Athletes Connected on Michigan Radio’s Stateside

Posted on August 13, 2021August 20, 2021 by Stephanie Salazar

Athletes Connected program coordinator Rachel Amity appeared on Michigan Radio’s Stateside program to discuss how this year’s Olympics changed the conversation around athletes’ mental health.

By Stateside Staff

Today on Stateside (Friday, August 13, 2021), what the latest census data means for Michigan’s redistricting process. Also, how this year’s Olympics is changing the conversation around athletes’ mental health. And, Detroit Public Schools Community District’s universal mask requirement. Plus, beloved Detroit Tiger Miguel Cabrera nears a milestone.

Listen on michiganradio.org to the entire episode or just the portion of Rachel’s guest appearance here.

A game-changer for mental health: Sports icons open up

Posted on July 29, 2021July 30, 2021 by Stephanie Salazar

A pair of Athletes Connected team members were quoted and contributed to this Michigan Health Blog story that examines how sports icons like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka could accelerate growing acceptance and decreasing stigma for mental health.

By Kara Gavin

They had the world’s spotlight shining on them.

They had trained for years for this moment.

Millions of fans waited to watch them compete and see them hoist a trophy or a gold medal once again.

Instead, they used that spotlight to say something few world-famous athletes have ever dared to say out loud: I need to step away from this competition and focus on my mental health.

And by doing so, gymnast Simone Biles, tennis player Naomi Osaka, basketball player Kevin Love and a handful of others at the pinnacle of their athletic careers have helped accelerate a trend that mental health experts at the University of Michigan say is long overdue.

“As more athletes speak out, it gives others permission to ask for help and normalizes mental health as part of the conversation,” –Stephanie Salazar, M.P.H.

By being open about what they were experiencing, and not “toughing it out” or stifling their feelings like generations of athletes have had to do, these icons did more than spare themselves injury or defeat.

Their public choice to seek help for depression, anxiety, overwhelming stress and other concerns could help athletes at all levels have the courage to seek professional help, and a break from competition if they need it.

U-M experts who work with athletes on mental health awareness and care had already started to see the shift toward this growing acceptance, even before the news broke from Wimbledon about Osaka or from the Tokyo Olympics about Biles.

Victor Hong, M.D., directs the psychiatric emergency department at University of Michigan Health, part of Michigan Medicine, and treats students including athletes at the University Health Service. He welcomes the newfound attention to the issue because of Biles and Osaka.

So does Will Heininger, who used to be an elite student athlete himself, playing football for U-M’s legendary Big Ten team while battling depression. Now, he’s the outreach coordinator for the Eisenberg Family Depression Center, and works with Athletes Connected, a collaborative program of Eisenberg Family Depression Center, U-M Athletics and the U-M School of Social Work.

Athletes Connected offers online resources for athletes anywhere, at any level. These include videos of athletes telling their own stories and sharing coping tips, signs and symptoms to look for regarding mental health, skills and strategies for mental wellness and information on how to find a mental health professional.

“As more athletes speak out, it gives others permission to ask for help and normalizes mental health as part of the conversation,” said Stephanie Salazar, M.P.H., who manages outreach programs for the center including Athletes Connected.

A generational effect helping to end stigma about mental health

All three U-M experts say the shift has been most striking as athletes from Generation Z have reached elite levels – including Biles and Osaka.

“The generational difference is one of the things that gives me the most hope about the future – for all of society, not just athletes,” said Heininger. “The idea of ‘not knowing about depression or anxiety’ seems so foreign to them; they are consistently surprised, even shocked, to learn that ‘not knowing’ was the norm, very recently, as well as for all of history before that.”

“Athletes Connected has worked hard over the past seven years to break down the stigma of student-athlete help-seeking at U-M, and over that time, I’ve seen a huge shift in the ways that student-athletes talk about and champion the notion of taking care of their mental health as part of their overall wellness,” Salazar said. “Students are now taking the lead.”

But around the nation and world, young athletes often face resistance or denial from parents and coaches, who come from generations that didn’t know as much about mental health or talk about it.

“Younger people today are more open, and less stigma-driven, when it comes to discussing symptoms they’re experiencing,” Hong said. “But at the same time, they have more pressure on them than previous athletes, because of social media, increased academic demands and the rising cost of college that makes athletic scholarships even more important financially.

“They can feel like they’re letting everyone down if they don’t stick it out,” he said. “But at least they feel more empowered to talk about what they’re feeling.”

Younger people have grown up in a time when research has shown the role of risk factors such as family history, childhood trauma, poor sleep and acute stress in increasing the chances that a person could develop a mental health condition. There’s also a better understanding of how the adolescent and young-adult years are prime time for the onset of many mental health conditions, from depression to schizophrenia.

The importance of early recognition and effective treatment, and the availability of options including telehealth-based talk therapy and mobile apps for monitoring and managing moods, have all converged in recent years too.

The brain is just a body part

Coaches and parents who heed this research can actually help athletes harness current knowledge to boost their performance, said Heininger.

“The idea that an athlete – or anyone trying to perform at their peak – need not pay attention to their mental health is negligent,” he said. “It would be the equivalent of ignoring their physical health and saying ‘My body just is what it is. There’s no impact if I lift weights, train, and eat well.’ I think it says a lot about how far we’ve come that today’s athletes think about training their minds in the ways they do their bodies.”

Sending an athlete back into competition with a serious injury or concussion has become taboo, because of what we now know about the potential ill effects of stressing an already damaged joint or brain. But that transition hasn’t yet happened for mental health.

Heininger describes it to U-M student athletes this way:

You need your (blank) to function successfully as a student-athlete.
If your (blank) isn’t functioning properly, it will be more difficult to get to class, learn the material, perform on tests, succeed in your sport and so on.
If that blank was filled in with ‘hamstring,’ ‘back,’ ‘lungs’ or ‘foot’ or any body part, coaches and trainers would want to help you figure out why it’s not functioning properly. We’d be proud of you for noticing how it was impacting you. We’d also want to help you get better so you can achieve your many goals.
When the word that fills the blank is your brain, we believe you deserve the exact same kind of guidance, support and care you would get if it were any other part of your body.

The importance of reaching out about mental health concerns

When an athlete is having a mental health crisis – such as the anxiety attacks that led Love to suddenly leave a Cleveland Cavaliers game in 2018 – coaches and parents need to understand that this is not a time to tell them to “suck it up”, Hong said.

“Continued education for all coaching staff and families, as well as athletes, is so important, so that they understand what’s happening if a crisis occurs,” he said.

When he’s treating an athlete for a mental health emergency, from anxiety attacks to suicide attempts, he often finds himself doing that educating as a crash course. “We can reach them sometimes, but with some families, it can be really hard,” he said.

Heininger remembers being one of those student athletes who didn’t understand what he was experiencing, or what he should do about it, back when he was a defensive lineman for the Wolverines a decade ago.

“After my freshman year, it was my brain that was not working properly. Yet I had no idea that was the case because I’d never heard of depression or even anxiety at that point,” he said.

“Thanks to the incredible care, education, support and treatment I got at Michigan, I went from being a severely depressed 19-year-old who was unsure life was worth living, to a starting player, academic award winner, Michigan graduate, and most importantly, a well-balanced individual who felt ready to take on whatever life brought my way,” he continued. “I got there not because I knew everything. Not even close. But because I’d learned how to ask for help.”

Now, he finds himself hearing from athletes who heard his presentations. Months later, they contact him to get advice – not just for anxiety or depression, but for other emotional and mood changes they’ve noticed in themselves.

For instance, he tells the story of a young man who came to him because he was used to feeling like a “10” all the time, but had been experiencing agitation and anger and was feeling like a “7.”

“If someone doesn’t get help, that 7 can become a 6, and 5, and a 2, and a 1…and become very costly and very tragic, both for the individual, and for the team or organization,” Heininger said. “Instead of hiding it or being silent, he noticed and took action. And then excelled. That 7 went back towards the 10, instead of the other way.”

Hong adds that there is a special significance to the two world-class athletes who have spoken up recently and very visibly. “It is known that in the United States that those from racial minority groups are less likely to seek mental health care than white Americans, with stigma being a significant factor,” he said. “It is then even more notable that Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka, as faces of Black and Asian America, are speaking out, demonstrating that it is ok to admit to having a mental health issue.”

More progress needed to end mental health stigma

The negative comments on social media about Biles’ withdrawal and Osaka’s early defeat during the Olympics have shown there’s still a long way to go in raising awareness and increasing acceptance.

But a growing number of comments are from people defending the athletes for their bravery and cheering on their recovery. Biles even mentioned that Osaka’s decision to focus on her mental health helped inspire her own decision.

“The more people who are famous and come out publicly about their mental health, the better,” Hong said. “Backlash will happen, but somewhere out there we know there are young athletes who sought help because a role model spoke up, and we know that will continue.”

Read the rest of the story on the Michigan Health Blog.

Handling Grief & Loss

Posted on May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 by Stephanie Salazar

By Rachel Amity, MSW, Athletes Connected Program Coordinator

As an athlete, you may experience a variety of losses throughout your career. Of course, you have probably lost a few matches, games, or competitions.

Many of you lost typical seasons because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe you’ve lost the opportunity to obtain certain athletic goals you had, be it getting to the championships, the Olympics, or being able to continue competing at all because of an injury.

As people, we may experience any number of other losses throughout our lives, including the deaths of people close to us. Not all of these losses will have the same impact on us. Different losses will prompt different types of mourning.

Losing a game will elicit a different kind of mourning than losing the ability to continue competing due to an injury. Similarly, losing someone to a sudden, unexpected death often results in a different grieving experience than losing someone to an anticipated death (i.e. terminal illness).

Grief is often associated with a few distinct emotions, like sadness, depression and anger. However, mourning usually involves a huge range of emotions. It can encompass many emotions including (but not limited to) anger, sadness, guilt, irritability, resentment, relief, helplessness, and disbelief. Some of these emotions may happen simultaneously. Every person is a unique griever.

Even when processing the same event, people have diverse personal, cultural, and spiritual factors that will influence how they grieve. There is no “right” way to grieve. Whatever your feelings, they are valid.

There is no “right” way to grieve. Whatever your feelings, they are valid.

While grief may affect you psychologically, it is more than just what happens to your emotions. You may notice all aspects of yourself including mind, body, and spirit are impacted by your grief. This could look like changes to your sleeping or eating, energy levels, or your ability to focus.

Remember, everyone grieves differently, and nothing is wrong with you for how you mourn. There is also no correct timeframe in which to grieve.

Nevertheless, sometimes people need more support than their friends and family can provide. If your grief is interfering with your ability to complete daily activities, you feel numb or detached for more than a few weeks, or want assistance in processing your feelings, consider asking for additional help.

Helping a Grieving Friend
It can be challenging to know how to support those around you who are dealing with loss. Sometimes when we are uncertain about whether we should get involved, or how we can best console someone, we avoid helping all together.

Just as there is not one way to grieve, there is also no perfect way to support a grieving loved one. Nonetheless, community involvement and support often give those in mourning a sense of comfort.

Some of the most reliable things you can provide to a friend or loved one who is grieving are your presence and your ability to listen to them without judgement. What they are comfortable with or want may change throughout the mourning process.

Letting them know that you are there and will listen if and when they would like to talk, but that you understand if they don’t want to, can demonstrate your support while leaving space for however they are processing and grieving.

Sometimes, providing practical support, like bringing meals or helping with chores can also be immensely helpful. Your loved one may also need more support than you can provide. In that case, it may be most helpful to suggest services or resources that might help them process their grief.

Available Local Resources

About the Author
Rachel Amity is the Athletes Connected program coordinator and a member of the U-M Athletic Counseling Team. Previously, she worked as the MSW intern with the athletic department. Rachel 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.

When Your Career Ends, What to Do with Your Athletic Identity

Posted on May 12, 2021May 12, 2021 by Stephanie Salazar

By Dr. Jeff Porter, U-M Director of Student-Athlete Alumni Relations and Former Olympic Athlete

The moment is quickly approached; much faster than anticipated. You spent years perfecting your athletic ability and cultivating and crafting your athletic identity to reach the pinnacle of success as an athlete. With the end of your athletic career, are you now supposed to let go of that identity and become someone else? Is that even possible?

There are traits of my athletic identity that propelled me to success after my athletic career ended, and I am of the belief that you do not need to let go of your athletic identity, but rather redirect your focus. I am not saying this is easy but will certainly pay dividends in the long run.

I went from being a collegiate student-athlete to an Olympic athlete to a retired athlete, and the transition is still challenging.

One of the hardest mental barriers I have had to manage is how to maintain my athletic identity. I was known as an athlete for so long that I began to internalize that identity until a mentor of mine told me plainly that being an athlete is part of who I am, but it does not define all that I am.

It certainly took a while for me to accept those words, but they ring true now more than ever. I was an athlete and competed at the highest levels, but I am more than that.

Once you are able to find comfort in the fact that you were an elite level athlete, but that was not and is not all that you are, understanding how to adjust your athletic identity can be a bit easier. Although retired, I still have not lost that competitive edge and I don’t think that will ever disappear. The purpose of this piece is to learn how to direct that attribute into something that can be productive and help you develop beyond the last game, meet, or match.

the point is that athletics does not define your identity. It is simply something you do. As I have learned, I am much more than an athlete.

Below are some of the things I have used to transition into this non-athlete life, while still maintaining some sort of athletic identity.

Find another activity you like doing
After I retired from competing, I had little to no interest in doing sprinting workouts to stay active, but I did enjoy weightlifting.

For some reason, I have always found weightlifting to be therapeutic for me and have continued to do this long after my retirement. I encourage you to find activities that keep you active and that you actually enjoy doing.

For some it may be climbing, and others may enjoy biking, but the key is to stay active. Because I have been a competitive person my entire life, I cannot simply turn that off, so I use the competitive spirit to either compete with myself or create “friendly competitions” with my friends. These “friendlies,” as they have come to be known, help me stay fit while maintaining that athletic mindset.

I have even taken up various forms of martial arts because it provides another activity that I can dedicate time to learning how to perfect, similar to what I did as an elite athlete.

Find a way to stay involved in sports
Beyond working out, I have found that I can coach kids or volunteer to serve on committees, which helps me stay around the sports world without being an athlete.

Many athletes that I have come into contact with fail to realize the vast array of positions and activities they can be engaged in without being an athlete. I personally serve on several athlete committees within the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) that continue to keep me connected to the sports communities that I was a member of.

Nonetheless, there are many opportunities former athletes at any level can do that will keep them connected. I encourage you to find the right fit for you.

Jeff Porter (right) meeting with President Obama.

Discover your new passion
Like many athletes, I have spent countless hours over multiple decades trying to perfect myself as an athlete without giving much thought to what happens when I am no longer competing.

If you asked me 10 years ago what I was passionate about my answer would have been simply, “running fast.” I was investing a considerable amount of time, effort, and financial resources, and running fast was my sole passion.

I quickly discovered that when I was not training, I had a significant amount of free time to myself and was usually bored. During those moments of complete boredom, it dawned on me that I needed to figure out what else I enjoyed doing that was not athletics related.

I began reading books that seemed interesting and explored post-athletic career options. I found out that I had a passion for learning and teaching others. This led me to explore pursuing advanced degrees while continuing my training and preparation for the Olympics.

I was grateful to find something to do other than sit around and think about my competitions all day, which I believe greatly helped my performance in the long run because I was more relaxed.

Find a mentor (or mentors)
Having several people in my life that I can trust to provide me with guidance, who challenge me but also have my best interest in mind, continues to be a valuable asset for me.

These people all have unique skill sets and backgrounds but they have invested in me and my continued growth as a person. The value in having mentors is that they can challenge your commonly held beliefs about yourself and push you to think about how to get better both in and outside of the athletic arenas.
Because of their experience, mentors can offer you words of wisdom or help guide your career path. You can learn from their experiences without having to learn those lessons the hard way.

I had to understand that just because I competed in an individual sport did not mean that I had to try to figure everything out on my own. That would have been inefficient and a complete waste of time. I trusted that my mentors had my best interest in mind, especially when they told me things that I did not want to hear; for example, “You need to prepare yourself, because one day you will not be competing.”

They continued to remind me that I am more than my sport and encouraged me to discover things about myself that I didn’t even know. For these reasons, I always encourage athletes to get a mentor because this transition is already challenging enough, why go it alone?

Start Early
Whether you are beginning your last year of competition or you are in the middle of your best athletic performances, preparing for the eventual identity shift early will be advantageous.

It is easier to think, plan, and act before you finish your competitive career versus when you are already done and trying to figure out, “now what?”

Well before I knew I was going to retire, with the help of my mentors, I began considering who I am and what I will do once I could no longer compete. The good news is that I started this inner reflection while in the midst of some very good competitive years.

After figuring out who I was and what I wanted to do, I started to plan.

I went back to school for a series of advanced degrees. I became involved in sports committees. I started coaching. And I was looking for a career that I could enjoy.

This was all done knowing that sooner or later there would come a time when I had to leave the athlete identity in the past and identify as something else.

I approach my non-athlete life with the same tenacity as I did when I was competing which has helped that transition as well. I encourage you to recognize that you were a competitive athlete (maybe even one of the world’s best), which is something to be celebrated.

Nevertheless, the point is that athletics does not define your identity. It is simply something you do. As I have learned, I am much more than an athlete.

About the Author
Jeff Porter, Ph.D., is the University of Michigan Athletic Department’s Director of Student-Athlete Alumni Relations & Premium Seating Associate. Dr. Porter is a native of New Jersey and the current sport administrator for the U-M track & field and cross country programs, for which he competed during his undergraduate studies.

Dr. Porter graduated with a B.A. in Kinesiology in 2007 from U-M, an M.A. in Higher Education in 2011 and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership in 2017 from Eastern Michigan University.

The 2007 NCAA Champion in the 60m hurdles and a three-time NCAA All-American, Dr. Porter won the 2007 Big Ten Medal of Honor. He qualified for the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, held in London and Rio De Janeiro, respectively, in the 110m hurdles.

Dr. Porter concurrently serves as Chairman of the Athletes Advisory Committee for U.S. Track & Field (USATF) and as a member of its Board of Directors. He is involved in the USATF’s planning of the 2022 World Athletics Championships to be held in Eugene, Oregon, as well as the 2028 Olympics, to be held in Los Angeles.

Additional Resources

Life After Sports Section

Athletes Connected Get Support Page

Adaptive Sports & Mental Health

Posted on March 26, 2021March 26, 2021 by Stephanie Salazar

By Jeremy Fallis, U-M Eisenberg Family Depression Center Marketing Communications Specialist

For many of us, adaptive sports are known by those who compete at the Paralympic Games and events such as the Invictus Games. While, some are not as well known as other athletic endeavors, Michigan has a thriving program for such athletes.

The University of Michigan Adaptive Sports and Fitness Program was launched in 2019 by Dr. Oluwaferanmi Okanlami, assistant professor of family medicine and physical medicine and rehabilitation. Dr. Okanlami himself recovered from a paralyzing injury, and has a mission of helping others.

Its mission “will not only benefit elite student athletes with disabilities, but also provide opportunities to engage in adaptive sports for the entire student body and greater campus community.”

Since its inception, Athletes Connected has primarily focused on collegiate varsity athletics. That doesn’t mean athlete mental health is corralled only into that group. We took time to speak with those that make adaptive sports go round at Michigan.

Adaptive sports are a tight-knit community of like-minded individuals that have personally overcome adversity whether it’s a traumatic injury or a congenital disorder. We have a unique perspective about how to tackle life’s obstacles and we can provide key insights that typical healthcare providers may not understand or realize without the first-person perspective.

Athletes Connected: What is the University of Michigan Adaptive Sports and Fitness Program?
Dr. Okanlami: The Adaptive Sports and Fitness program currently resides in the University of Michigan Medicine and Student Life Department with the goal to lead our state and nation by embracing diversity and providing new opportunities to student-athletes with disabilities.

The program seeks to connect the departments, programs, and services at the University of Michigan and surrounding community to deliver comprehensive programming that supports inclusive and adaptive recreation, fitness, and sport participation from recreational to elite competitive (currently including track and field, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, and para-equestrian).

Individuals with mobility impairments have a need for physical fitness just as much as their able-bodied counterparts, and sometimes more. Adaptive sports, including the use of modified equipment for certain activities, provides an opportunity for everyone of all abilities to engage in and benefit physically, socially, and mentally.

Cathryn Gray

AC: How have you seen changes in your mental health after joining adaptive sports?

Cathryn Gray, Adaptive Track & Field, First-Year: Participating in Adaptive Sports has significantly improved my mental health, as well as my physical well-being. I became a happier and more optimistic person after joining adaptive sports. Adaptive sports have given me a sense of community I didn’t have previously and has given me the opportunity to be part of a team – with all the benefits that belonging to a team provides – that many able-bodied athletes take for granted.

I’ve had the opportunity to make friends all over the world, represent my country competitively in track and field, and develop a sense of self-confidence and purpose I was missing before becoming involved. Adaptive sports have also taught me how powerful it can be when female athletes lift each other up since there are fewer female adaptive athletes than male adaptive athletes overall. I have grown as a person in every area of my life and become much mentally stronger and healthier because of being involved in adaptive sports.

Christopher Kelley, Adaptive Tennis, Graduate Student: I’ve been a wheelchair tennis player since high school and adaptive sports have had an instrumental impact in my personal mental health. It has assisted me in managing my anxiety and has also allowed me to grow my social circle with positive influences.

Matthew Fritzie, Adaptive Tennis, Graduate Student: I have been playing adaptive sports for about five years now and it has provided a positive outlet to foster relationships with my peers, share similar struggles regarding obstacles our population deals with and helps me feel included within my community where historically people with disabilities have been marginalized and ostracized

Chris Kelley

Spencer Heslop, Wheelchair Basketball, Graduate Student: Wheelchair basketball and other adaptive sports help me find a space to release the stresses of life and find moments of happiness, even in the hardest moments of my life. I have found some of my closest friends, support systems, and hopes through the people I have played with and against. These moments allowed me to share my own struggles, or to listen to someone else’s. They helped me connect and know I am not alone.

AC: What lessons have you learned from adaptive sports that you are able to carry through your personal and academic life, beyond sports?

Kelley: In terms of the lessons learned I do not think that adaptive sports are any different from able-bodied sports. Sports help teach time management, communication, collaboration, and discipline.

Fritzie: Adaptive sports have taught me the ability to set goals and achieve them, punctuality, time management, confidence, communication and develop overall better well-being from physical activity and comraderie of the sport I’ve been involved in. Physical activity has improved my academic focus and increased determination to pursue my long-term career aspirations. I hope to continue being physically active and involved throughout my life.

Matt Fritzie

AC: What outlets do adaptive sports athletes have to relieve their stress outside of athletics?

Sydney Collier, Adaptive Para-Equestrian Athlete, U-M Community Member: Adaptive athletes have the same outlets to relieve stress as any able-bodied athlete does! For example, to unwind I often like to cook just like any other able-bodied athlete might, but as an athlete with only the use of one hand I have to adapt things like cutting or chopping to make them one-handed friendly. Other things we might like to do unwind could be, interacting with friends, listening to music, reading, binge watching our favorite show, going out for a drive, hitting the gym, or spending time with family or pets. In the end, adaptive athletes unwind just the same as any other athlete or person in general.

AC: What resources exist specifically for adaptive sports athletes at the University of Michigan, and how can they be improved?

Erik Robeznieks, Program Manager, University of Michigan Adaptive Sports & Fitness: The program has “opened the door” for discussions about how students with physical disabilities can be supported in their physical activity pursuits (recreational, fitness, and competitive sport) just as any other student-athlete would at our institution. These discussions have resulted in the early formation of a comprehensive adaptive sports and fitness program that begins to foreshadow the true potential for institutionalized inclusivity in the culture, operations, and programming for all students of all abilities at the University of Michigan.

For example, we have worked with University of Michigan Athletics to secure training time at their facilities for our Track and Field and Wheelchair Tennis athletes. Through our relationships with MDisability at Michigan Medicine we are working on academic research to further validate the need for our program, and we have connected with community partners like the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living to provide a strength and conditioning space for our athletes.

Sydney Collier

Although much more work needs to be done, we will continue to work on cultivating the resources that already exist at the University of Michigan and community, connecting them in a way that provides new value. An example of this is working with University Health Services to provide integrated health-care coverage for our student-athletes. We also want to fulfill our values as a program and make recreational adaptive sports inclusive for all students at the University of Michigan where appropriate. As such, we will continue to build a relationship with Rec Sports to deliver adaptive sport options like wheelchair basketball in intramural sports, as well as providing competitive opportunities and support at the highest levels.

Lastly, we recognize that students truly hold the greatest influence over what happens at the University of Michigan. We hope to connect with more groups like Athletes Connected to help elevate our voice across the student body so that all students of all abilities can have equitable access to physical and mental wellness opportunities.

Gray: The program provides athletes with community and conditioning. There are three U-M undergraduate students, (myself included) in the program and five U-M graduate students with all different majors and backgrounds including cognitive science, computer science, epidemiology, and biomedical engineering.

We bring our unique life experiences to our program and use them to educate and lift each other up. The program also provides track and field practice two times a week at the University of Michigan indoor track facility and tennis practice four times a week at the indoor tennis facility.

Our goal is for the University of Michigan to allow our program to be able to access the indoor track more days a week for practice if possible so we can continue our training for the fast-approaching national competition schedule and Tokyo Paralympics.

AC: How are adaptive sports unique from other support groups?

Heslop: I think there is power in finding something that brings you joy and brings you together with people you can relate with. Some people find that in art, gaming, the outdoors, and sports. It’s about connecting people with people.

Leo Merle

Leo Merle, Adaptive Track & Field, U-M Dentistry: In adaptive sports, I feel that there is almost an instantly formed community compared to other athletics. From my own personal experience in athletics, I never had a group of people that I could relate to when it came to disability.

So, when it came to explaining my condition and how it impacts everyday activities, it was challenging to explain what was wrong. With adaptive athletics, there are people who represent all different classifications and walks of life and I feel a much more personal connection when communicating with them. I don’t feel the need to explain some of my challenges since we have a mutual understanding of our struggles to a degree. This creates a much more whole and inclusive environment for everyone no matter your background.

Fritzie: Adaptive sports are a tight-knit community of like-minded individuals that have personally overcome adversity whether it’s a traumatic injury or a congenital disorder. We have a unique perspective about how to tackle life’s obstacles and we can provide key insights that typical healthcare providers may not understand or realize without the first-person perspective.

AC: How has participating in adaptive sports changed your perspective regarding the interconnectedness of physical and mental fitness?

Gray: Mental health and Adaptive sports are interconnected in the way that they help people with disabilities physically and mentally. When I first started participating in adaptive track and field, I started to see how strong I was becoming and that boosted my confidence and my self-esteem.

Adaptive track and field made the biggest difference in my mental health and made me physically strong too. Adaptive sports have opened the door for me to compete at the national and international level, and to represent University of Michigan at the collegiate level for adaptive track and field). Adaptive Sports have taught me that my mental and physical health are both equally important.

AC: What advice would you give to people, perhaps with (dis)abilities, who are struggling with their mental health?

Gray: Please do not be afraid to reach out. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is ask for help when you’re feeling low. Know that you have your whole life ahead of you. Whatever battles you’re fighting right now won’t last forever. There is a community to support you.

Kelley: As with anyone struggling with mental health the first step is to seek out help from someone you know and trust. You should never have to deal with that struggle alone and there are people who are able and willing to help. And remember you’re not alone in your fight.

Fritzie: I would say don’t let your negative emotions and mentality get in the way of your ambitions and livelihood. Don’t feel like it’s a weakness to reach out to your local resources in your community whether it’s family, friends, counselor or other medical practitioners. Also find ways to get active in any type of sense no matter your ability. It will help your overall mood and well-being.