Victory, Defeat and Injury – Virtual Panel (Recap)

The Youth Sports Mental Health & Wellness Alliance hosted a virtual panel, “Victory, Defeat and Injury: Supporting Youth Mental Health & Wellness”, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.

The panel, moderated by Virginia Sports Hall of Fame board member and Alliance co-chair Will Driscoll, featured discussion about the complexities of winning, losing, and dealing with injuries in youth sports, as well as the pressures young athletes face, regardless of their performance outcomes or the challenges of returning to sport after an injury.

Panelists:

• Callie Dickinson: DI All-American Swimmer at the University of Georgia, SEC Women of the Year, top 10 women of the year for the NCAA and competed in 3 Olympic Trials.
• Duncan MacLeod: Owner of Elite Athletic Development Group, speaker, and coach with a focus on enhancing mental strength and resilience.
• Rennel Marshall: Mental Health Therapist at CHKD and Clinical Social Worker and Mental Health Coordinator at ODU.
• Erin Sutton: Student-athlete at Kempsville High School.
• Darryl Tapp – 12 year NFL veteran. Current Washington Commanders DL coach
• Pete Zell: Teacher and Baseball Coach at Ocean Lakes High School.

Callie Dickinson, 25, was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia and is the youngest of three. She began swimming when she was six years old for TIDE Swimming and attended Norfolk Academy, where she also swam during high school. Callie qualified for her first Olympic Trials at the age of 15. She went on to swim 100 and 200 Backstroke, 100 Butterfly, and 400 Individual Medley at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. At the event, Callie qualified for semifinals in the 200 Backstroke. Later that year, she was recognized by Sports Illustrated for her successes that year and as an up and coming athlete in their monthly magazine. Callie went on to swim for the University of Georgia from 2018-2023. During her time at Georgia, she became a six-time All-American, four-time SEC Championship medalist, and notched four top-ten times in program history. In the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, she competed in four different events: 100 and 200 Butterfly, 200 Backstroke and 200 Individual Medley. At the beginning of her professional career in 2023, she was selected to represent the United States at the World University Games in Chengdu, China in five different events and was chosen as Team Captain.

At the conclusion of her collegiate career, she received the 2023 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and was named the 2023 SEC Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the highest honor a student-athlete can receive in the SEC. Dickinson was a finalist for the 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, ranking one of the Top 3 student-athletes in Division I and Top 9 student-athletes across all divisions. In addition, she was awarded the NCAA’s Today Top Ten Award, which recognizes ten student-athletes for their exceptional athletic and academic achievements as well as their contributions to their campuses and communities. These accomplishments have earned her a spot in the NCAA Hall of Honor at the NCAA Hall of Champions, Indianapolis. Most recently she competed at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 200 Butterfly, 200 Backstroke, and 100 Butterfly.