or recall words from memory.

But, when she plays water polo she feels liberated, she told the Sports Gazette.

Johnston said: “It takes my mind away from everything else and I can just focus on the game, even when you’re ‘resting’ in the pool you are still staying afloat or eggbeater-ing, so you’re always using energy, getting the endorphins going. I always feel good after and it can be pretty fun to play a physical sport.”

Prior to water polo, Johnston was a swimmer, but for her, “swimming included staring at a black line” which she did not enjoy, whereas she loves water polo because,”it includes swimming, wrestling and scoring on a cage like soccer, and exclusions/power plays like hockey.”

Johnston’s decision to switch to water polo was a terrific one, because she is a talented player. She won gold at the 2015 Pan American Games in Kingston, Jamaica. In 2015 and 2016, she competed for the USA Youth National Team, and at the 2016 Youth World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand she finished fifth.

Unfortunately for Johnston, a severe injury as a freshman at Michigan have diminished her chances of moving up through the national team’s pipeline to the senior teams.

She recalls tearing her UCL — ulnar collateral ligament — in her elbow. “I was in the middle of a counter attack and I got tangled up with this one girl, and she pushed my elbow up and in, as if you were to try and touch your elbow to your opposite ear.”

Johnston has also suffered a couple of concussions in her life, a common occurrence in the sport. “Normally it’s an elbow or the ball from someone’s shot,” she explained.

In addition to having dysnomia, Johnston also suffers from depression and is currently being tested for ADD (attention deficit disorder.)

She said: “Doctors are thinking it wasn’t diagnosed earlier because depression was in combination with that.”

While water polo helps her escape from those daily troubles, she still faces judgement from people around her. “Since I’ve been through a lot most people know more than a few tidbits, but a few see it as offering up excuses to be special or to receive certain attention.”

Read the rest of the story on Sports Gazette.