North Carolina softball set to host My Cause Day

Courtesy of UNC Athletics

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON ON3.COM/SOFTBALL

The Tar Heels will stray from wearing their typical Carolina blue and display an array of colors during warm-ups on April 12 in honor of My Cause Day. Each player, coach, and support staff member will pick a cause near their heart and represent it through colored t-shirts and shoelaces before taking the field against Georgia Tech. 

When head coach Megan Smith Lyon joined UNC in 2023, she brought My Cause Day, an event she had spearheaded in her previous coaching experience at Marshall University. With first-hand experience losing her husband in 2011 to kidney cancer, she values the importance of raising awareness on significant topics. 

Instead of having one game dedicated to one specific cause, she championed the idea of having each of her players share an individual cause that affects them and work to educate each other and the fans throughout the weekend. 

“Everyone has something that has hit their lives or is important to them, and instead of just having one cause that we play for, why not let our players play for something important to them? I thought that was a good opportunity to give them a voice and let them be an advocate for something so important to them personally. We started doing it that way, and it’s been eye-opening to see the different causes that they choose and why it’s affected them,” Smith Lyon said. 

Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, brain cancer, human trafficking, and animal cruelty prevention are among the many causes UNC players will be shining a light on. For the second year in a row, senior infielder Carlie Myrtle is representing the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ youth. As someone who grew up as part of the LGBTQ+ community and didn’t come out until college, this is part of her identity that she wants to be seen on and off the field. 

“My Cause Day lets us show a bit of personality while also showing what is close to us at heart and what we care for,” Myrtle said. “For the coaches here at UNC to implement that when they got hired last year, it not only gained respect among the coaches and the players, but also shared that they care about who we are and who we represent as people rather than just players.” 

Graduate student and outfielder Kiannah Pierce is using this day to educate not just her teammates but the young athletes who may be watching from the stands or at home. Having to redshirt her junior year due to anxiety, prioritizing mental well-being is of utmost importance to her. 

“As an athlete and as someone who has been there, it means a lot to me to spread awareness about mental health, especially within athletics, and be someone who can advocate for people who have the same struggles that I have,” Pierce said. 

While Smith Lyon and her staff want to spark awareness on all these causes, they also want to showcase that athletes on the field are just as human as anyone else and deal with a full plate. 

“Softball is just something we do,” Smith Lyon said. “We love it, but at the end of the day, it’s just a part of us. These athletes are daughters who have dealt with parents or grandparents who have had illnesses. We want to connect with our fans, not by all we do on the field, but by being people. Having a day where it’s about more than just being a player shows who they are as a person.” 

Smith Lyon will take the time before the Tar Heels face off against Georgia Tech to let each of her players speak up about what or who they are representing and remind them to play their heart out for that cause.

“Last year before the game, coach Smith made us all explain what cause we chose and why and who we are representing,” Myrtle said. “It goes to show that you don’t know exactly what is going on in everybody’s lives, but you can still support them no matter what. Being able to hear some of these reasonings for having these causes was super eye-opening and it made us closer as a team and will do the same this year.” 

While there will be no direct resource to donate to the players’ causes, fans and viewers at home can educate themselves on these topics and follow some of the players’ social media accounts where they advocate for the issues so significant to them. 

“For me, it’s all about how you use your platform and your voice,” Pierce said. “I have always been outspoken about anything I feel passionate about. I share a lot on my social media and talk with people around me. I want to be someone who speaks up for other people whether that’s on my social media or in any work I end up doing.” 

My Cause Day takes place on Saturday, April 12, at 2 p.m. ET on ACCNX.