The NCAA is a staple for the American sports industry. Thousands of kids dream of playing division one sports, but what many don’t know is the mental challenges that come with that dream.
College athletes have some of the most jam-packed schedules in comparison to other college students. Lift, practice, film, study hall, conditioning, class and homework on top of that. They also have the added stress of missing classes for travel.They push their bodies to the limits during the day and their brain at night.
In 2014, Madison Holleran took her own life due to the mental struggles that came with being a college athlete. She portrayed her life on social media as happy and positive, but deep down she was truly struggling with the pressure she felt from balancing school and sport at the highest level.
She was a freshman on the Penn track team and after coming forty fourth at the Ivy League championship, she collapsed. She was dealing with rigorous academics and having to perform every single day. She fell into such a deep depression that she felt the only way out was suicide.
“I went to a talk about this event at CU and the lady speaking said that this situation had a lot to do with perfectionism. Perfectionism can be advantageous in sports up until the point it becomes scary. Coaches need to recognize that perfectionism can be incredibly positive for an athlete, but it also has another side to it that they have to understand and manage,” Dr. Annie Leibovitz, the sport psychologist at DU said.
This event, along with many others have truly sparked a conversation about mental health issues among college athletes and why it is so prevalent. In 2016 the NCAA did a study showing that student-athletes are less likely to seek help than students that do not play a sport in college.
Between the busy schedule and exhaustion athletes endure, finding time or motivation to recieve help can be a challenge. Yet, Dr. Leibovitz encourages the athletes to get the help they need.
“That study was around the time that my position was created here at DU and I think that was in response to the department understanding mental health concerns in college athletes. These athletes were told before I got here the next time they could help them was in six weeks! So access is a huge thing. I also think that the stigma around mental health can drive people away and they need to know that isn’t the case,” Leibovitz says.
News Observer did a study in 2019 in the Atlantic Coast Conference to see how many mental health providers they had working at the school. Out of the 11 schools who responded, they only had 18 full time staff members to provide mental health services to the student athletes.
Mental health issues in student athletes happen all over the country, including at DU. A school where success is so common athletically, the athletes feel the pressure to achieve greatness.
After graduating high school a lot of athletes feel like they lose their “star status” which creates a difficult adjusting phase for incoming student athletes. Sam Thacker, a freshman on the women’s lacrosse team, was a four year letter winner at Mcdonough high school (MD). She also made the Inside Lacrosse top 100 incoming freshman list, yet she still feels the pressure coming to DU.
“Coming from such a competitive high school I was never really the star on the team. A lot of my friends were always getting the press but I just tried to not come in with the expectations despite the recognition I did have,” Thacker said.
Despite Thacker’s resilience, she knows that this isn’t the case for everyone. She knows that everyone’s experience in college is different, and that there should be more support in place at DU.
“We were informed about the sports psychologist on campus the first week of school, but never heard of it after that. It needs to be more talked about and easier to access them so that the athletes can get the help that they need,” Thacker added.
Alessia Truden, a freshman Tennis player from Italy had a different experience coming in. She has played tennis her whole life and was the star in her junior career. Since coming to Denver she has struggled with trying to stand out again and building her confidence.
“It has been difficult to go from being a star back home to having to fight every day to get playing time. I have realized though, it is a process and I just have to work harder than I did at home,” Truden said.
As much as the students at DU are aware of how common mental health issues can be for student athletes, coaches are also aware they have to make DU the best experience possible for those who they bring into their programs.
Matt Brown, the DU men’s lacrosse team assistant coach has been at DU since 2007 and has helped lead the pioneers to a national championship in 2015. He knows the challenges his athletes face on the daily. He also knows what it is like for his athletes to struggle with mental health and how he can try to contribute to helping them.
“A lot of people see mental health as being soft, but that isn’t the case. As a coach one of the most important things is that everyone handles things differently. The good coaches are able to recognize where those athletes can thrive,” Brown said.-
Many people see that NCAA athletes receive so many perks for being a student athlete, such as reduced tuition, having status on campus and the chance to win a national championship. What they do not see is a lot of athletes struggling with mental health issues.
Recently, there has been a push for funding mental health in colleges across the US, which will include having support for the athletes. Being able to have psychologists, counsellors and doctors that can understand the sport aspect of stress, depression and other illnesses would be a positive shift for the NCAA.
“Having mental health sessions once a week at school would get rid of the stigma and probably help a lot of athletes feel more comfortable to get help. It would also inform athletes on what some of their fellow teammates could potentially be dealing with,” Thacker said.
The NCAA is moving in the right direction in its efforts to help student athletes cope with the mental struggles that can come from the stresses they face each and everyday. With the addition of services being provided to students, education of coaches, and added staff at institutions, the future for all NCAA athletes can hopefully be less stressful and no longer will schools have to deal with the tragic loss of student athletes.
The MFJS Reporter -- Winter 2020 T-R 