Temple University Athletics
Photo by: Carli Showmaker
ESPN’s Kate Fagan Brings Mental Health Issues to the Forefront at Temple
11.16.17 | General
Breahna Wiczkowski, a junior women's gymnast, stood in McGonigle Hall and read a message a teammate asked her to share.
"Going through anxiety and depression is hard, but having someone there makes it easier," she read. "… If you know it's getting dangerous, help."
Wiczkowski's message came minutes after Kate Fagan, the author of What Made Maddy Run, shared Madison Holleran's story and the lessons Fagan learned from writing it.
"I've talked about the book a number of times and it's not common that student-athletes are willing, especially in front of their peers, to actually acknowledge that it's hard and they might have struggled or one of their good friends might have struggled," she said. "When you hear them opening up and talking like that, it feels healthy. You feel like they are in a good place, so that was really inspiring to see."
Wiczkowski was one of many student-athletes who spoke out and asked questions about mental health and what could be done to change the stigma that comes with it.
Fagan helped start that conversation when she talked about Madison's experiences as a student-athlete and her own experiences when Fagan played basketball at the University of Colorado.
Fagan told those in attendance that to this day, playing a college sport is the hardest thing she has ever done.
Once, during her freshman year, she swallowed iron pills hoping she would get sick and have to miss practice. Her trainer made her sit out of practice, but her coaches couldn't figure out why. There was nothing physically wrong with Fagan, so she should be practicing.
"Because of the messaging we get in our culture… more often than not it's very hard to talk about mental health," said Fagan. "But we need to talk more about this."
Fagan also shared some points that she learned from helping tell Madison's story: people's lives on social media aren't their real lives, and keeping up with that appearance causes increased anxiety; quitting is ok; having to take a break for your mental health is ok; and it is important to have a connection with someone outside of the team, someone who sees you as more than an athlete.
She is hoping this will help open the conversation about student-athletes' mental health on Temple's campus.
"Maddy's family didn't want the takeaway from Maddy's story to be like, 'oh this is inevitable,'" said Fagan. "But more so, 'Hey let's look at all the variables at play among young people and if we talk about what they are, perhaps people will be more aware and we will prevent the next situation from happening.'"
Fagan's talk has already impacted Temple's student-athletes and let them know they aren't alone.
"I think it's eye-opening coming here tonight because I learned that it's acceptable to feel down," said freshman Reagan McDonald of women's rowing. "You don't always have to be your best every day coming to practice or the weight room. You're going to have off days and it's ok."
In order to keep the conversation going, a day after her talk to the student-athletes, Fagan was joined by Temple alumna and former women's lacrosse standout Kara Stroup and alumnus Marc Fleischner for a panel discussion with Temple coaches, administrators and some student-athletes.
"Being able to have someone come in who has actually done a lot of research on mental health and being able to have a former student-athlete come in and talk about her experience is very important to us as coaches to be able to hear," said women's gymnastics head coach Umme Salim-Beasley. "It's great that it is brought to our attention so we can be more visible and more vocal, so if something like this might come up in our environment we are able to address it in the best way possible and be able to recognize things if they come up."
With the end of the semester getting closer, Temple knows the stress for its students is starting to take a toll.
"We are always looking for ways to stimulate our students," said Senior Associate Athletic Director for Academics and Career Services Justin Miller. "And looking at where we are in the semester, recognizing a lot of stress and a lot of anxiety, what better time to bring in someone to talk about mental health issues."
In addition to bringing Fagan in to talk, Temple is taking more steps to ensuring the well-being of its student-athletes by hiring a mental health professional who will work around their schedules and will be available 24/7.
"I think Temple is a really forward-thinking institution and they do take a lot of measures to secure the safety and the betterment of their student-athletes and their students in general," said sophomore Zach Seiger of men's cross country. "Just all the resources they put in place from academics to athletics to mental health awareness - I think they do a really good job of staying on top of things."
"Going through anxiety and depression is hard, but having someone there makes it easier," she read. "… If you know it's getting dangerous, help."
Wiczkowski's message came minutes after Kate Fagan, the author of What Made Maddy Run, shared Madison Holleran's story and the lessons Fagan learned from writing it.
"I've talked about the book a number of times and it's not common that student-athletes are willing, especially in front of their peers, to actually acknowledge that it's hard and they might have struggled or one of their good friends might have struggled," she said. "When you hear them opening up and talking like that, it feels healthy. You feel like they are in a good place, so that was really inspiring to see."
Wiczkowski was one of many student-athletes who spoke out and asked questions about mental health and what could be done to change the stigma that comes with it.
Fagan helped start that conversation when she talked about Madison's experiences as a student-athlete and her own experiences when Fagan played basketball at the University of Colorado.
Fagan told those in attendance that to this day, playing a college sport is the hardest thing she has ever done.
Once, during her freshman year, she swallowed iron pills hoping she would get sick and have to miss practice. Her trainer made her sit out of practice, but her coaches couldn't figure out why. There was nothing physically wrong with Fagan, so she should be practicing.
"Because of the messaging we get in our culture… more often than not it's very hard to talk about mental health," said Fagan. "But we need to talk more about this."
Fagan also shared some points that she learned from helping tell Madison's story: people's lives on social media aren't their real lives, and keeping up with that appearance causes increased anxiety; quitting is ok; having to take a break for your mental health is ok; and it is important to have a connection with someone outside of the team, someone who sees you as more than an athlete.
She is hoping this will help open the conversation about student-athletes' mental health on Temple's campus.
"Maddy's family didn't want the takeaway from Maddy's story to be like, 'oh this is inevitable,'" said Fagan. "But more so, 'Hey let's look at all the variables at play among young people and if we talk about what they are, perhaps people will be more aware and we will prevent the next situation from happening.'"
Fagan's talk has already impacted Temple's student-athletes and let them know they aren't alone.
"I think it's eye-opening coming here tonight because I learned that it's acceptable to feel down," said freshman Reagan McDonald of women's rowing. "You don't always have to be your best every day coming to practice or the weight room. You're going to have off days and it's ok."
In order to keep the conversation going, a day after her talk to the student-athletes, Fagan was joined by Temple alumna and former women's lacrosse standout Kara Stroup and alumnus Marc Fleischner for a panel discussion with Temple coaches, administrators and some student-athletes.
"Being able to have someone come in who has actually done a lot of research on mental health and being able to have a former student-athlete come in and talk about her experience is very important to us as coaches to be able to hear," said women's gymnastics head coach Umme Salim-Beasley. "It's great that it is brought to our attention so we can be more visible and more vocal, so if something like this might come up in our environment we are able to address it in the best way possible and be able to recognize things if they come up."
With the end of the semester getting closer, Temple knows the stress for its students is starting to take a toll.
"We are always looking for ways to stimulate our students," said Senior Associate Athletic Director for Academics and Career Services Justin Miller. "And looking at where we are in the semester, recognizing a lot of stress and a lot of anxiety, what better time to bring in someone to talk about mental health issues."
In addition to bringing Fagan in to talk, Temple is taking more steps to ensuring the well-being of its student-athletes by hiring a mental health professional who will work around their schedules and will be available 24/7.
"I think Temple is a really forward-thinking institution and they do take a lot of measures to secure the safety and the betterment of their student-athletes and their students in general," said sophomore Zach Seiger of men's cross country. "Just all the resources they put in place from academics to athletics to mental health awareness - I think they do a really good job of staying on top of things."
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