CORVALLIS, Ore. – On Sunday, the Cascade Collegiate Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) met for the first time in person in over two years in Vancouver, Wash., including a special presentation on mental health training by Coach Kos.
After a brief introduction from the CCC Commissioner Robert Cashell and SAAC Co-Advisor and Bushnell University Associate Athletic Director Sarah Freeman, the SAAC representatives from each school got to know each other with an ice breaker game before Cashell gave a State of the Conference.
“As a younger student athlete, it was great to learn more about how the CCC and the NAIA works and what I can do to ensure my classmates and teammates get their voices heard,” said Austyn Harris, a representative from Eastern Oregon University.
“I thought the meeting went well,” added College of Idaho’s Trajan Holtzen. “It was fun getting to know everyone and it was interesting to somewhat figure out how the CCC and NAIA work. I truly enjoyed the Coach Kos session as well; she is great at what she does and is very passionate about it, which made it easy to remain engaged.”
Following a break, Coach Kos spoke to the student-athletes on mental health training for leaders. Coach Kos, also known as Carrie Kosderka-Farrell is a former softball coach in the CCC at Concordia University of Portland. During her time at Concordia, she quickly saw a need for mental health support for athletes and soon became the Assistant AD of Student Welfare and Development.
In 2017, after leaving Concordia, Coach Kos became a full-time therapist and started her own practice,
Training the Complete Athlete, specializing in working with kids, teens and young adults. She loves to educate and inspire those in the sports world to pursue self-improvement and mental wellness.
“I absolutely loved Coach Kos,” said Adyson Harris, EOU’s second rep. “The message she was getting across was so eye-opening and so much bigger than the individual student-athlete. She preached being there to support your peers and that is what leadership and teamwork is all about.”
After the session with Coach Kos, the SAAC reps had a joint session with their athletic directors about Senior Women Leader (SWL) with the NAIA’s Chesney Sallee before heading to dinner with the ADs.
“I had an awesome experience at the SAAC conference where I had the opportunity to meet new student-athletes in the conference and learn more about the CCC as a whole,” said Samantha Martinez, a rep from Corban University. “Coach Kos displayed her passion and shared mental health issues that we as leaders should be aware of, so we are able to assist those around us to bring about their best potential. Everyone at the CCC conference was very welcoming and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.”