“Back to school” means back to the baseball fields, volleyball courts and stages for many prevention coalitions’ members around Garfield County, but it does not mean their work is done. In fact, it’s only begun.
Prevention coalitions work tirelessly to prevent substance abuse and foster positive family relationships in their communities, and this often starts in school sports.
Strategies to Prevent Substance Abuse in Sports
Melissa Veater, Prevention Specialist Supervisor for the county and Panguitch youth coalition advisor, told me the coalitions have always worked a lot with sports. “It’s a really good way to reach parents, youth and coaches,” she said, especially since 90% of youth in Garfield County are involved in sports at some point during high school.
This year what some of the coalitions are doing is bolstering their student athlete program. As part of the program, coaches were trained on six prevention lessons, which they will implement throughout the sports season.
“These are small lessons,” Melissa told me, “for buses or practices.” They are meant to be short and easy for coaches to implement and students to remember.
Also part of the program is a student athlete kit to help prevent injury and promote physical therapy as an alternative to potentially harmful prescription medications. The kit includes biofreeze, stretch or resistance bands, a sore muscle massager and a water bottle.
Understanding the Role of Mental Wellness in Prevention
Outside of sports, mental wellness plays a huge role in substance abuse prevention, but what is mental wellness?
Melissa likes the eight dimensions of wellness model focused on youth. It outlines eight areas in life that have an effect on how we feel connection and wellness:
- Social.
- Emotional.
- Spiritual.
- Intellectual.
- Physical.
- Environmental or community.
- Financial.
- Occupational.
If we do not have these areas in our lives aligned, then we are “like a shopping cart coming down the aisle like a hot mess,” said Melissa.
“A lot of times people don’t realize how much mental health and substance abuse go hand in hand,” she added. So many people dismiss prevention strategies by saying, “We’re just not that kind of family,” but it all starts with mental wellness, and if you don’t have that, then you are at risk to start self-medicating for your problems, which then creates more mental health problems.
The prevention coalitions’ strategies for teaching mental wellness include teaching adults, leaders and advisors first. It’s important to get parents involved in teaching youth life skills and how to handle conflict and problem solve.
A Data-Driven Approach
All of these strategies come from and align with a prevention coalition conference the Garfield County coalitions attended this summer in Dallas, Texas. Headed by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, or CADCA, the national conference brings thousands every year to share implementation strategies and success stories of coalitions across the nation.
Between Escalante, Panguitch, and Bryce Valley, the county brought 11 youth and 7 adults to this conference, including these advisors and students:
Escalante
- Heather Dunton – Advisor
- Jordan Cottam – Advisor
- Maizie D.
- Kelton P.
- Ryan T.
- Mac P.
Bryce Valley
- Emilee Clark – Advisor
- Cherish Syrett – Advisor
- Nick Pollock – Advisor
- McKyndie C.
- Bradi G.
- Carina W.
Panguitch
- Melissa Veater – Advisor
- Kelci Johnson – Advisor
- Cameron P.
- Tyler C.
- Ryley W.
- Braden F.
Ready for Back to School with Prevention
Fresh with ideas from the conference, the Bryce Valley and Panguitch Prevention Coalitions began the school year by partnering with “back to school nights” for their schools. The events included community games and dinner.
New messaging at the Bryce Valley baseball fields and on the team shirts also debuted this year.
With the fall sports season soon to be in full swing, parents and athletes can rest easy knowing the prevention coalitions are there along the way. The goal is to keep the athletes prepared for any curve balls this season and throughout their lives.
– by Abbie Call
Abbie Call – Cannonville/Kirksville, Missouri
Abbie Call is a journalist and editor at The Byway. She graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in editing and publishing from Brigham Young University. Her favorite topics to write about include anything local, Utah’s megadrought, and mental health and meaning in life. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hanging out with family, quilting and hiking.
Find Abbie on Threads @abbieb.call or contact her at [email protected].