Will Heininger, a sport management major at the University of Michigan, was living what was supposed to be a dream. He was playing football for UM, a school that shapes the entire character of Ann Arbor, the city where Heininger grew up. But at 19, he found himself struggling with depression — not that he knew to call it that, at the time. What he knew was that he had “no motivation” and could find “no pleasure in anything,” as he would later describe it.
“It’s wonderful to play a sport collegiately, but only if it’s a positive experience in your life,” Heininger told The Huffington Post last week.
Ultimately, his athletic trainer realized that Heininger was struggling and set him up with a therapist.
“My life went from 100 to zero, and then to better than ever after getting help and understanding what depression is and how common it is,” Heininger said.
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Somewhat unusually for a university, UM has in-house counseling staff as part of its athletic department. Hansen said this makes things more convenient and more comfortable for student athletes seeking help.
“We want [athletes] to know that this is something that happens to people,” she told HuffPost. “When it happens, here’s what you can do for yourself. And there doesn’t have to be shame around it, because it’s just like a medical injury.”
In the coming year, Athletes Connected has plans to refine its program and expand on a national scale. Other colleges and high schools have already reached out to ask how they can adopt similar programs, according to Hansen and Heininger. The videos have been screened in many colleges and high schools, and Heininger also gives talks in person.
“We don’t claim to have a secret formula,” Heininger told HuffPost. “We just know this issue is important, and [we] want to continue to work on it.”
