Sarah Schall, Founder of Inside Out Strong Girls, and The Virago Project have teamed up to provide the women’s volleyball team at UNC-Chapel Hill with a 16-week, mental health-focused peer mentorship program!
The program will educate the team on mental health and well-being topics that specifically relate to college female athletes. They will also learn stress management tools that mitigate performance anxiety and depression while promoting a healthy sport-life balance.
The Best Part? Five former UNC Volleyball alumni (Abigail Curry, Tatiana (Durr) Jackson, Hayley McCorkle, and Ece Taner) have been trained to provide 1-on-1 emotional support to the current student-athletes on the team.
Taylor Treacy, former UNC volleyball alumni, and Founder of The Virago Project said, “Warrior Strong has the power to revolutionize the way that alumni athletes give back to their programs. Sarah and I have received so much excitement from both the mentors and the student-athletes about finally being able to connect with someone who really truly understands what the female college athlete experience is like and the toll it can take on an athletes’ mental health”.
Warrior Strong Mentor Tatiana (Durr) Jackson, shares, “I decided to be a mentor because I wanted to be able to give back to the volleyball program that gave me 4+ years of incredible memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. I also remember what it was like to be an athlete and how I would have loved to have an additional support group to talk through these tough topics with. Lastly, I’m looking forward to building relationships with the current players and bridging the gap between current and former players.”
In 2018, The Virago Project conducted a mental health survey with 140 NCAA collegiate female athletes. One survey participant, who identified as a women’s basketball player wrote, “As a female student-athlete, I have experienced multiple episodes of mental (health) struggles, and every single time I have felt as though I couldn’t talk to anyone about it.”
Another participant wrote, “More people are struggling than you think. A lot comes with being in the spotlight and it’s hard to not present yourself as someone who has it all together.”
The survey also collected information on the emotional support networks of NCAA collegiate female athletes and found that only 30% of survey participants talked to their teammates, coaches, or a medical professional when experiencing mental struggles; while 70% admitted that they preferred to express their mental health struggles to friends and family members outside of their team, or no one at all.
“I think our (survey) findings highlight just how big the mental health stigma is in athletic culture. It saddens me to hear that so many athletes feel unsafe or uncomfortable talking about their struggles with their teammates or coaches, even though these are the people they spend the most time with! There is a ton of work to be done in spreading awareness and stomping the mental health stigma, and a lot of progress has been made in the last few years. While we want athletes to feel comfortable reaching out to their immediate network for emotional support, that isn’t something we can expect to happen overnight… which is why having an alumni mentor can be so beneficial for the current athletes who are there.” – Taylor Treacy, Founder & CEO of The Virago Project
UNC Volleyball’s Head Coach, Joe Sagula, says “(This program) is just the start of a concept that can have so much lifelong meaning and impact on young women. I think this can be something that separates UNC from so many schools to know how our own alumni give back in a special way, and help take care of future Tar Heels. It is something that I will be sure to discuss in recruiting and it will be a valuable resource to all of our players. It also comes at a time when there is so much unrest across the country where young people can use guidance and support both on and off the court. The Virago Project has impacted me knowing how I trust these young mentors for their guidance and are great role models for what Carolina Volleyball represents.”
“I’m so grateful to Coach Joe, Sarah and Inside Out Strong Girls, and my former teammates for helping us get this program off the ground. Warrior Strong isn’t only beneficial to the student-athlete, it also benefits alumni mentors who are itching to get involved and want to connect with and learn from the girls who are playing today. I think this program really deepens the idea of what it means to be a team.” – Taylor Treacy, Founder & CEO of The Virago Project
To learn more about Warrior Strong Alumni Mentorship Program, please email info@viragoproject.org
