For student-athletes, there’s the never-ending stress to balance the desire to perform well in front of coaches and the determination for straight As, and this demanding environment often overwhelms one’s mental health. Though this cycle is common, there’s a lack of attention toward those seeking help. The Hidden Opponent (THO), a non-profit organization founded in 2019 by former D1 athlete Victoria Garrick, works to break the stigma surrounding student-athlete mental health.

THO works through its own website and social media accounts to build public awareness through student-athlete liaisons who represent 500 high schools and colleges around the nation, called Campus Captains. Los Altos High School has two Campus Captains, junior Maddy Randall, who began representing THO in September 2022, and junior Sam Stein, who joined recently in February 2023.

“The main goal [of THO] is to break the stigma surrounding student-athlete mental health,” Maddy said. “People don’t really talk a lot about what goes on mentally for a number of reasons. [We’re] trying to increase awareness and give people a space where they can talk about what’s going on in their heads.”

Mainly, Maddy and Sam publicize THO through their personal Instagram accounts, where they share posts and stories with resources for both students and athletes alike. Occasionally, they also post question stickers where students can respond to questions and directly talk to them regarding the state of their mental health.

“The main goal is to break the stigma surrounding student-athlete mental health,” Maddy explained. “For a while, it’s still like people don’t really talk a lot about what’s going on, mentally, for a number of reasons. So the goal is to increase conversations, increase awareness and help people feel like they have a space where they can talk about what’s going on in their heads.”

But, Campus Captains can only make so much of an impact with Instagram posts and other remote comforting words — they acknowledge that their job is to primarily promote the more extensive resources given by THO, and to become more empathetic people themselves through their roles.

“Campus Captains aren’t licensed professionals or anything,” Sam said. “Our job is to raise awareness about The Hidden Opponent, and what [they do], like, they have a YouTube channel where they have talks and masterclasses on how to deal with performance anxiety or how to talk to your family about an eating disorder…Things that might be really hard to talk to someone about or to learn about.”

The THO website contains blogs, links and articles, as well as offers programs for athletes and coaches to combat the weight of mental health together. So, when both juniors ultimately head off to college in the coming years, they plan on leaving the LAHS community aware of THO’s goal and work.

“I’m really excited to try and build something that will outlive both of us on campus when we’re not at LAHS anymore,” Sam said. “By partnering with other on-campus student organizations and creating a more concrete and long-lasting infrastructure, we can make sure that more resources and awareness stay available for people.”

So for those who may be struggling with mental health, or are just curious about other athletes’ stories, The Hidden Opponent’s website just may be worth a visit.