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College Athletes Mental Health Essay

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Many college athletes have such rigorous daily schedules. Not only do they have to worry about their academics, but they must learn to balance their academics, extracurriculars, social life and athletics. Having such a rigorous schedule can have a negative impact on their mental health. Within these rigorous schedules there is often little time to rest and take time for their mental health. According to a survey conducted by the NCAA in 2015, “30% of participating student-athletes reported feeling seriously overwhelmed during the last month”. Out the people who participated in the study “a third struggled to find energy for other tasks because of the physical and psychological demands of their sport and nearly 25% felt mentally exhausted.” …show more content…

In the the interview she stated “One of the main reasons being that as an athlete, the workload is at least 6 times a week on top of classes and early workouts. I am constantly stressed out with my classes, homework, grades, practices, games, etc. there is very little time for to be able to focus on myself and my mental health” (Barwick, Alyssa). This backs up the fact that student-athletes are consumed by such rigorous athletic schedules and pay the price when their mental health …show more content…

Within each athletic department there should be effective training that to increase knowledge of what mental health is and increase confidence in mental health care. This training would include Kaminski’s four practices. These pracrices focus on “ways that athletic departments, and coaches can better promote and be able to support a student-athletes mental health” (Kaninski, 2016). Kaminski’s four practices “include reffering an athlete to a licensed healthcare provider; have procedures be put into place when referring an athlete, implement pre-participation mental health screenings and creating a culture of health-promoting and support” (Barrasso, Meghan Shaye). Including these practices would not only help prevent student-athletes from suffering with mental health issues, but it will allow them to get the treatment that they need if they develop mental health issues. Educationg teammates, athletic departments, and coaches on mental health care would allow them to be more proactive when a player is going through a mental health issue and could help break the stigma of student-athletes and mental

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