May 28, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
San Diego Wave FC News Release
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a national movement dedicated to eradicating stigma, extending support, fostering public education and advocating for policies that prioritize the well-being of individuals and families affected by mental illness.
In recognition of the month, Wave FC midfielder Sierra Enge recently sat down with club reporter Megan O’Keefe to discuss her personal connection to mental health awareness and her passion for providing resources and education and breaking down barriers for those affected and their loved ones.
O’Keefe: Why is mental health, especially in sports, so important to you?
Enge: I lost my friend in 2022 to suicide and from that point on I just started to learn a lot more about mental health specifically within the athlete population.I just think that so often as athletes, we’re taught that we need to push through things, that we need to tough it out, and when it’s something that has to do with your mental health, you can’t do that.
There’s not enough conversations [and] there’s not enough education for practitioners, for coaches, for support staff on how to deal with these kinds of things. I’ve just kind of become passionate about creating spaces to have these conversations and to let athletes be more open and honest and vulnerable about what they’re feeling.
O’Keefe: What allows you to feel comfortable and empowered to have these conversations?
Enge: I feel empowered to have these kinds of conversations just because of other people being vulnerable with me and having these conversations and the impact that that’s had on me.
Unfortunately, my aunt also had the same thing happen to her when she was in college – she lost her best friend. And they shared, her friend and my friend, shared a lot of the same similarities and by her opening up to me and being really honest about her experiences and how she felt, it honestly got me through the whole thing.
Even just in little things of having little injuries or not playing or not getting as many minutes as you want, like having old teammates or friends that open up to me about them struggling with similar things has made me feel like I’m not alone, made me feel like I’m going through this with someone else and so that’s what’s really empowered and inspired me to do that for other people. Just the simple act of being really vulnerable and honest with someone else creates a deep and genuine…