Rilee Seering of UNC Pembroke is as Brave as They Come

This is the continuation of a series of Body, Mind & Soul stories that highlights member student-athletes, coaches and administrators of Conference Carolinas.

PEMBROKE, N.C. - UNC Pembroke’s external operations team recently produced a riveting 17-minute video chronicling the life of Rilee Seering, a star player on the Braves’ women’s conference soccer champions and a 2021 graduate of the university.

It begins with Seering sitting on a campus bench, declaring “I’m Rilee Seering, and this is my story.” Simple enough. However, what was to follow was anything but simple. Her tumultuous personal odyssey is beyond reasonable imagination.

When one refers to Rilee as a UNC Pembroke Brave, that mascot name gives special meaning to her young life story. Already experiencing more highs and lows than a roller coaster at the county fair, Seering is about as brave as they come. 

When Seering arrived on the Pembroke campus in 2017, she was a highly-regarded soccer recruit from Cuthbertson High School in Waxhaw, North Carolina. She seemed to be the ideal incoming freshman as an honor roll student and All-Region/All-Conference selection who led Cuthbertson to a 14-5 record her senior year.

Yet, looks can be deceiving. Soon, she would be in for a very rude awakening.

“My freshman year coming in, I thought I was going to be a superstar and starter.” Rilee recalled. “I was just used to that. But I was humbled by the talent on the roster. Everyone is as good as you are. It’s the best of the best. Soon I realized I couldn’t compete with them.”

In fact, a disillusioned Seering couldn't even finish the team’s conditioning tests.

“It was obvious that coach was disappointed in me,” she continued. “He had seen what I could do in high school. It was frustrating for both of us.”

Lars Andersson, the Braves’ head coach, recognized early on that Rilee simply was not ready as an incoming freshman.

“I honestly think she was a little overwhelmed,” said Andersson, who has piloted the Braves to a 230-133-32 record over 21 seasons as the only coach in school history. “In soccer, academics and socially, it’s always an adjustment period for a freshman. You get to the college level and every single player was the star of their high school, so Rilee needed to realize that.” 

While UNC Pembroke won the conference title in her maiden year, Rilee found no satisfaction as a bench player. 

“We got a ring, but I didn’t touch the field once. I didn’t play for that ring. That was one of the toughest things for me.”

Not long after the season, Seering’s life began to spiral downward. Besides her failure to earn playing time, she began to struggle academically. By spring, she had broken some team rules and was informed by her coaches that she had lost her scholarship.

“I was lost and confused,” she said. “And I didn’t know how to approach the situation with my parents. I was scared to tell my mom. I was embarrassed to be seen by the coaches. I didn’t want my teammates knowing. It was really hard.”

She still remembers how nervous she was when she approached her mom, Linda.

“I was hurt and I thought she might never look at me the same. But it actually was the reverse. She was there for me. My mom helped me and told me it’s okay. (She said) You’ll get through this. You love soccer, so you need to play.”

After that conversation, Rilee made a decision. She would continue playing soccer and try to earn the trust back from her coaches.

“I told the coaches that this is not me, and that I made a mistake, but I’ll prove to them that I can do better.”  

Her coach wanted her to succeed, but knew it would not be easy. 

“We’ve always believed in Rilee, but we knew she was facing an uphill battle,” Andersson said. “She’s a great kid and we never doubted that. She made some mistakes, but I did too when I was 18 years old. Mostly, we just wanted her to know we were in her corner.”

While her heart was in the right place and she got in better shape, Seering’s performance on the soccer pitch was still not up to the coaches’ standards. Consequently, she rarely played in matches that sophomore season.

She did soul searching after that season and decided the best course was to enlist the help of legendary UNCP men’s soccer coach Mike Shaeffer for individual spring workouts.

“I wanted to get into better soccer shape,” she said. “That spring (her junior year), I worked out with coach Shaeffer. I was so grateful he gave me a chance and he told me he would push me to get better. I knew he had built teams and knew what it takes to be a starter.  

“I worked so hard. I started hitting my times and I was excited about telling my coaches. I came out and was beating people. I was so proud of myself for working my way back up.”

Rilee blossomed her junior season, finally realizing her enormous potential as a scorer. The 5-foot-7 striker started every match, led the Braves in goals scored (10) and drilled a remarkable six game-winning goals.

In soccer, everything seemed to be falling in place. But Seering was still struggling in school and it began to take a toll on her.

“I started wondering why everything was so hard for me,” she admitted. “Then, one day in the training room, I broke down and cried. My trainer (Alyssa Price) brought me in and asked me some questions. She noticed I was struggling with anxiety and possibly depression because of all the things I had been through.” 

Price suggested that Rilee utilize the school’s mental health resources by seeking help with the campus’ CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Series) program.

While her sessions with CAPS were productive, Rilee readily admits she eventually neglected that area of her life. She became single-minded in her pursuit of soccer and academics.

“It got to a point where I was really busy and school was getting hard,” she recalled. “It was hard to prioritize CAPS, soccer and school. I kind of put (CAPS) to the side and concentrated on what I needed to do. I didn’t focus on myself, just what I had to do in sports and school.”

On the field, Seering thrived and also built back relationships with her teammates. But the neglect of her mental wellness eventually caught up with her.

“Everything seemed to be better than it was, but when I got back the next year, for some reason, it wasn’t good. I wanted to stay in my room. I couldn’t fall asleep. I struggled wanting to be at practice. I struggled at wanting to have conversations with anybody. I was going through a lot of drama. My actions weren’t me. I was very angry and my emotions were everywhere. I just wasn’t Rilee.”

In the personal section of her player biography on the UNC Pembroke athletic website, Seering listed her favorite song as “Only The Good Die Young” by Billy Joel. Little did anyone know that Rilee would almost fulfill that chilling prophecy.

In February 2020, Rilee Seering attempted suicide. 

“I was sitting in my car and remembered asking myself, ‘What’s the point?’ she said, fighting back tears. “Why was I here? I wasn’t doing anything right anymore. I felt like the world was against me. So that night, I chose to take my own life.” 

Having taken an overdose of her medication, she was found in her car by her roommate who rushed Rilee to the ER. She remained in Scotland Memorial Hospital in nearby Laurinburg, North Carolina for two days.

“I just remember my mom didn’t even want to drive (to the hospital) because she was in such shock,” Seering said. “But the next day she came to the hospital. I remember I had a little ‘babysitter’ with me at all times to see that nothing else happened. When my mom came, she stepped out of the room so we could have a moment together.” 

Rilee’s mother gave her a big hug and tried to understand why her daughter would try to take her own life. 

With support and love from her family, Seering returned home to begin the healing process. What troubled Rilee most was how everyone else would view her after such a dark episode.

“Unfortunately, nobody knew what happened except some of my roommates,” she recalled. “I missed practices and everything. Finally, I realized there’s still real life outside of where I was. But I didn’t know how to handle it, or how to go about talking to anybody.” 

But that process would start soon enough.

“I remember getting a phone call from the coaches. They let me know they understood what was going on and they were 100 percent there for me. They assured me the school knew the situation and was there to help talk me through this. They told me to take a week and figure out what needs to happen. Just spend time with your family. Everything is OK.

Before long, Rilee decided to return to school. She credits UNC Pembroke’s CAPS program for providing the critical help and structure to make it possible.

“I couldn’t sit at home even if that was the safest bet,” Seering stressed. “CAPS made it clear they were going to be there for me and make accommodations for my schooling and help me with some things I was still struggling with. The biggest thing I noticed after all of this was the love and care I got from the university. It was really eye-opening.  

“After all I went through, the ups and downs with coaches, they were still there for me regardless. They cared about me personally and I think that was the best thing that helped me through this. I was able to get back on my feet without being looked at like somebody who made a terrible decision.”

Before long, she would repay the coaches and university for their kindness. The 2021 spring and fall will be forever known as “The Year of Rilee Seering.” The irrepressible senior earned All-State, All-Conference and All-Tournament honors in propelling UNC Pembroke to the conference championship. Later, she was selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Team after a fall where she led Conference Carolinas in goals with 14.

“Rilee is the greatest turnaround I have ever seen in my 28 years of coaching,” Coach Andersson flatly states. “I’ve never seen someone with such little impact in her first two years later becoming one of the most decorated athletes in school history. She not only became our leading scorer, she became one of the most prolific scorers in the country. To say I knew she knew she could do it would be lying. I would have thought she was more likely to win the North Carolina lottery jackpot than becoming our best player.” 

Through all her trials and hardships, Rilee found a silver lining. She discovered a passion for counseling and mental health therapy. Following her 2021 graduation, she entered graduate school at UNC Pembroke in pursuit of a master’s degree in mental health counseling. She’s one year into a two-year program. 

LynnDee Horne, the Director of Mental Health Services and Counseling at UNCP at the time of Seering’s crisis, has played a pivotal role as a practitioner and mentor in Rilee’s recovery and future ambitions.  

“LynnDee really helped me,” said Rilee of Horne, who has since opened her own private practice, NarrowGate Counseling Services. “I really love her. She understood that even athletes go through this and need a break. She also helped me realize that I love bringing smiles to other faces, to be there when no one else is there. It’s the reason why I want to be a counselor.”

Interestingly, Horne said Seering’s case is not uncommon to students at UNCP.

“I wish I could say it was unique, but our research shows that about 25 percent of our students have suicidal thoughts at some time and one in 10 are going to attempt it. Fortunately, no student has been successful.”

COVID, which has caused isolation and fear and required frequent testing and mask wearing, certainly has affected college students everywhere.  

“What’s interesting is what has changed the most: executive functioning skills. Anything that helps you have focus, attention and organization. That’s been the biggest issue. Consequently, students are struggling academically. Then comes the anxiety and depression. And when somebody tests positive, it adds an extra level of stress.” 

One might assume that COVID has increased mental health cases on campus, but Horne disagrees with that assumption.

“I may be in the minority but I don’t see a mental health crisis caused by COVID,” she said. “Those of us in the field are not seeing much difference. People are just more willing to talk about it. Also, I think mental health practitioners have done a great job educating.”  

Coach Andersson raves about the training coaches have received from Horne and others in the school’s mental health services department.

“We have been very fortunate to have LynnDee,” he said. “They have a really qualified staff over there. The biggest takeaway for me was that students should never feel a stigma. I think having high-profile athletes like Michael Phelps speak out has helped immensely.”

Understandably, the Rilee Seering Story is a great source of pride among her coaches, administrators and teammates.

“I could not be more excited and proud every time she scores a goal, wins an accolade or just see her with a smile on her face again,” Andersson said. “We were all on this journey with Rilee and are emotionally invested in her. She is now a confident and competent young woman.'” 

Mostly, Rilee just wants to express her deep gratitude for everyone who played a role in her personal growth over the past five years.

“Just being able to look at my coaches and say thank you for everything means so much. Even though it wasn’t easy to take away my scholarship, the coaches told me ‘Rilee you need to do better.’ I needed that. And I’ll always remember that the coaches were still there for me, even though those weren’t easy conversations. I have so much respect for them.” 

The tone of her voice and her new message reflects how far she’s come. 

“I just want to tell everyone it’s okay, I’m okay. I’ve grown tremendously and I’m still growing. I may not be perfect, but I’m the same Rilee.”

Now she wants to give back to her school and help other students.

“If I was to give advice to any student here at Pembroke it would be, if you’re struggling don’t be afraid to tell someone. Don’t be afraid to walk into CAPS. Don’t be afraid to ask your coaches for a mental health day because just taking a day for yourself can take you miles.” 

Now two years removed from the lowest point in her life, Rilee can reflect on the journey that has led her out of the abyss and towards a very promising future.

“I learned that this university has been there for me. The reason I loved it then is the reason I love it now. It’s always been personal. Everyone is there for you. It’s sad to have learned it because of what I went through but that’s why I’m sharing that now. I love everyone who’s been there for me. And I wouldn’t change a thing in my life.”

Soon, it may very well be 2021 Conference Carolinas Offensive Player of the Year Rilee Seering, a future mental health counselor, who can change other people’s lives for the better.   

Bob Rose is a longtime sports public relations executive who has worked for the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, the NFL Cardinals, Cal, Stanford and other organizations. Bob works with Assistant Commissioner for External Relations Brian Hand and the entire Conference Carolinas office to help tell the stories of the tremendous student-athletes, coaches and administrators in Conference Carolinas.