Tackling stigma: Groves football collaborates with The Hidden Opponent

Brooke Hugel, Reporter • September 30, 2025

Groves football coach sits on the sideline bench, preparing for the upcoming game.

The Hidden Opponent Organization spreads to more mouths than just their founders. Wylie E. Groves’s football game on Sep. 19, 2025, spreads awareness and support of this powerful organization.

The Hidden Opponent, a non-profit organization focused on athlete mental health, stability, education and support, is supported and beloved by so many, but not nearly enough. This cause is crucial for children, teens and adults, and it remains deeply relevant today. All energy and support given to them is then sent out to the people who need it most. This explanation doesn’t even begin to uncover all of the incredible, life-changing work that this foundation does for people all around us, every day.

The three pillars of their foundation are support, advocate and educate. The support aspect is to create a safe, carefree environment for all students who are in need. They provide free help from mental health experts, giving them the resources that they need. The advocacy aspect is to provide a platform for the students to express their struggles, feelings and pain without judgment or challenge. And finally, educate, where the goal is to provide the world with information, statistics and opinions about hard topics such as mental health. It gives a safe space for anyone affected by mental problems to see the truth between the lines of the news articles that they see every day.

Using Groves’ resources as a way to spread awareness, we changed some aspects of our weekly sporting events. Groves Student Congress– a student-run program that orchestrates various school events– chose the dress-up theme of the week to be green-out because the Hidden Opponent’s colors are green. The theme of the week for Groves’ games tends to create a sense of unity between those who participate.

Not all athletes recognize when they are mentally tired and depressed until it starts to take a large toll on their bodies and brains. When noticed, this organization represents a way to seek help and find an understanding of what reality could look like when you use the right resources and people to lean on. Through changing one small thing– such as the theme of a football game– you can make such a difference. Creating this domino effect can impact many lives, and you never know who you can help, even by simply showing up.

Sources –

“About | the Hidden Opponent.” My Site, www.thehiddenopponent.org/about.

Donate to The Groves Scriptor

$250

$500

Contributed

Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Wylie E. Groves High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

About the Contributors

Brooke Hugel, Reporter

Brooke Hugel is a sophomore and in her first year of journalism, helping to revive the Scriptors Journalism club. She loves writing and sharing her experiences through her work. She hopes to go to a college close to home and major in pre-med. She loves writing for the Scriptor, and is an active member of the Grove’s orchestra, as well as student congress. She loves attending concerts and hanging out with her friends, and her favorite thing is to relax at home with a coffee.

Quentin Stephens, Reporter

Quentin Stephens is a junior at Groves High School. He is a music producer and writer who made music for the Falcon Action News Broadcast and hopes to be a household name in the music industry someday. He wants to go to college to work in music production or marketing. He likes movies, basketball, collaborating with writers and musicians alike, and playing the piano.