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Managing stress key for young athletes

By Chris Dugan and Karen Mansfield 6 min read
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Editor’s note: This is the third in a weekly series in observance of May’s Mental Health Month.

Rob Whalen appeared to be living the good life. A baseball pitcher armed with pinpoint control, a mid-90s fastball and a sharp breaking ball, Whalen rocketed through the minor leagues and made it to the majors at the age of 22. In his big-league debut, in 2016, Whalen was the starting and winning pitcher for the Atlanta Braves against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The next year, Whalen, who had been traded to the Seattle Mariners, was back in the minor leagues and battling depression and anxiety, two opponents that can do more damage to a pitcher’s career than Aaron Judge.

On the advice of the Mariners, Whalen started seeing a psychologist but felt his situation needed more attention. According to Whalen, the Mariners gave him a week off to treat his anxiety, but after only a few days he received a text message saying that he would be replaced on the roster if he didn’t return to the team immediately.

After a rough outing in Reno later that year, Whalen packed up and went home, sitting out the final two months of the season to deal with his mental health issues.

The next year, Whalen started the season back in the minors. He received a midseason promotion to the majors and in his first appearance, in mid-June, he shut out the Boston Red Sox for four innings. That was the last time he pitched in the major leagues.

Whalen, who is an intense competitor, was sent back to the minors three days later and retired from the game at season’s end, at age 24, still battling anxiety.

“In some ways, I was my own worst enemy,” Whalen told the Observer-Reporter last spring while he was making a comeback with the Washington Wild Things. “I was a perfectionist. I experienced a lot of success early, so I didn’t experience failure until I reached the higher levels. What it came down to is that I didn’t have the mentality to handle that.”

Whalen has said he felt “abandoned” by the Mariners because he had no contact with the coaching staff, front office or teammates while he was away from the team and dealing with his mental health.

Managing stress

While some sports, such as running, can help an athlete manage stress, others add to anxiety. Whether the athlete is a high-level competitor or simply starting out in the youth leagues, competition is stressful. And fear of failure is a leading cause of anxiety and depression in athletes of all ages.

Athletes are experiencing a wide range of psychological issues – eating disorders, burnout and behavioral disorders, among others. The specific triggers are different at various levels of competition – high school and college student-athletes face different pressures than professional and elite competitors – but the results, when left untreated, can be equally devastating.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, about 30% of female and 25% of male student-athletes report suffering from anxiety and only 10% have sought help from a mental health professional.

Specific pressures include lifestyle requirements, missed classes because of off-campus sporting events, conflict with teammates and coaches, body-shaming and even diet.

Damarion Geter, who played Division I basketball at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., is a staff counselor at Washington & Jefferson College and works with student-athletes who are experiencing stress-related issues.

“We meet once a week. … There is certainly more stress than ever for student-athletes,” Geter said. “We need some level of stress. The problems can start when there is too much stress.

“When seasons start, there is a lot of energy, As the season goes on, the body can get tired and you can start feeling more stress. Sports is one of the few jobs where there is an expectation of improvement every single day. It’s a test every day during a season. That, with whatever else is going on, can add pressure and stress.”

Unrealistic expectations

Playing sports can boost physical and mental health, but for some high school athletes – especially those who train, travel and compete year-round – sports can contribute to anxiety and depression, according to Dr. Elyse Kraft, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Allegheny Health Network.

“I think being being involved in sports, especially team sports, is a positive thing and can lower depression and anxiety, if it’s used properly and we’re looking out for the red flags that lead to those issues,” said Kraft.

But, she notes, there is a trend in high school sports that emphasizes winning and intensity of training.

More student-athletes – more than 45% – are specializing in one sport, and increasingly are playing year-round on private and club teams, leaving less time for academics and other activities.

Hours of practices, which can lead to overtraining, exhaustion, and injury, and the pressure to perform academically to compete for scholarships, can impact the mental health of high school athletes.

“Recently, there’s an attitude that winning is associated with positive results and losing is associated with negative results, and that shouldn’t be the link. There’s a winning-at-all-cost attitude that goes into sports these days,” said Kraft. “The curriculum of these sports is taking too much time from their lifestyle.”

Parental involvement is an important component for kids in sports, and it’s important to have realistic expectations of their child’s athletic abilities and interest in a sport, Kraft says.

“Parents having unrealistic expectations is a factor we’re seeing,” said Kraft, noting students might feel pressure to meet a standard they aren’t capable of meeting. “Parents have to have open and honest conversations and realize that everyone is different. Their personal experience with a sport is different that their child’s. Parents really need to encourage their kids to explore his or her own pathway, and make sure they’re having fun.”

Kraft encourages young athletes to remember “that you aren’t alone, that lots of your peers are experiencing this as well, and there are resources for you.”

More high schools and colleges are implementing programs addressing student-athletes’ mental health and encouraging them to talk openly about pressures and stress they might be feeling.

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