Delran girls basketball making mental health a priority

DELRAN — Riley Ahrens was devastated. And determined to do something to help.

Earlier this month, Delran senior Mason Williams passed away suddenly at 17 years old. A player on the boys basketball team, Williams was well-known and liked in the Bears community. Ahrens and the rest of the Delran girls basketball team quickly rallied around a way to honor their fallen friend’s memory.

The team wears warmup shirts that feature Williams’ initials, his jersey number 3 and the inscription: It’s OK to not be OK.

“The shirt is to remember our friend, Mason,” Ahrens said. “The main point of it is to spread mental health awareness. We were able to make sure that the shirt would be available to the whole school for free. We are wearing it as our warmups this season to honor him and to raise awareness.”

In normal times, mental health can be a challenge in high school. These are far from normal times. Heading into the third year or the pandemic, it’s more important than ever to support your peers.

“COVID definitely has been a big part in mental health recent,” Ahrens said. “Being at home, being away from all your friends, not being able to socialize definitely just brings people down. Being stuck in the house is hard. It's very important that we start spreading awareness about this. It is hard that it takes something so tragic to open people's eyes, but this is what Mason would want us to do. We're going to do everything we can for him moving forward.”

Ahrens has been an on-court leader for the Bears from the moment she joined the team. It’s no surprise that those qualities extend beyond the gym.

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“Riley's always been highly motivated in basketball but as a person, I think this really makes a statement about her and how she feels about the people around her,” coach Pete Miles said. “It was her idea with (freshman) Molly Frith, to come up with the T-shirts that the kids got. It was one of the things we talked about as a team right away. This just shows her true nature realizing what the people around her need.”

It is a shirt. It is a strong presence on social media. It is reaching out beyond her own social circles to ask: what's up? And, actually, be interested in the answer.

It’s all the more important these days.

“Definitely hiding behind a mask is kind of can be like a literal thing and a figurative thing,” Ahrens said. “People definitely hide their emotions just like putting a mask over their face every day. People can hide in school behind these masks and they cover their faces because they just don't want people to see what they're really going through.”

Ahrens has never been shy about asserting herself on the court. Recent events have allowed others to see a side of her, that her teammates and friends already know well.

"I have always felt that Raleigh had a sensitive edge to her for sure,” miles said. “She has always reflected on things personally. She takes things personally that happen around her. She is always talking about and concerned with stuff that's going on outside of basketball.”

The outside world can seem like its crushing in on us at any time. That’s all the more reason Ahrens and her Bears’ teammates are making a point to spread the message.

“It's definitely so important to reach out to your friends,” Ahrens said. “I mean it's hard to talk to people. It's hard to go to people that you don't really know in school, like counselors and teachers. It's really important that you reach out to people and make sure they're OK. And even if they say ‘Yeah, I'm OK,’ you have to just double check again, because everyone puts that mask on.”

If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for help. There are many resources available including njmentalhealthcares.org or its toll free phone line 866-202-HELP (4357)

Tom Rimback, sports reporter

Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes for the Burlington County Times, the Courier Post and The Daily Journal. Follow him on twitter @RimbackBCT. Email him with story ideas at trimback@thebct.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Delran girls basketball reaching out to promote better mental health