Sports on World Mental Health Day!
Mental Health in sports and in athletes. It’s just as big as physical health.
Happy World Mental Health Day! The goal of this day is to raise awareness of mental health issues, to mobilize efforts in support of mental health, and to remind people of the priority mental health should take. The day-to-day aspects of our lives such as work, sports, school and relationships can drain our mental health, or rejuvenate it. By understanding what boosts and drains your mental health personally, you can recognize when you can dig in or when you need to take a moment for yourself to maintain healthy balance.
For athletes, mental health is just as big of a factor in performance as physical health. During the Summer Olympics, Simone Biles demonstrated exactly how important it is to recognize your limits mentally. When an athlete is facing bad mental health, it can affect their relationships, their personal confidence, their body, their love for the sport and so much more. With physical performance inextricably tied to mental state, sports can become a great platform for exercising of self-awareness and the building of positive mental practices.
At the youth development level, sport becomes many people’s first encounter with the practice of “leaving your problems at the door.” By this, we do not mean “totally ignore your issues by distracting yourself on the field.” When taught intentionally by trained coach mentors, the sports field becomes the place to assess your current mental state to come to a decision on what and how you can contribute outside of yourself today - that goes for coaching too! When we are able to hone this skill, sports can become a healthy way to take a break ourselves from the things that suck our emotional energy, and can provide us with space away from a problem that may help us find perspective and solution. While LtN uses lacrosse as our tool for healthy mental processing, we all have hobbies and passions that can provide this space for us.
When your mental health is low, it is important to take the time to nurture it and build it back up. Some ways to improve mental health are to seek help through a mentor or trained professional, do something fun, get physically active, think about the things you’re thankful for, or spend time helping others. Take the time to think about where your mental health is today, and the ways that you can improve it. Happy World Mental Health Day to all the beautiful minds!
Celebrating Women's Equality Day
LtN strives to promote equality in all aspects of our programming and decision-making. We recognize that different peoples, communities, and governments often receive privileges that others do not. Today we would like to take some time to recognize and celebrate Women’s Equality Day.
Brooke Wilson, our Communications & Development Director, plays lacrosse with a young female LtN student-athlete in Managua, Nicaragua
In U.S. history, the right to vote has always been one of the primary methods through which the people’s voice was heard. It wasn’t until August 26, 1920, that women’s right to vote was ratified after years of women fighting to speak on their own behalf. There was, and continues to be, an extended adjustment period in politics and greater society as women immerse themselves into what was long considered a “man’s world.” Moreover, there are countless communities around the globe wherein women’s rights are still far, far behind those of U.S. women.
LtN Nicaragua coach, Darien Silva, observing practice with LtN student-athlete Nathaniel
Every year, Women’s Equality Day is celebrated in the United States to serve as a reminder of the national strides towards gender equality that have been made. We at LtN use this day also as a reminder of the work that still needs to be done both domestically in the United States and abroad in our Latin American communities. Women around the world put in hard work and dedicated time to shape their lives into a product of their own imaginations, but not everywhere can their efforts translate into changed realities.
Shauna Pugliese, former LtN Panama volunteer, sharing some lacrosse insight at practice on Isla Bastimentos
LtN is proud to help young girls and women realize their full potential and to celebrate their strength. Through our all-girls programming lead by Coach and LtN Alum, Darien Silva, along with our scholarships and tutoring programs, we aim to provide safe and reliable spaces for girls to exercise, compete, learn about themselves, and observe strong role models.
We celebrate Women’s Equality Day and remind ourselves - and our audiences - that there is always more work to be done to level the playing field. We are grateful for all of the mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, cousins, and more that are role models for young girls and boys alike.
—Joanna, LtN Summer VISTA
World Humanitarian Day with LtN
On August 19, 2003, 22 United Nations and Relief Agency staff sacrificed their lives while performing humanitarian work at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq. The Canal Hotel was being used as UN headquarters at the time, and the attack was in response to the UN’s initiative to assist Iraq in it’s National Development efforts. The men and women who sacrificed their lives to help others were the epitome of humanitarian, and today we are celebrating them. World Humanitarian Day not only began from the inspiration those heroes dedicated their lives to, but to the hardworking humanitarians that continue to do so today.
Humanitarian workers, otherwise known as aid workers, work and manage projects in areas suffering from hardships such as war, natural disasters, disease, and more. Typically, those who do humanitarian work take charge at the front-lines, making them vulnerable to injury and other hardship. Jobs in the humanitarian and aid worker fields can include social workers, nurses and doctors, foreign aid workers, and more. These jobs depend on communication, dedication, and empathy. Humanitarian workers act as real heroes, dedicating their lives to service and aid.
The information listed above is considered a “traditional” definition of humanitarian workers, but we as LtN believe that every human can be a humanitarian. Humanitarian work can be done through little acts in daily life - holding the door open, teaching someone a new skill, being a good listener, and more. To LtN, humanitarians are those who simply seek to help support others, through everyday acts or dedicating their lives to it. Each humanitarian act makes a difference, and anyone can be a humanitarian.
Just as humanitarian workers dedicate their lives to helping and serving others, LtN does the same in it’s programs. We work diligently to assist communities with their education programs, to immerse the communities in lacrosse, and to support them through the learning of life-skills, the development of pre-existing abilities, and more. We value human connection and the empathy that comes from building relationships, just as humanitarian workers do. Here at LtN, we celebrate humanitarian workers for all that they do, and recognize the bravery and resilience that they demonstrate everyday. (mentioning opening up ways for volunteers to do humanitarian work through us, etc)
There are many ways to celebrate World Humanitarian Day and to appreciate those who do humanitarian work. One way to celebrate is to thank all of the humanitarian workers that you know; give them a call, shoot them a text, make a post, and just let them know you see the hard work that they dedicate, and appreciate it. Another way to celebrate is to dedicate yourself to a humanitarian cause. This can be done through donations, spreading awareness, being an active participant in local humanitarian work in your community, and more.
There are many ways to demonstrate appreciation, but the most important part of World Humanitarian Day is simply recognition. The smallest things can make the biggest difference, and it’s important to remember that everyone can be a hero, all it takes is a little bravery and dedication. Appreciate what others can do, and think of all the things you can do for others. Happy World Humanitarian Day, Lacrosse the Nations is thankful for all that you do!