By: Keara McGee
Mental health is an issue many people tend to push to the side, especially collegiate athletes. With the amount of stress and pressure on these athletes to succeed, it’s important to have resources that are easily accessible to the student-athlete population.
What Is The Hidden Opponent?
The Hidden Opponent is an organization dedicated to spreading awareness about mental health and the stigma within sports culture. They have student-run organizations spread throughout 500 college campuses, including the University of Montevallo.
The widespread organization is founded by Victoria Garrick Browne, a former division 1 athlete for the University of Southern California. The on-campus organization at Montevallo is run by student-athletes Daniele Davis, Jamal Rasheed and Sydney Smith.
“The organization is named The Hidden Opponent because mental illness is an internal opponent that we cannot see,” says Danielle Davis.
Danielle is currently competing in her third year of collegiate swimming for the University of Montevallo. She and her peers are very passionate about spreading awareness for student-athlete mental health.
“It spreads the message that it’s okay not to have the “tough” mentality all the time…it can do a lot to a person and side effects can include things such as burnout and depression,” says Danielle.
Realizing the effect that telling these athletes to hide their struggles with mental health can have is a big part of what the organization is all about. They support every athlete of every sport to enhance their performance as an athlete and a student while giving them a healthy way to deal with their mental barriers.
The Hidden Opponents Partners:
The organization has quite a few notable partners and was endorsed by Kobe Bryant the in his book “Geese Are Never Swans,” next to the Michael Phelps Foundation as a resource for student-athletes who struggle with mental health and are looking for support.
The Scooty Fund is another supporter of the organization, allowing lots of university Campus Captains like Danielle to participate in the Mood Lifters mental wellness program, a peer-led program that uses strategies based in science to help people.
MyHuddle, an app that makes sports psychology coaching easily accessible to student-athletes is another partner of The Hidden Opponent. When the app was first being developed, many Campus Captains part of The Hidden Opponent were asked to give feedback on how to improve the app for athletes.
Galea Health is a mental health support platform with a network of therapists that is founded for athletes by athletes, and also partners with The Hidden Opponent.
Why Is The Hidden Opponent So Important?
Organizations like Hidden Opponent provide student-athletes with a source of comfort and acceptance as they go through the stress of being in college and difficult classes on top of competing in their sport.
Many athletes feel as though they need to bottle up emotions of depression or anxiety because it’s seen as a weakness, especially in men’s sports.
“These things cause the athletic culture to come to a very scary reality especially within the last few years with increasing student-athlete suicide rates,” says Danielle.
Athletes need a space where they can communicate with other people who are in the same boat as them, somewhere where they can feel vulnerable and safe. The Hidden Opponent can give them that space.
“There are so many people who have struggled with so many different things in their life in our group and it’s a way to know that you’re not alone,” says Danielle.
The outreach of this organization is worldwide, providing athletes everywhere the support they may not be receiving at home or from their coaches.
“Yes, we are students and yes, we are athletes but we’re people too,” Danielle says.
What Does The Hidden Opponent Do In Montevallo?
The Montevallo Hidden Opponent has held various events around campus throughout the year, and most recently they have been handing out self-care goody bags and green bandanas to represent the organization at sports events.
The organization has also done mental health surveys that are reported back to coaches and the athletic department to get a better understanding of just how much athletes at Montevallo may be struggling.
Danielle stated, “We also plan to host informational events and bring in speakers to talk about the science behind being mentally tough and what that mindset looks like in athletics.”
Hidden opponent meetings are held biweekly to discuss campus events and issues. The division 2 campus captains also meet once a month to discuss issues across the division as a whole.
“We discuss what would help athletics as a whole in terms of bringing in different aspects such as a counselor and team therapy,” says Danielle.
Student-athletes can gain support from the Hidden Opponent through the Montevallo student-run Instagram, @tho_montevallo. Members of the organization greatly encourage struggling athletes to reach out with any questions they may have.
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