Student-Athletes Start SECURE to help with Mental Health and Wellness

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Four members of the Willamette University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) have founded a new group on campus called SECURE, which will provide peer support to encourage mental health and wellness for student-athletes. The group was formed by cross country and track runner Molly Murphy-Brown (Jr., Sandy, OR/Sandy HS), softball player Kelsey Wong (Jr., UT, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School), golfer Andrew Kibbee (Sr., Kenmore, WA/Bothell HS), and former football player Kyle Martz (Sr.).

"SECURE stands for Support, Educate, Connect, Understand, Retain, and Empower. These are our core values in cultivating a community that recognizes the importance of mental health in all aspects of our lives," Murphy-Brown said.

"The four of us started this group after going to the Apple Training Institute in California in January 2020, a conference for student-athletes centered around substance abuse prevention and the promotion of overall health," Murphy-Brown recalled. "We were encouraged to create an 'action plan' which meant deciding what the most important thing was to implement back on our campus. We landed on mental health because we felt it was something that needed more attention. I personally have a strong passion for mental health and plan to start a career in a mental health profession after I graduate."

"I was inspired by the many stories surrounding mental health and substance abuse at the APPLE conference. It was very influential to hear personal stories from administrators, but specifically other student-athletes," Kibbee noted. "That peer-to-peer connection was the biggest factor I took home with me from the conference.

"After attending the Apple Institute with the student-athletes, I was able to witness their passion for supporting their peers," said Annie Longtain, assistant women's lacrosse coach. "SECURE will not only be a great place for student-athletes to receive peer support but will also help break the stigma around mental health by creating conversations and providing resources for them to access student-athletes. I think today in society there's an unspoken pressure for athletes to always perform at their best and that's asking a lot of them. It's okay to not always be okay, and SECURE's goal is to provide resources for any student-athlete who may be struggling."

The group hopes to reach out to all Willamette student-athletes through newsletters, videos, in-person meetings, and Zoom meetings. Newsletters will be sent out on a monthly basis to student-athletes in an email group.

"We are going to send out our first newsletter and introductory video," Murphy-Brown said. "This will mainly be an introduction of what the group is, but it will also include a few resources for student-athletes. We will send out newsletters every month, each one highlighting a different letter of the word SECURE."

"When we send out the first newsletter to all the student-athletes, there will be a place to sign up to be on the mailing list for all the future newsletters," Murphy-Brown added. "We also have Instagram and Twitter accounts (@secure_wu) where you will be able to find a link to the newsletters."

"We don't know the exact date of when our first event will be yet, but we are planning on doing a combination of remote and in-person events," Murphy-Brown noted. "Our first one will most likely be remote."

Willamette's group will not be alone in college athletics. Student-athletes throughout the country are forming groups to provide peer support regarding a number of health concerns.

"There are other groups similar to SECURE," Murphy-Brown said. "We designed our group similar to one that we heard about at the Apple Training Institute. Peer groups can be helpful because if nothing else it gets the conversation going surrounding mental health."

At Willamette, SECURE will work alongside the Bishop Wellness Center to increase health support available to student-athletes.

"We met with Sally Burns (counselor and athletics liaison) from Bishop Wellness Center and are planning to work with them over the school year," Murphy-Brown commented.

"Student-athletes face the same mental health issues as other students but also experience some unique challenges and benefits as a function of their role in college athletics," Burns said. "Through SECURE, there is an opportunity to create a community that understands the student-athlete experience and can help to foster positive mental health among our Bearcats. It's great to see our student-athletes take on a leadership role in conversations surrounding the importance of mental health."

In addition, a significant effort will be made to encourage communication between student-athletes to help each person maintain strong mental health.

"I hope that SECURE can start the conversation among athletes surrounding our mental health, both on the field and off of it," Kibbee said. "As student-athletes, we often tell ourselves to simply push through a tough patch in our life here at Willamette, instead of dealing with it head-on. In order for your mental health not to be a hindrance to you during a long and grueling season, conversations need to happen surrounding mental health and wellness in our student-athlete community. SECURE is here to help jump-start those conversations and provide resources to student-athletes who may need them."