This past summer, Longwood Athletics enlisted previous Associate Athletics Director for Academics and Student Services, Hannah Ledger, to be appointed for a new role: Senior Associate Athletics Director for Mental Health and Wellness. This new role is leaving a lot of questions from students and staff, as Ledger and the rest of the Longwood Athletics team take this semester to understand what it might entail.
A large part of creating this role was to get a head start on a potential National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulation that would require a mental health counselor that caters to student athletes. This includes, but is not limited to, counseling regarding career-ending injuries, adjusting to a new lifestyle and mitigating the delicate balance of education, athleticism and an athlete's personal life.
“The NCAA has really been talking more about mental health,” Ledger said. “It’s not a requirement yet that each department has someone separately, but it is a requirement that athletes have a direct line to mental health.”
This direct line to mental health is accessible through Longwood University’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), as it is to every other student on campus. However, with 3,154 undergraduates, and no specialist for student athletes within the CAPS team, support can be limited.
So when Ledger’s new role was announced, the team at CAPS, including Resident Counselor for CAPS, Tianna Jordan, was excited – especially at the prospect of better catered support for Longwood’s student athletes.
“I think it’s a super important role, especially with the climate of student athletes and mental health,” Jordan said. “Hannah and her team are working closely with the student athletes, especially in assessing their wellbeing and providing whatever resources they might need.”
In fact, collaborations between CAPS and Longwood Athletics have been attempted in the past. For a couple weeks, a member of the CAPS team would attend Longwood Athletics practices and hold group sessions before or after their practices. It was quickly canceled.
While it did support the student athletes who could attend, it was difficult to schedule times that worked between facilitators and the students. Part of Ledger’s negotiated role would be to better organize times or resources that can better suit the student athletes.
Carly Fullerton, a co-organizer of the group sessions, and also the Associate Head Athletic Trainer for Health, Wellness & Performance, said, “We had some rough times then, and we had things we really needed to improve on.”
So when Tim Hall joined the team as the new Athletic Director in late 2022, he pushed for change and improvements to the mental health resources available to student athletes. His efforts were funneled into what is now Ledger’s role.
However, because of the recent development of the title, its initiatives are still being mitigated.
“This first semester is about going to practices and talking to students– trying to figure out what they need so going forward we know,” Ledger said.
Ledger is not able to speak to the specifics of these conversations, however, there has been dialogue regarding the possibility of holding new group sessions, one-on-one counseling, or group activities, especially in concurrence with CAPS.
For now, Ledger is talking to students upon request, as well as encouraging her student athletes to visit CAPS when they feel necessary.
Her role, Ledger said, is “a little bit of extra support as a stepping stone to CAPS…. Sometimes athletes don't feel as comfortable, and they want to go to someone they know or feel like understands the life of an athlete better.”
Ledger’s previous role did just that – allowing her to meet and talk with a large range of student athletes. For seven years, Ledger worked as the Associate Athletics Director for Academics and Student Services, serving as the academic adviser for student athletes. During this time, Ledger reviewed grades, did grade reports, and supported students who might’ve been struggling academically. This allowed Ledger to gain a deeper understanding of the stress student athletes are under on a daily basis.
Student athletes might also be less willing to go to CAPS, especially for one-on-one guidance or therapy concerning their athletic concerns. The process of obtaining individual therapy sessions includes contacting CAPS, doing an initial consultation, and then often trying out either their Well-Being Clinics or group sessions.
Well-Being Clinics are open to all students on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m. Often, the sessions are catered to helping students practice mindfulness, effective communication, emotion regulation, and managing distress. There aren’t any group sessions with a focus on supporting student athletes.
If neither of those work, students are then recommended to resources outside of CAPS or to bi-weekly individual sessions.
The process can often feel intimidating, and without support for student athletes in particular, it can be difficult to find somebody who is understanding of the position a student athlete comes from.
With only five full time counselors, and the two interns CAPS currently has employed, it can be a lot to handle.
“We have 276 students scheduled with an appointment at CAPS and 548 appointments have been scheduled with CAPS for this semester so far,” Jordan said.
Jordan and the team at CAPS were not able to give out specific information regarding how many student athletes have come during this semester, however Jordan said, “I haven’t seen any student athletes so far.”
So while student athletes do have a connection to a mental health professional in the form of CAPS, which is required by current NCAA regulations, Ledger’s role has become important in its own regards– especially in providing support while keeping an athletic background in mind.
Many times, the struggles come back to balancing weight training, conditioning, practice, and other responsibilities – as well as school work. This can weigh even heavier on freshmen or transfer students who are often also without family support and living in a new place for the first time.
For now, Ledger is meeting one-on-one with students, as well as holding an open door policy for students who may need to get something off of their chest. As the role of Senior Associate Athletics Director for Mental Health and Wellness is being mitigated, Ledger hopes that her student athletes will feel more secure in their athletic and academic journeys moving forward.
