There is a person behind the athlete

For the third time in the last 30 days, a student athlete has taken their own life. Those are three students, three friends, three family members and three athletes. 

When people see student athletes, they often times do not look deeper than their sport.  It is a common occurrence for people to ask student athletes how their games went or how practice is going, but not how they are doing or what they’ve been doing outside of sports. Student athletes have limited amounts of free time, but they are allowed to have other interests outside of their sport and we should encourage it. 

I think part of the problem starts at a young age. Parents push their kids into playing sports year-round with multiple sports going on at a time are not helping the situation. This teaches kids to view sports as a negative in their life rather than something that they look forward to doing. 

Kids aren’t able to be kids anymore with all the showcases and rankings that dictate their lives. 

Sports are a big business at every level nowadays and we treat it as such but maybe it is time to take a step back. While I know that it is not possible to completely change how every single person sees sports, coaches, especially youth coaches, need to allow children to have fun. 

College coaches should allow athletes to take mental health days because a lot goes on in the life of a college student athlete outside of their sport. We should be encouraging them to participate in clubs and volunteer their time outside of the sport to let them find a passion that will help guide them when it is time to hang up the jersey for the final time. 

Just because a student athlete gets free gear, free travel, and free food along with scholarships does not mean that everything is perfect. Playing sports presents its own challenges to mental health such as added pressures of performing well in games, making it to practice and meetings on time, having a higher expectation for grades and attendance among other things. 

According to athletes for Hope, 33% of all college students experience significant symptoms of depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions. Among that group, 30% seek help, but of college athletes only 10% ever seek help. In a quote from Dr. Candice Williams a licensed professional counselor, “We have to put the person before the student and the athlete otherwise we are at risk of losing all three.” 

If you are a student athlete or student that is struggling with mental health, I want you to know that there are resources out there to help you. Here at Chadron State College, there are three counselors that are available on campus or over zoom. Call (308) 432-6232 or email [email protected] to schedule an appointment.