As a college basketball player, my physical well-being was not the only type of health I had to keep in perfect condition for four straight years.
On top of each early morning conditioning session and late nights in the gym putting up extra shots, there were often huge amounts of stress to consider.
As an athlete at the collegiate level, mental health is of prime importance. It is the key to survival, and at times, the only way to make it through the year-round grind.
College athletes endure huge amounts of stress because participating in sports is a full-time job.
To put this into perspective, an athlete in season typically has a few different responsibilities outside of their typical class and homework schedule.
This schedule includes study hall, weights, practice, individual workouts and occasional team meetings and events.
These tasks alone take up about five hours a day, not to mention taking two or three classes per day, each with the standard homework load. Athletes spend their entire day shuffling from activity to activity with little time to breathe.
Being on the court was an escape for me; I was in my element, trying to get better every day. My body was in peak shape and my physical health was the best it had ever been.
The hard part was training my mind to withstand the entire workout without any distractions of stressors off the court. Spending so much time on one specific activity makes it difficult to spread your time and effort to other aspects of your life.
It became hard to not only make sure all of my responsibilities were taken care of, but to make sure I was taking care of myself. Something that easily damaged my mental health was poor performance on the court.
As a shooting guard, I was extremely hard on myself during shooting slumps. During my junior year I went games on end without being able to hit a 3-point shot.
I became my own biggest opponent and every time I stepped up to take a shot, all I could think was “don’t miss this one.”
Any athlete who makes it to the collegiate level is extremely competitive and dedicated to their craft, so athletes are often their own biggest critic.
When they are not performing to the best of their known ability their mental health suffers. Negative thoughts that accompany poor performance are detrimental, and not only affect athletes during competition but eat away at overall confidence.
I believe that this is because athletes view their sport as their first love. I have fallen victim to this and I know I am not the only one who has been thrown off in other aspects of my life because of my performance on the court.
Learning to stay mentally tough and rise above adversity is the hardest part, and as a four-year college athlete, I know how difficult it is to achieve this. It was a trial and error process and it helped me grow in every aspect of my life.
As a previous college athlete who overcame trials with mental health, here is my advice for current college athletes:
Always take the time to plan out your days and weeks. Knowing what you need to accomplish will make your life much easier and alleviate stress derived from the unknown.
Give your body enough rest. It’s crazy how much getting enough sleep affects your outlook on life.
Lastly, remember that life is bigger than your sport. Although it may not seem like it, there are so many things outside of athletics that will fulfill you and give you the same rush as suiting up for a game or competition.
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