Excerpt from the National Collegiate Athletic Association website
Lainey Stephenson is a fifth-year senior women's volleyball student-athlete at Wright State who led the Horizon League with 10.66 assists per set this year. She graduates with the second-most assists in Wright State program history and the ninth most in Horizon League history. Her 1,549 career digs are the third most in program history.
She earned her undergraduate degree in media studies and master's degree in physical education with a focus in sports management. Stephenson will soon be starting the next phase of her career as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for a Division I women's volleyball program. During the end of her final season of competition as a Raider, Stephenson ruptured her Achilles tendon.
As part of the NCAA's amplification of student-athlete voices during Mental Health Awareness Month, Stephenson shares a firsthand perspective on her injury and the value of a sports psychologist for student-athletes.
I was gaslighting myself into thinking that I was fine, and I wasn't.
There's a ton of student-athletes like me who don't want to seek out help. Not because it's embarrassing, but sometimes you don't realize what's happening in your mind until you're talking with a professional.
I'm a perfectionist, and I beat myself into the ground if I don't think I'm performing at my highest level. During COVID-19, I was having a little bit of a difficult time, and my coaches made me see our sports psychologist. Like literally made me.
