By Kevin Gilmore

Since becoming CSUMB’s Director of Athletics in 2013, Kirby Garry recognized the need for mental health awareness, education, and support for Otter student-athletes. 

“We’ve tried to build a culture that makes it just as normal to seek care for mental health as for a sprained ankle,” Garry said.

He has made sure Otter student-athletes have access to resources to help them recognize and deal with mental health issues using emerging resources such as the “Mental Health Best Practices” guide published by the NCAA’s Sports Science Institute, support from CSUMB’s Personal Growth and Counseling Center or PGCC, and faculty and staff in the Department of Kinesiology.

“The first time we surveyed our incoming student-athletes (in 2016), we found 20% said they were dealing with some kind of anxiety or stress. To have 20% of our students raise their hand before we even got started, it gave us a better feel for where they were mentally,” Garry said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in five American adults will face a mental health challenge in the coming year. One in five American children either currently or at some point during their life has had a serious mental illness. For those whose lives, from all outward appearances, appear to be the picture of health and vitality — such as collegiate student-athletes — this hidden opponent of mental illness can be debilitating and all too often deadly.

The message, however, doesn’t always get through when it‘s coming from coaches, teachers or administrators. That’s where The Hidden Opponent comes into play. Founded by former Stanford volleyball student-athlete Victoria Garrick, THO is an accredited nonprofit advocacy group that raises awareness about mental health and addresses the stigma within the sports culture. CSUMB’s THO chapter was founded in 2021 with volleyball players Aly Fullbright and Kaila Uota as its first campus captains.

Read the full story in CSUMB Magazine