According to the NCAA, nearly one in five students involved in school athletics struggle with some form of a mental health challenge.
The Student Perspective
There are many different ways that student athletes are affected by their sport. To some, it can “be an escape from reality,” says football freshman Colin Thomas. However, to others, “it can get really challenging balancing everything at once” tennis Junior Nathan O’Neil brings up.
Senior Caitlin Lewis, who plays soccer, explains how “it is difficult going right from soccer practice to trying to get schoolwork done or studying for [her] test.” She also adds that “mental health is extremely important to [her] because when [she feels] anxiety about a test or something in school, then [she] doesn’t perform as well on the soccer field.”
Similarly, Nathan O’Neil builds off of this idea and adds that “[he finds] it hard sometimes to focus on more than one thing at a time.” For instance, when a test and a sports competition land on the same day, “it’s not easy for [him] to concentrate on one over the other,” explains Nathan. This challenging circumstance highlights the complicated balance that a lot of student athletes face.
On the other hand, “having a sport is really helpful because it helps me to use my time productively,” says sophomore soccer player, Lucy McDevitt, “Now these athletes need to use their free time wisely in school.” For example, Nathan says that “[he uses] lunch and learn and [his] break time in school to get all of [his] work done.” So, this added time commitment of a sport forces the athletes to manage their time better and maximize any available time during class to complete work.
Another positive that a sport gives is a break from school. Caitlin brings up how “during practice, [she doesn’t] have to think about school and [she] can instead enjoy time playing soccer with [her] friends and having fun.” Nathan adds “all of the stress that [he has] instantly goes away when [he] plays tennis.”
Sports affect everybody differently and although many different challenges can come with being a student athlete, Nathan is “so happy that [he can] play tennis for the school and grow as a person.”
