October 10 is World Mental Health Day. This year, the World Health Organization’s theme is “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.” It recognizes that people who have lived through mental health challenges hold knowledge that can’t be learned any other way, and that their voices should shape the support offered to others.
At Volleyball BC, this idea has been at the centre of our mental health work since we launched our Mental Health Toolkit in October 2023.
Athletes and coaches who have been there
Since 2023, our Mental Health Ambassadors have shared their own lived experience with our members:
- Kyla Richey, former captain of the Women’s National Team
- Shanice Marcelle, professional beach volleyball player and post-secondary coach
- Derek Thiessen, former post-secondary athlete and coach
- Akash Grewal, UBC women’s team player and Team Canada beach volleyball player
Our mental health webinar series now includes 15 free recordings, and our ambassadors have featured in 12 of them. Together they have covered the topics our members face every season: performance anxiety, staying calm under pressure, team dynamics, body image, coping with injury and building healthy mental habits for the season ahead. They have spoken openly about what they found hard and what helped, from journaling, breathing and mindfulness to seeking professional support and leaning on family and teammates.
What our members are telling us
Listening to members is also how we decide where to focus. Since 2022, players responding to our Annual Member Survey have consistently named general life stress, performance under pressure, coach behaviour and team culture as the top factors affecting their experience in volleyball. This year, youth athletes also pointed to fear of failure and school life, while coaches named general life stress, school life and professional life as their own biggest pressures.
Our ambassadors know this first-hand. As Derek Thiessen shared:
“In my experience, I found that when I felt stressed, overwhelmed, and/or depressed in life (whether from school, relationships, or something else), it would find a way to show up in training or competition as well.”
Members also told us what would help. When asked how we could better support their safety, they asked for help with mental health, psychological safety and performance pressure, and more mental health resources. One member suggested sessions where teams could “talk about mental health with university volleyball players” and hear from high-level players. This is exactly what our ambassadors do.
Real voices, real change
Lived experience is expertise. Our ambassadors’ honesty has helped make conversations about mental health a normal part of our sport, and our members’ feedback will continue to shape what we offer next. Stay tuned for the 2027 Mental Health Series starting in January.
This World Mental Health Day, we encourage athletes, parents, coaches and officials to watch a webinar together, check in with a teammate, and remember that everyone on and around the court is carrying something we can’t see.
Thank you to Kyla, Shanice, Derek and Akash for their courage and generosity in sharing their stories.
You can watch all of the webinars and find more resources on our Mental Health page.
If you need support now
- Kids Help Phone: text CONNECT to 686868, 24/7
- 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 9-8-8, 24/7
- If you or someone else are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.