Senior field hockey player Logan Anderson has been involved with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee since her freshman year. Now, as the SAAC’s newest president, she’s prioritizing student athlete mental health and connection between teams at Maryland.
Anderson emphasized the importance of ensuring student athletes feel safe and comfortable to talk about their feelings. Facilitating mental health resources and social activities between teams is a significant part of Anderson’s job.
Social events SAAC hosted last year included a dodgeball tournament as well as a game night at Board and Brew, a restaurant on Route 1, to improve relationships between athletes. This year, Anderson is excited about the possibility of holding a movie night on the football field.
“My goal for this year is just to improve the connection between the teams at Maryland,” Anderson said. “We’re really gonna take a hard look at mental health and how we can improve what we’re offering to student athletes.”
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Anderson is a familiar face on the committee. As a sophomore, she acted as an SAAC representative for the field hockey team, and as a junior she was a Share The Shell Liaison — a role in which she communicated community engagement events and opportunities to teammates.
“She recognizes the things that we do really well,” coach Missy Meharg said. “That’s what makes her the perfect president.”
Anderson has her busy schedule nailed down. In the fall, most of Anderson’s day is divided between class and field hockey practice. She’s up before her classes start around 10 a.m. After her morning classes, she has field hockey practice from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., before finding time to relax, hang out with friends and catch up on work. The kinesiology major aims to enter the medical sales field and wants to work in a cardiac catheterization lab after graduating from college.
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Anderson’s schedule is consistent until the reality of being a Division I athlete seeps in.
Travel is a huge part of athletes’ lives, as games take the team across the country to compete. Anderson sometimes finds herself getting work done at the airport.
“I try and get ahead on all the stuff that I have to do for the week whether that’s planning ahead for SAAC-related things … scheduling upcoming events or just finishing up on any schoolwork,” Anderson said.
Anderson is not the only field hockey player involved in SAAC. Junior Kylee Niswonger and sophomore Ava Trexler are both on the board. Sophomore Leah Horwitz represents the team as the field hockey representative. Anderson believes her team’s heavy involvement is a sign of their advocacy for student athletes.
“It proves that we are doing our part in making sure that our team is doing everything we can do to make the student athlete experience worthwhile, but also advocate to and make it better,” Anderson said.
