Northwood basketball's Carlisa Mitchell finds clarity after dealing with tragedy

It wasn’t just rainy days and Mondays that pushed Carlisa Mitchell into a dark place. It was every day.

The Northwood senior was attending Class B Rapides High School in Lecompte in 2022 when her father, Carlos Gadison, died of congestive heart failure. A confessed “daddy’s girl,” Mitchell took the loss of her anchor especially hard, slipping into a depressive state that was unmanageable.

“My daddy would literally stop what he was doing, no matter what it was, if I called him and I needed something,” Mitchell said. “My daddy never called me by my real name. He always called me his ‘baby girl.’ I was spoiled — he literally got me anything I wanted. He was just my everything.”

Mitchell began feeling numb and alone, even when she wasn’t. She stopped caring about most of the aspects of her life, including the things she loved.

“It was hard to vent or tell how you felt because you really couldn’t explain it,” Mitchell said. “Even though you felt alone, you wanted to be alone — locked in a room. And I’d try to hide everything by smiling.”

The depression quickly took over for Mitchell, whose grades began to drop, and she contemplated giving up basketball. At the lowest point, Mitchell could have become a statistic.

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Teenage depression in the United States is an escalating problem, especially among girls, according to a Pew Research Center survey of teens. The report said 7-of-10 teens indicated that anxiety and depression were a major problem for them and their peers.

Many, like Mitchell, receive a helping hand from professionals and family members willing to step in. Mitchell’s doctor recommended a change of scenery from just outside Alexandria to Blanchard, where her godmother, Shae Martin, gave her a fresh start. Mitchell started attending Northwood and joined the Lady Falcons, coached by Jamie Johnson. The personality change has been dramatic.

“Carlisa is proof that storms may come to pass but they do not stay,” Johnson said. “And it seems like she has found her voice due to the influence she has around the locker room.”

Mitchell is back on course in the classroom, posting mostly A’s with a few B’s scattered in and she’s leading the team in scoring. She’s made the softball and track teams at Northwood, so her spring schedule will leave little time for contemplation.

“I’ve seen her become more open and aware of all she’s capable of on the court and in the classroom,” Martin said. “Transitioning to a much larger school was definitely not as easy as she expected, but she’s handling it very well. She’s come into a completely new team and got them to follow her leadership on the court. I can’t wait to see what more the future holds for her.”

Getting a glimpse of what life has to offer and having people in her corner has helped Martin’s recovery. The family-type atmosphere at Northwood, a Class 4A school sitting in a rural environment, was an answered prayer.

“There’s no doubt that Northwood has brought her a village I’m sure she never expected,” Martin said. “You can’t help but feel loved and welcomed in such a close-knit environment.”

Mitchell cited principal Shannon Wall, her coaches (Rudy Lewis, Johnson, Shun Thompson, Liz Collins, Austin Brown) and teachers as the impetus for her get-well message. Her mother, Quinetta Mitchell, supports her daily.

“They’ve helped me just simply be happy again. That’s all I wanted,” she said.

Mitchell expects to use her battle with depression as a teaching moment with her peers when appropriate. She hasn’t yet had the opportunity to counsel a suffering schoolmate, but she knows a lot of teens hide those feeling like she did perpetually from her mother.

“So, now, I simply just express to my teammates, family and friends the importance of getting help and letting everything out,” she said.

Jimmy Watson covers Shreveport-Bossier area sports. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: After battling depression, Northwood’s Carlisa Mitchell is ‘happy again’