Since 2021, the Ithaca College field hockey team has been playing for something bigger than just victories. 

For the past two years, the team has chosen three games each season to dedicate to a charitable cause — whether it be athlete mental health, chronic illness or equity and inclusion. This season, the team showed its support for the KyleCares Foundation on Sept. 13, LGBTQ Pride on Sept. 27 and multiple sclerosis research on Oct. 7. 

Head coach Kaitlyn Wahila said the tradition originated from the Tufts University women’s lacrosse team, which hosts similar dedication games each spring. Wahila said she adopted the initiative as a way to still stay involved in community service while undergoing a rigorous in-season schedule.

“One of our team’s committees was always overseeing some type of community service throughout the semester,” Wahila said. “We decided that, in season, to host three awareness games and, out of season, to actually use our hands and get into the community and do some good.”

During the spring semester, the team’s schedule is flexible enough to pursue more hands-on community service projects. Wahila said that in the past, the team has volunteered with the Ithaca ReUse Center sorting, cleaning and pairing donated shoes to be repurposed.

In the fall, however, the team is divided into three committees that organize the awareness games in their entirety. The operation consists of choosing an organization to support, deciding which matchup to host the ceremony on and writing an explanatory blurb to be announced just prior to the starting lineups. 

Wahila said the coaching staff has minimal involvement in organizing the games and that letting her athletes take the lead is what makes the projects so important.

“It makes more sense to raise awareness and have our student-athletes working together toward something specific and having them talk it out amongst themselves in terms of, ‘What do we care about? What are some organizations that we want to support that are near and dear to our hearts?’” Wahila said. “It allows them to band together and figure out how they’re going to raise awareness.”

Junior striker Emma Garver spearheaded the team’s awareness game for the KyleCares Foundation — a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting open communication about the mental health challenges experienced by teenagers and young adults. The New England-based foundation works to connect schools with mental health resources, facilitate long-term strategies to address student mental health and fund suicide prevention programs.

Garver said the idea to support the organization can be credited to first-year student striker Caroline Folan, who grew up in the school district that KyleCares originated in. Garver said organizing the project was a valuable experience in leadership, especially for new athletes on the team.

“It’s such a good learning experience, especially for our [first-year students],” Garver said. “They came to college and our coaches are presenting us with an opportunity to organize this ourselves and collaborate with each other to work toward a great cause. It’s great practice for all of us.”

Prior to the first whistle of the KyleCares awareness game, Garver’s committee offered strips of green tape for the Bombers to wrap on their sticks — a constant reminder of the cause they are supporting. Garver said her favorite part of the game was offering the same tape to the opposing team as well, the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons.

“Sometimes people think it’s weird to involve the other team, especially because it was our Cortland game, but it was nice to give them that and know that we’re both working toward the same goal,” Garver said. “Supporting such a great cause on top of it being a big rivalry game gave us that extra push because we knew we were playing for something bigger.”

In similar fashion to the KyleCares committee, junior midfielder Meara Bury took the lead on the multiple sclerosis awareness game with her family and teammates in mind. More commonly known as MS, multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease of the central nervous system that, in progressed stages, can result in vision and mobility loss.

Not only is the cause close to Bury’s heart — as her father has lived with MS for many years — it is also especially close to the heart of the team. Earlier this semester, first-year student striker Brady Sullivan was diagnosed with MS as well.

Bury said she organized the awareness game in hopes that the team’s spectators and opponents might walk away with more knowledge on a disease that she thinks is often overlooked.

“There are so many different types of this disease and so many progressions of it,” Bury said. “There are some people, like Brady, who can still play the sport they love and their lifestyle hasn’t changed much whereas in my dad’s situation, he’s had the disease for a lot longer and a more progressed version of it. He’s in a wheelchair, so all those physical aspects of his life were kind of taken away from him. I hope it educated some people that the disease is out there and it looks different for everyone.”

Sullivan said that when Bury approached her to make sure she was comfortable with the idea, she was immediately on board and eager to help in any way she could.

“For me, it was really a no-brainer,” Sullivan said. “A huge part of my journey so far has kind of been figuring out what my purpose is. I know that going through something like this at this age, there has to be somebody out there that is going through the same thing that I can potentially advocate for and help through it.”

During the awareness game, the Bombers all sported orange ribbon temporary tattoos to symbolize the cause they were playing for. On top of the physical representation, each of the Bombers also donated $5 to an MS research foundation.

Sullivan said the atmosphere of the MS awareness game was particularly electric, as the cause amplified the team’s already strong sense of camaraderie.

“That day, I felt incredibly rallied behind and lifted up,” Sullivan said. “It reminded us that we’re a family and that we’re all supporting each other through all of the hard things we go through. Yes, it was a specific day that we were raising awareness for MS, but it was also a reminder that we need to rally behind each other regardless of the situation.”

Like Sullivan, Bury said she understands how important it is to show support to those who may be struggling behind the scenes. She said that playing with her father in mind put into perspective the impact that awareness games can have on the people and organizations that the team is advocating for.

“When we’re playing these games, there’s a much bigger picture,” Bury said. “We’re not just playing to compete against our opponent, we’re also playing to support the people we care about. I know how much my dad loves the field hockey program here. He loves to support us, so it feels like I’m able to give back to him and show that we’re supporting him too.”

Wahila said that since she started the tradition in 2021, she has always made a point to pull her athletes together and remind them what they are playing for that day. Whether it be mental health, inclusivity or family — every game has a purpose. 

By letting her team organize awareness games each year, Wahila said she hopes her athletes can continue to recognize the importance of community service and getting involved beyond the playing field.

“Ultimately, I hope they’re able to gain an awareness that there’s more to life than just the game of hockey,” Wahila said. “There’s so much more that they can do to help people and it also offers them the opportunity to work with teammates and raise awareness for causes that are important to us. We’ve had student-athletes that have gone through some really challenging times in their lives, and it gives them an opportunity to recognize and honor that and I think that’s really special.”