Op-Ed

The Playbook to Managing Mental Health as a Student Athlete

           Recently, mental health has been prominent towards student athletes. At a young age, student athletes learn a multitude of lessons including how to balance a “healthy” lifestyle, time-management, and how to communicate well with others. While these are important life skills, their passion and love for the game can override their mental health.

            Student athletes are constantly told to push themselves in order to get better. I mean who wouldn’t want to get better in something they love. From the instant they wake up, to the moment they fall asleep, their days revolve around their sport. In some cases, it is a good thing, however, it can be mentally and physically draining.

            As a student athlete, you are expected to receive scholarships, awards, and recognition. If not, you’re considered “not good” or in some cases, “useless.” With this, comes a lot of pressure to do better. To be better. Mentally. Physically. And just well-rounded in general.

            Up until this year, I was a student athlete myself. Basketball became one of my passions…up until my sophomore year of high school. At this point, many student-athletes are burnt out and no longer have the desire to play. And in my case, I was burnt out. A lot of athletes tend to blame it on the poor coaching or the many injuries they’ve had over the years, however, when examining what led to my burn out, it was my mental health.

            At this point, junior year was rolling around the corner for me. And we all know the saying that junior year is the most important year. With this in the back of my mind, I had already felt the pressure to maintain my hard-earned grades while improving my basketball IQ and skills. Not only is this an important time academically for student-athletes, but this is the time to look at schools that you may be interested in playing for.

            Although people will say that student-athletes get a leeway when it comes to higher education, not all student athletes do. Of course, there will be athletes who slack off or who may not have a high enough GPA to attend a school, however, this is a generalization. Student athletes are expected to be well-rounded and have their life put together, however that is not always the case. Ensuring that their grades are more than exceptional while balancing the two-a-days, lifting, conditioning; and recovery that they must attend is draining itself.

            Because of this, it can be easy for student athletes to prioritize academics and their sport over their mental health. In times like these, it’s important to have support and someone you can talk to. Maintaining this lifestyle is stressful and difficult- it’s as if student athletes’ lives consist of an endless suicide sprint. You can never catch a break.

            Living this lifestyle means that most of your friends consist of your teammates. Rather, your teammates are your family. You depend on them. And with this, it can be difficult to make plans with friends outside of basketball as you are constantly on a schedule. When you’re free, your friends aren’t. This can further depression among student athletes as they are not given the socialization that people their age need. At this age, it is important to find people who have general interests as you, as you can bond with them. And with sports, your constantly surrounded by your team. Although they are built in friends, it is also healthy to further your horizons among friendships.

            Within the span of two months, five NCAA college athletes committed suicide- “Sarah Shulze, Katie Meyer, Jayden Hill, Robert Martin and Lauren Bernett” (Siefert 2022). In instances like these, mental health awareness is spread, and these athletes’ stories are told, however, they may “blend” in after a couple of months. It’s important to acknowledge the weight that is put onto the shoulders of student athletes. Just because someone may not want to talk about their feelings, doesn’t mean that they don’t need a support system.

            In addition to mental health awareness month, NCAA should incorporate a certain time limit for practices-ensuring that all student athletes will be able to maintain their grades as well have time to take care of themselves. This incorporation could save many lives and could prevent potential mental health issues. While this is the cooperation side of improvement, coaches can host workshops or team meetings prior to practices to check-up on their players. As a coach, it is important to understand the struggles your athletes may encounter as it will affect their performance, mindset and their actions. With this, coaches will need to learn the proper things to say and how they could provide a safe space for their players. Helping your athletes during their hard times can be complicated, however, it brings a sense of reassurance during a time of struggle.

            Regulating the number of practices and how long practices can be will allow student-athletes to have further time to work on their academics. This can relieve some stress they may have about exams, homework, and projects before the stress builds up. Having this extra time makes a difference as it will allow the student athlete to heal their bodies and complete work within a reasonable amount of time- like any other student.

            These possible solutions- rebounds- can help many student athletes and should be considered. While it may not be a popular opinion, it will save lives and can help student-athletes achieve even better grades. This will be the three-point play in an and one.

            It is important to recognize the toll that academics and sports have on student athletes. Through this relationship, we can analyze how the lifestyle of student athletes are unrealistic and how this lifestyle can negatively impact the lives of ordinary people. This lifestyle is stress provoked and can be difficult to juggle. With these solutions implemented, we can make a slam dunk within the NCAA community.

 

 

 

Work Cited:

Siefert, K. (2022, May 4). 5 NCAA athletes die by suicide since March, Columbus Experts Address Youth Mental Health. WSYX. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/five-college-athletes-die-by-suicide-since-march-columbus-experts-address-mental-health

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