The Overlooked Battle of Mental Health with High School Student-Athletes

 Written by: Coach Kelii Fish

The path to athletic fame in high school sports often starts with victories and culminates in championships. However, behind the victories and defeats lies a significant but frequently ignored issue: the mental health struggles of student-athletes.

The immense pressure from coaches, family members, and academic demands significantly affects these young athletes’ mental well-being. Parents who demand perfection can place an excessive burden on their children, sometimes projecting their own unmet aspirations onto them, turning what should be a positive experience into a distressing ordeal. Rather than boosting their child’s self-esteem, they may end up overburdening them emotionally and mentally with severe criticism.

Similarly, coaches who humiliate athletes publicly during training or matches can undermine their self-confidence. A coach who focuses solely on winning championships risks neglecting their fundamental role, which is to nurture their athletes into well-rounded individuals beyond their high school sports careers. Without such guidance, especially when lacking at home, student-athletes might feel unsupported in realizing their full potential in life.

Academic pressures also significantly influence the mental health of student-athletes as they juggle relentless homework, demanding practice schedules, and game days. Excelling in both academics and sports can lead to overwhelming stress and anxiety. Students who perform poorly academically may experience increased self-doubt, which can spill over into their athletic performance. The relentless expectation to perform from coaches, teachers, and parents can lead to emotional exhaustion or burnout. To mitigate these challenges, it’s crucial to implement support systems such as academic counseling, mental health resources, and effective time management training to help student-athletes sustain their academic performance and mental health. To all student-athletes, I urge you to embrace these essential tools to enhance your mental health.

Start by employing strategies like Bible study, prayer, self-care, and maintaining a balanced schedule that includes academics, sports, and personal responsibilities. Cultivate discipline, surround yourself with a supportive network of friends, and express your emotions through meaningful conversations with people you trust, like coaches, pastors, teammates, family, or mental health professionals. Additionally, set realistic goals and engage in hobbies that help manage stress and promote tranquility. Remember, seeking assistance is a sign of strength, not weakness. By taking proactive steps, you can establish a strong foundation for your mental health.

Hardships: A Hidden Blessing Found in Sports and Life

by: Coach Kelii Fish

High school sports reflect life, presenting three important factors: victory, defeat, and teaching lessons to be discovered. My article will break down how the challenges faced in sports develop emotional maturity, persistence, and the courage to build a foundation for constant success.

Hardships, both in life and in sports, are bound to happen. They test a player’s patience and endurance, directing them to meet face to face the challenges head-on. When facing that experience, athletes face a choice: they can walk through the door of giving up or the door of motivation. The decision-making is theirs to make.

Athletes who overcome adversity in sports can translate that success into real-life success. They learn to manage stress, become problem solvers, stay strong-minded in the face of storms, and develop qualities necessary for growth. The necessary qualities are faith, servant leadership, humility, selflessness, time management, focus, accountability, patience, self-control, mental toughness, teamwork, discipline, and gratitude.

Instead of viewing hardships in sports in a negative manner, see them as stepping  stones to greatness. These good experiences teach athletes valuable life skills and lay a strong foundation for inspiring success stories. By embracing and overcoming trials and tribulations, players can turn any struggle into triumphs, both in sports and life.

(1) Hardships can strengthen your faith. Philippians 4:13 teaches, “I can do all things through (Jesus) Christ who strengthens me.”  

 (2) What is God’s purpose in hardships? Romans 5:3-4 teaches, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”   

So why keep trusting in God’s plan for your life? Because He uses hardships for His purpose for our good.

Keep relying on praying, meditating in God’s Word, your coaches, teammates, and the support from your family and community during your hard times. Keep the focus on glorifying Jesus through both victories and setbacks.

The journey in sports and life will be challenging and a blessing. Understand that each struggle is not in vain. They build perseverance, character, and hope in Jesus. Keep doing your best, and keep glorifying Jesus in every victory and setback, trusting that His great purpose for you is greater than anything you can imagine.