If you want to talk ASUN smack or ramble ad nauseum about your favorite pro or major college teams, this is the place to let it rip.

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke

By ballcoach15
Registration Days Posts
#641875
The JMU softball catcher, Lauren Bernett has passed away. cause of death was not announced. She was named CAA Player of the Week yesterday. Bernett hit a home run against Liberty in the regional finals in Knoxville last year.
Prayer for the family and JMU softball.
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#641888
Sad news indeed. :(
By JK37
Registration Days Posts
#641891
Very. If dealing with mental issues, get help. Don’t try to hide or go it alone.
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By aredd33
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#641897
JK37 wrote: April 27th, 2022, 6:54 am Very. If dealing with mental issues, get help. Don’t try to hide or go it alone.
I was wondering about mental issues as well. Wisconsin and I believe Stanford have both recently lost female athletes that unfortunately took their own life.
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By TH Spangler
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#641899
Prayers for her love ones and team mates.

There are a lot of knock off drugs around? Maybe, maybe not.
If it's not from your pharmacy with your name on it stay way.
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#641927
LU's softball field had the player's initials and her uniform number in the dirt behind the pitcher's circle, and I was told that both teams and the umpires were wearing purple ribbons in the JMU player's memory. Her name was Lauren Bernett, and the JMU message board has a whole thread about her: https://csnbbs.com/thread-946712.html
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By TH Spangler
Registration Days Posts
#641928
Sounds like it wasn't drug related. That was my first thought because I recently had a 43 year old neighbor die that way. Very sad.
By Chippy
Registration Days Posts
#641932
JK37 wrote: April 27th, 2022, 6:54 am Very. If dealing with mental issues, get help. Don’t try to hide or go it alone.
It's really hard to hide "mental issues" or substance abuse given the environment she is in daily - teammates, roommates, coaches, support staff, strength staff, dieticians, academic advisors, access to in-person counseling, etc. She was a successful and elite athlete. Yes it's possible that she may have been heavily burdened by something. I'll withhold any speculation on this until the university/family chooses to divulge more information. A real tragedy for the family, the team, the university, and the softball world.
By JK37
Registration Days Posts
#641934
Chippy wrote: April 27th, 2022, 8:53 pm
JK37 wrote: April 27th, 2022, 6:54 am Very. If dealing with mental issues, get help. Don’t try to hide or go it alone.
It's really hard to hide "mental issues" or substance abuse given the environment she is in daily - teammates, roommates, coaches, support staff, strength staff, dieticians, academic advisors, access to in-person counseling, etc. She was a successful and elite athlete. Yes it's possible that she may have been heavily burdened by something. I'll withhold any speculation on this until the university/family chooses to divulge more information. A real tragedy for the family, the team, the university, and the softball world.
I disagree completely. It can go unnoticed and therefore unaddressed for a long time. Often unnoticed by those closest because they’re too close. Ever heard the phrase? “Can’t see the forest for the trees.”? Hindsight is 20/20.
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By rmiller1959
Registration Days Posts
#641936
James Madison softball player Lauren Bernett, who helped the Dukes reach last year's Women's College World Series, has died at age 20. The school announced her death Tuesday, and the following day Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson classified it as an apparent suicide, according to the Associated Press.

Hutcheson declined to give any further details, but he said an investigation into Bernett's death is ongoing.

"The official report from the medical examiner's office is pending, and out of respect for her family and friends, there is no other information to release at this time," Hutcheson told the AP via email.

https://www.cbssports.com/general/news/ ... er-report/
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#641939
JK37 wrote: April 27th, 2022, 9:34 pm
Chippy wrote: April 27th, 2022, 8:53 pm
JK37 wrote: April 27th, 2022, 6:54 am Very. If dealing with mental issues, get help. Don’t try to hide or go it alone.
It's really hard to hide "mental issues" or substance abuse given the environment she is in daily - teammates, roommates, coaches, support staff, strength staff, dieticians, academic advisors, access to in-person counseling, etc. She was a successful and elite athlete. Yes it's possible that she may have been heavily burdened by something. I'll withhold any speculation on this until the university/family chooses to divulge more information. A real tragedy for the family, the team, the university, and the softball world.
I disagree completely. It can go unnoticed and therefore unaddressed for a long time. Often unnoticed by those closest because they’re too close. Ever heard the phrase? “Can’t see the forest for the trees.”? Hindsight is 20/20.
In fact those closest to the players will just see it as normal behavior. Small changes over time.
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By rmiller1959
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#641940
The pressure these young athletes are experiencing must be overwhelming if they believe the only relief is to take their own lives. Sarah Schulze (21), Katie Meyer (22), and Lauren Bernett (20) were top-flight college athletes and by all accounts high achievers off the field as well. Over a span of two months, these young people who to the casual observer had won the lottery of life decided that life was no longer worth living. Any suicide is a tragedy, but it shakes me when it happens to someone who seems to be successful in life.

We don't know enough about mental health or how to deal with it; we wouldn't hesitate to go to a doctor if our bodies are unwell or broken, but we won't get help if our minds are not well. If society is struggling to deal with it, the church is even further behind. Not too long ago, I heard someone say that mental illness was indicative of a lack of faith and that the person should give it to God and do life together with their fellow believers.

If only it were that simple! I'm a lifelong sufferer of clinical depression, and I've learned there's a point beyond which I can't return without medication and therapy. I now pull back if I feel myself getting too close to a major depressive episode, but there have been times in my life when I didn't know what was happening, and I fell into a deep hole that I couldn't climb out of without help. I never became suicidal, but I know that isn't the case for everyone. My heart aches for these young people.
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By JK37
Registration Days Posts
#641944
rmiller1959 wrote: April 27th, 2022, 10:20 pm The pressure these young athletes are experiencing must be overwhelming if they believe the only relief is to take their own lives. Sarah Schulze (21), Katie Meyer (22), and Lauren Bernett (20) were top-flight college athletes and by all accounts high achievers off the field as well. Over a span of two months, these young people who to the casual observer had won the lottery of life decided that life was no longer worth living. Any suicide is a tragedy, but it shakes me when it happens to someone who seems to be successful in life.

We don't know enough about mental health or how to deal with it; we wouldn't hesitate to go to a doctor if our bodies are unwell or broken, but we won't get help if our minds are not well. If society is struggling to deal with it, the church is even further behind. Not too long ago, I heard someone say that mental illness was indicative of a lack of faith and that the person should give it to God and do life together with their fellow believers.

If only it were that simple! I'm a lifelong sufferer of clinical depression, and I've learned there's a point beyond which I can't return without medication and therapy. I now pull back if I feel myself getting too close to a major depressive episode, but there have been times in my life when I didn't know what was happening, and I fell into a deep hole that I couldn't climb out of without help. I never became suicidal, but I know that isn't the case for everyone. My heart aches for these young people.
Post of the decade.

Thank you for your transparency. I appreciate you for sharing.

Too often we on the outside attempt to find logical explanations for depressive states. Let me help: logic doesn’t exist here. We can’t explain it away. And the church is awful at helping. It’s ironic that in the midst of depravity, the church all too often views any weakness just as an absence of God. News flash: we’re all broken! And stupidity like: “grit your teeth” and “just get through it” and my personal not-favorite “just pray more” doesn’t help.

I watched a pastor go through a mind break. And he was the most understanding leader I experienced because he had his own experience with it. The church is really struggling with how to handle these and so many other issues of our time.
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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#641954
The reason why thisis becoming more visible in younger people these days has to do withthe immense amount of pressure that Gen Z is experiencing. Their anxiety far exceeds anything that prior generations experienced at their age.

I agree wholeheartedly about how the church continues to struggle with how help in this arena. Back during the pandemic I went through training to become a Mental Health First Aid instructor and have done so for organizations and schools the past year or so. Just going through the training was enlightening for me on a personal level. Fear of the stigma keeps people from reaching out for help and from those who spot signs from approaching. Thankfully attitudes are beginning to turn. But not fast enough as this case in Harrisonburg shows us.
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By ballcoach15
Registration Days Posts
#641959
I think it would be good to give college athletes another "day off" each week. I believe the requirement is now 1 day off a week. This additional "off day" would include, no lifting, no film study, no conditioning, no nothing related to their sport.
The time commitment for college athletes is much greater than most fans probably realize.
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By paradox
Registration Days Posts
#642002
Not really sure about easy answers or concrete solutions to any of this stuff. It's sad for everyone involved. But on a deeper level, it's something that all we all relate to. The human condition.

One thing that sticks with me goes back to my freshman year in high school. My coach taught health class. He was catholic and he would get things in there beyond the lesson to help us. One time he said, "don't let anyone ever convince you that you're alone. Everyone has at least thought about suicide. The highs are never going to be as good as they seem and the lows are never going to be as bad as they seem." We had a couple of suicides a year or two after graduation. A couple things stand out. One is all the stuff you learn about the individual, which provides a clearer picture of the tragedy. And the second, is all the times people reminded me about what coach said, while we were grieving and reflecting.
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By stokesjokes
Registration Days Posts
#642003
Sly Fox wrote: April 28th, 2022, 12:53 pm The reason why thisis becoming more visible in younger people these days has to do withthe immense amount of pressure that Gen Z is experiencing. Their anxiety far exceeds anything that prior generations experienced at their age.

I agree wholeheartedly about how the church continues to struggle with how help in this arena. Back during the pandemic I went through training to become a Mental Health First Aid instructor and have done so for organizations and schools the past year or so. Just going through the training was enlightening for me on a personal level. Fear of the stigma keeps people from reaching out for help and from those who spot signs from approaching. Thankfully attitudes are beginning to turn. But not fast enough as this case in Harrisonburg shows us.
I’m a Mental Health First Aid instructor too! I have ALGEE the koala sitting on my desk in front of me :lol:

I’d recommend it for anyone who doesn’t have a background in mental health. We actually teach it locally to the police academy both for officers and for jailers. On of my emphases in the class is our responsibility to each other. So many signs can go unnoticed or unmentioned for a host of reasons, don’t be afraid to check in with people close to you, it may be what saves their life.
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By Sly Fox
Registration Days Posts
#642009
Most of my sessions have been with school administrators and teachers in addition to churches and non-profits who are on the front lines with kids battling anxiety and depression. Let the record show that I STRONGLY encourage churches to have their student ministry leaders go through the training. It helps leaders recognize warning signs and help get students to trained professionals who can help them. I lead a student ministry and it has been eye-opening for me to see the kids through this new lens.

I think most all of us have had someone we know or love make this tragic decision. And the numbers indicate it is increasing at an alarming rate. Anything we can do as believers to recognize the issue and provide support is exactly what Jesus demonstrated in his time walking the earth.
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#642123
I’m both surprised and not surprised

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