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Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, tkgallisath@noctrl.edu
Nov. 14, 2022 - While North Central College soccer student-athlete Kaitlyn Cannon was on her search for a Division I opportunity, North Central held a permanent seat in the back of her mind and as she passed the college on the way home from practice one day in high school, her decision seemed to already be made.
The Geneva native has never known a life without soccer, picking up the sport when she was just two years old and often played alongside her brother on co-ed teams. She tried her hand at other sports, running cross country in middle school before realizing just how much running there really was, and what she was really after was track and field. Cannon did the long jump, both 100 and 200-meter dashes, and even had a short career as a hurdler. “I would fall on every single one so I went back to soccer,” Cannon said with a laugh.
Cannon played for Geneva High School’s soccer program and competed with club soccer in the summers, where she met North Central head coach, Andrew Gamarra. Gamarra coached Cannon’s summer team and was helping her get noticed by a few Division I coaches. He eventually convinced her to take a visit at North Central and despite visiting on a day that featured a heavy blizzard, Cannon still loved the school. She called Gamarra after practice one day with the two words that would change her entire trajectory, “I’m committing.”
Gamarra played a big role in Cannon’s collegiate decision, but the insurmountable support she had back at home was even bigger. Neither of Cannon’s parents played soccer growing up, her dad played water polo and her mom was a cheerleader but when Cannon and her brother both took on soccer, their parents transformed into “diehard, crazy soccer fans,” never missing a game since she was little.
Cannon looks to her dad as a role model instilling the motto “pressure is a privilege” and creating her mindset of “I get to” instead of “I have to.” Cannon gets her competitive nature from her dad who also competed at a high level in athletics and now holds the same standard for her and her brother. “He’s been my mental mind coach growing up, especially since I struggle with mental health a lot.”
During her junior year, Cannon’s struggles with her mental health reached its peak. “I actually got to the point where I was not eating at all and was suicidal all throughout post season. That was the only thing going through my mind, and soccer was the only thing getting me through the day. I literally played every game like it was my last because I did not know when my last game was actually going to be. That was the point that I was at.”
“I’m so very thankful for my coaches and my teammates because they were able to recognize the warning signs and were able to get me help,” which, she says, speaks volumes about the program’s philosophy centered around trust, acceptance, and genuinely caring for the individual over the athlete persona.
With the help of coaches and teammates, Cannon was able to start treatment for her mental health and has used her experiences to become an advocate for student-athletes struggling with mental health. Cannon is currently working on a professional development presentation with teammate Lauren Fischer that focuses on the stigma of mental health among student-athletes. Cannon and Fischer gave the presentation to North Central’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and hope to share the presentation with a wider audience such as high schools, colleges, club teams, and maybe even the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) someday.
“We have all been through our own situations and myself, as an athlete, I cannot tell people what is going on in my head. I felt like I could not talk about it and I do not want people to feel like they are in the same boat or wait as long as I did to get the help they need.”
Cannon was a First Team All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) selection last season where she scored four goals and was tied for the team lead with five assists during the 2021 season. Cannon’s 11 career assists rank fifth in the program’s history. Excelling both on the field and in the classroom, Cannon earned Academic All-CCIW accolades in both her sophomore and junior year.
Nevertheless, one of Cannon’s favorite soccer memories was when they beat Illinois Wesleyan in a 2021 CCIW Semifinal match 6-3. The Cardinals scored four goals in the first eight minutes of play while Cannon recorded four shots, three on goal, scoring one goal and assisting on another.
Another favorite memory was when Cannon spent the first few months of the 2021 season prepping for the ultimate Halloween costume. She kept a notebook of Gamarra quotes and walked into practice outfitted as Andrew Gamarra himself, shouting his one-liners and sporting a whistle.
Off the soccer field, Cannon is making a big impact in the classroom as an elementary education major with minors in English Language Learners and is a Learning Behavior Specialist where she is learning how to teach students with learning disabilities and different needs in the classroom.
Cannon’s mom, a French teacher in the private school setting, has been a role model to Cannon and instilled a desire to be in the classroom. Cannon is a Dunham Scholar and is committed to teaching in the Aurora area when she graduates. Her field experiences include 50 hours of volunteer work each summer in Aurora, coaching soccer at Rosary High School, coaching at soccer clubs and summer camps, and volunteering at the Aurora food pantry.
During her summers, Cannon takes her pet hedgehog kayaking, canoeing, and to her favorite spot at Blackwell Forest Preserve. Cannon and her brother are a part of an app called Trizzy, where they create content that features high-quality strength and conditioning programming that caters to specific sports. Cannon also helps out with her brother’s social media content for his new pre-workout, Behemoth Workout. Cannon’s talents go much beyond the soccer field as she can speak some French thanks to her mom; she likes to draw animals and can even talk with her mouth closed.
Cannon and the North Central women’s soccer program completed their season on Nov. 5 at the CCIW Championship match and look to begin prepping for the 2023 season where Cannon will be returning for her fifth-year season before she starts student teaching in the spring of 2024.
The North Central College sports information department appreciates the assistance of Dyson Wellness Center in the editing of this week’s profile and encourages all members of the campus community to seek treatment for any mental health concerns.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255), suicidepreventionlifeline.org
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (call or text)
Linden Oaks Hospital, 630-305-5027, 852 S. West Street, Naperville, IL 60540
Dyson Wellness Center, 455 S. Brainard St. (2nd Floor of Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium) Phone: 630-637-5550, DysonWellness@noctrl.edu
For additional Dyson resources concerning mental health click HERE
Credits:
Steve Woltmann