In this country, we love our athletes. We put them on pedestals, and if they go pro, they can potentially get paid ridiculous amounts of money. Even in high school sports, a good portion of the entire town might show up to watch the students play. We cheer at their successes, and we hold our breath when there is an injury because the adults all realize just how fragile our bodies actually are. We know that one wrong pivot or one hard collision can mean considerable pain, and even the end of a kid’s ability to play that sport again. When someone breaks a bone or has a major sprain, the injury is obvious. However, some pain is less obvious, and often our athletes are suffering from emotional damage, which can also be debilitating as well. If you happened to roll your eyes as you read that last sentence, I’d like to encourage you to ask yourself why. Some adults have a “suck it up” mentality when it comes to mental health, and this can lead to emotionally stunted, depressed, or anxious kids.
Student athletes experience the same mental health problems as the rest of the population, but there are some things that add complications. The push to perform at a higher level is more common now than ever before. Travel leagues and elite programs are certainly a bigger deal now than they were even a few decades ago. Everyone wants their kid to have the best coaching and the best opportunities. I’m not being judgmental here. Our family has spent multiple springs and summers traveling to weekend tournaments because it isn’t just us parents wanting to push our kids, the kids also want to push themselves. There is a great article by the Cleveland Clinic that I will reference in this blog, and one of the things they point out* is that many athletes have perfectionist mindsets that keep them from feeling satisfied regardless of how well they’ve performed. It is so easy for them to see their mistakes, and it is so hard for them to remember everything that they’ve done right. Add in how much we put value on toughness for athletes, and you get a recipe for kids that feel a tremendous amount of pressure but feel that they need to “suck it up” and handle problems themselves.
When a kid breaks a bone, we can see the effects on an X-ray, but when a kid is suffering from extreme anxiety or depression the signs are much more subtle. Some signs that a student athlete might be dealing with a mental health issue*:
Trouble sleeping
Irritability–let me note that I acknowledge that teens are notoriously moody, but when a kid is stuck in a funk that is out of character for them, or lasts longer than normal, it may be a sign of a bigger problem.
Low energy–beyond simple fatigue from practices.
Changes in eating
We also need to make sure that we are giving more than lip-service to our athletes when it comes to protecting their mental health. If we say that their growth, development, and mental health is more important than their performance, our actions and behaviors had better match our words; otherwise we’re still sending the message that their success is more important than their wellbeing. We can open the door by informing athletes that their growth as a person is more important than their growth in a sport. We can also share struggles of our own and times that we’ve needed support. After all of that, though, we need to make sure that we are available if these kids come to us with needs of their own. We can show by example that toughness, true toughness, comes from being willing to do what is hard. Often, the hardest thing is just asking for help.
*https://health.clevelandclinic.org/mental-health-in-athletes/