It’s easy to analyze statistics and point out mistakes made on the field or court. It’s much harder to see the breakdown inside an athlete’s mind. Athlete mental health can be an invisible problem. Everyone’s so focused on the physical performance of the athlete, but there is another part of the game that can’t be seen on the outside.
Mental health of athletes has been a taboo topic for far too long. Only recently have there been more studies conducted and more help offered to athletes to deal with the mental strain of collegiate sports. Professional athletes have begun talking out about mental health and the struggles they face, from Simone Biles to Micheal Phelps.
Sports are a great way for children to meet new people, learn new skills and stay physically active. Sports are also a great outlet for young adults struggling with the stresses of life.
However, once athletes reach college and join a college team, sports can begin to do more harm than good for an athlete’s mental health. The high level of competition combined with extra stress from classes and everyday life add up.
There are many resources for athletes to reach out to. One of these resources is a new non-profit organization founded in 2020 called Morgan’s Message. This company was built in the memory of an athlete who were struggling with mental health and eventually took her life. Meaghan Birnie, a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame and long-time friend of Morgan, began this company with members of Morgan’s family.
“We aim to equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics,” Birnie said. “The athlete community is really large in numbers, but it is very small because of the interconnectedness.”
Although what each individual athlete faces is different from everyone around them, the most prominent mental obstacles athletes face is performance anxiety, time management, identity in sports, communication and eating disorders.
1. Performance anxiety
Although performance anxiety is not only found in athletes, this can be a common obstacle players face. Performance anxiety, commonly known as stage fright, is the fear of the inability to complete a certain task. Many athletes feel performance anxiety before games, especially when they know the game is important. Another place on the field where performance anxiety can easily be seen is when athletes face an important moment alone on the field. For example, this can happen when serving in volleyball, shooting a free throw in basketball, taking a penalty kick in soccer.. This often causes the athlete to miss the shot or the serve because they think too much about what they are doing.
There is no one thing that can be done to curb performance anxiety, but there are techniques athletes can use to cope. One strategy many athletes use to calm their nerves is intentional breathing. This would look different for every person and what works best for them, but taking long, deep breaths in and out is often used to focus and calm nerves.
Kaitlyn Bjelko is a student athlete at Plattsburgh State. She was a multi-sport athlete competing in both volleyball and track and field throughout her college career. Bjelko began competing in volleyball when she was in seventh grade and joined her first track and field team as a freshman in college. During her time competing in these various sports, she experienced high intensity situations frequently.
“Before a meet or a game, I would usually listen to a pump up song, which a lot of people do, to get in the zone.” Bjelko said.
2. Time management
Being an athlete in college is a huge time commitment. Athletes are often held to a higher academic standard, as the NCAA requires all athletes to be in “good academic standing” at their university to be eligible to compete. Therefore, it’s imperative that athletes attend classes and complete their assigned work. It can be hard for student-athletes to find time in the day to complete all their work and still go to practice. Not to mention days with competitions, especially when a team must spend hours on a bus for away games. All this can feel overwhelming, particularly for students new to college, and in turn, decrease a student-athlete’s performance, both in competition and in the classroom.
There are plenty of ways to properly manage a schedule and workloads, but they take practice. North Central College in Illinois recommends finding a study buddy, a peer that can help athletes stay accountable in completing their work. Another really important time management strategy to keep in mind is organization. This can be both an organized schedule and keeping work organized so that assignments do not get lost. Of course every athlete’s schedule and workload is different, along with how they do work, so it is up to the individual athlete to do research and test different strategies until they find one that works.
3. Identity in Sports
Collegiate athletes, more likely than not, have been playing their sport for a majority of their life. Being involved in athletics is all they really know. According to Sidelined USA, student-athletes form their relationships and memories rooted in sports. When that integral part of them is taken away, athletes may feel as though they lose themselves entirely. This is a devastating feeling for many athletes. Many were able to feel a glimpse of this feeling during COVID, when teams were no longer able to compete and many lost their seasons. Another example of when athletes experience this loss of self is with injuries, particularly career ending injuries. Injuries are sudden and there is no way to prepare for them, so when an athlete is taken to a doctor’s office and told that they may never compete again, it is heartbreaking. This sudden change can destroy an athlete’s mental health because they are not only dealing with the pain and stress involved with a major injury, but they now have to rearrange their life and identity without their sport.
There, unfortunately, are no methods like breathing or organizing that can help this feeling, though Sidelined USA recommends some methods to help athletes overcome this feeling. It is important that former athletes know they are not alone. Athletes should reach out to those closest to them for support. Often family and friends can never understand what these athletes are going through, so it can also be helpful to reach out to other former athletes that become a support system. This involves acknowledging and opening up about thoughts and feelings as well. In the end, it is important for athletes to redefine their identity outside of athletics. This can either be finding new hobbies or even staying involved in the sports world through volunteering or finding jobs involving sports.
4. Communication/Opening up
There’s a stereotype around athletes that they must be tough, on and off the field. While there is certainly a time and place for athletes to block out emotions, like when competing in important games, it’s important for athletes to realize that they don’t always have to be tough. The busy schedules and long days can make it difficult for athletes to take a moment and reflect, but it’s times like those where it becomes most important for athletes to take a moment for themselves. It can be hard to grasp just how much stress is building up in an athlete’s mind before it’s too late.
There are a few different ways athletes can open up about their emotions and mental health. One way is through journaling. At the end of the day, no one has gone through what another individual has, and therefore no one can truly understand what someone else is dealing with. Writing it down not only helps get it out in the open, but seeing it in writing can help the person struggling work through their problems. Another way is just by finding an outlet to talk to, whether that be a close friend or family member or a medical professional.
5. Eating Disorders
Properly refueling a body can be difficult for an athlete. With the extra work they are putting in and the amount of calories they burn each day in practice, it is important to replenish those calories. The problem that many athletes, especially female athletes, face is through social media. It is easy to go online and see videos and pictures of non-athletes that are slim because they don’t have the muscle mass that athletes do. In certain women’s sports, such as gymnastics, swimming and track and field, a slim physique is highlighted.
Eating disorders are major health concerns and should be addressed by medical professionals right away. There are several fatal health risks that come from not properly fueling a body, especially before competing in a high level of sport. According to the Center Foundation, a company prioritizing safety in youth sports, the most important aspect pertaining to eating disorders is prevention. This can come from a support system provided by coaches and athletic trainers, along with education on nutrition and healthy body weight.
The most important thing to remember is that no two athletes are the same. Everyone must find their own way to cope and work through their problems.
Gena Rosenbaum is a former athlete that played soccer in college. After graduating, she pursued a job in medical and sports massage, particularly for athletes. This was her way of staying involved in sports, even after she was no longer able to play. Recently, she decided to go back to school to pursue a degree in sports performance psychology. As part of her program, Rosenbaum is working with college soccer players and devising programs to help build their mental health while playing. This relatively new profession delves into the minds of athletes to enhance their overall performance.
“Having a mindset of mindfulness. Being aware of your thoughts and your emotions. How to handle them in good ways and how you don’t want to handle them in those tough times,” said Rosenbaum, “It’s really just learning who you are and creating a strategy and routine around who you are.”
It is time for athletes to take control of their mental health. The more this topic is discussed, the more research is done and better methods of help are established.
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