Vermont Swimming and Diving Supports Mental Health Initiative

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Photo Courtesy: Chandler Brandes

By Chandler Brandes, Swimming World College Intern.

Swimming and diving are both mental sports. Don’t get me wrong— they’re extremely physical, too. It’s not easy doing either of our sports, and they both can take a mental and physical toll on our minds and bodies if we don’t give ourselves the care we need.

Swimmers and divers take care of their physical health. We ice our shoulders, stretch and roll out, and seek treatment and rehab from our athletic trainers. So why should mental health be any different?

The University of Vermont (UVM) athletic department has made great strides in making the mental health of student-athletes a top priority. Two UVM student-athletes, Kelly Lennon and Trae Bell-Haynes, created an initiative in 2016 that focuses on reducing stigma and offering student-athletes services and support surrounding mental health. Their initiative, called Rally Around Mental Health, has already been a huge success around the UVM athletic community.

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Photo Courtesy: Chandler Brandes

“When you injure your leg or injure your ankle, you go to the doctor; you check it out,” Bell-Haynes said. “We want mental health issues to be looked at in the same way. When something’s bothering you, you can talk about it.”

The efforts of Lennon, a senior captain on the women’s swimming and diving team, and Bell-Haynes, a senior captain on the men’s basketball team, led UVM Athletics to establishing a full-time sports psychology department. Catamount Sports Psychology and Counseling, who officially opened their doors in September of this year, is staffed with three professional sport psychologists aimed at providing UVM student-athletes essential resources regarding mental health.

Rally Around Mental Health, a play on words to UVM’s mascot, Rally the Catamount, seeks to create an atmosphere around the athletic department where student-athletes feel comfortable asking for help with eating disorders, stress, depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns. Catamount Sports Psychology and Counseling also helps with visualizing, strategies, and team dynamics to enhance athletic performance, whether it’s on the court, field, or in the pool.

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“Part of what we’re trying to do is support mental health and encourage seeking support if needed and decreasing stigma. We’re trying to teach athletes mental skills that can enhance performance and visualization is a big component of that,” said Catamount Sports Psychology and Counseling Director Kelly Thorne, PsyD., Thorne has played a huge role in helping Lennon and Bell-Haynes turn their idea into a reality.

Mental health concerns impact the lives of all athletes, and swimmers and divers are no exception. In order to increase awareness of the importance of mental health to other swimmers, the UVM women’s swimming and diving team held the first Rally Around Mental Health swim clinic on October 28. This clinic was open to local community swimmers, with 11 local youth swimmers in attendance. Even though numbers were small, the impact the event had was more than the UVM swimming and diving team could’ve asked for.

“I’m really happy with how the swim clinic went and that our team was able to host a Rally Around Mental Health event. I’m extremely appreciative of all the people who signed up and participated, and to the team for buying into it and making it as fun as it was,” Lennon said.

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Photo Courtesy: Chandler Brandes

The event began in the pool with emphasis on drills and techniques for all four strokes, with demonstrations and coaching led by UVM swimmers. Afterwards, the young swimmers had the opportunity to work on racing starts and turns, learn diving approaches from UVM divers, go through guided stretching and rolling out from Athletic Training students, and engage in various de-stress techniques, such as coloring and making balloon stress balls.

A certified yoga instructor walked the clinic through a yoga practice after the time spent in the pool, explaining the importance it can have on athletic performance. Afterwards, Thorne led the clinic through a visualizing activity and emphasized the significance of the mental side of athletics.

“I learned a lot about how many different aspects of swimming there are and how important they are, like visualizing and yoga, and how all those things together help make a successful swimmer,” said Anna Hill, a local swimmer who participated in the event.

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Photo Courtesy: Chandler Brandes

The UVM swimming and diving team raised $400 for Rally Around Mental Health. The proceeds will go towards programs for Catamount Sports Psychology and Counseling, creating destress centrals for student-athletes, and putting on more Rally Around Mental Health awareness events.

“For me, the day was a huge success and I am incredibly proud of our student-athletes as they embraced the event by interacting with participants,” said Jennifer Cournoyer, UVM Swimming and Diving’s Associate Head Coach. “They made an impact.”

If you’re interested in donating to support UVM’s mental health initiative, please click here.

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