Three athletes with text written on them that represent the internal struggles they are facing while competing in their sport.

Imagine yourself on the field, the roar of the crowd in your ears, the game hanging in the balance. You’ve trained for years for this moment, pushing your body and mind to the limit. But what if there’s another opponent you haven’t prepared for – an invisible one that can linger long after the final whistle blows? This opponent is mental health, and for student-athletes, it can be a serious challenge with long-term consequences. Mental health in student athletes has become a growing concern for parents, professors, coaches and teammates due to the long term effects it can have on the athletes overall well-being. The four most common symptoms athletes experienced due to their poor mental health were anxiety, insomnia, mental exhaustion, and a feeling of being overwhelmed. A study conducted by the NCAA found that women experienced all four of these symptoms at much higher rate than men, “44 percent of female athletes reported feeling overwhelmed, for example, compared to just 17 percent of male athletes” (Alonso, Inside Higher Ed).

Mental Health in Student Athletes: An Overview

Being a student-athlete is incredible. You get to play the sport you love, represent your school, and maybe even chase a future professional career. But playing at the collegiate level is also extremely demanding. This lifestyle requires the ability to juggle intense training schedules, academic pressure, and the weight of expectation. This constant pressure can take a toll on your mental health, leading to feelings of anxiety, depression, and burnout. Studies have shown that student-athletes experience these issues at similar rates to the general student population, but the pressure to perform and the fear of being seen as “weak” can make it harder for them to seek help. In a study conducted by the NCAA, less than half of the students surveyed said that they would be comfortable seeking support from a mental health specialist.  The same study also indicated that half of the student athletes surveyed believed that mental health should be one of the athletic departments top priority. 

I am a former collegiate athlete who pitched at the Division 1 level for the Saint Peter’s University softball team. Not only was I in the middle of my sophomore season when COVID-19 put the world on pause, but I also took advantage of the extra year of eligibility this event provided. After playing softball at the collegiate level for 5 seasons, I went on to Rutgers-Newark to get a masters degree in Digital Marketing while also being an assistant coach for the Rutgers-Newark softball program. I have begun to realize that almost anyone who has ever been a part of a college athletic team had some kind of first or second hand experience with poor mental health. Along with my own personal experiences, I have also incorporated testimonials from current and former collegiate athletes across all different levels of play in order to paint a detailed picture of the crisis that is stemming from untreated mental health problems in student athletes.

A coach gives his team a group pep talk during a practice

The Connection Between Playing a Collegiate Sport and Struggling with Mental Health

So, what exactly are the links between being a student-athlete and mental health struggles? According to a 2020 NCAA survey, “Respondents reported elevated rates of mental exhaustion and anxiety. Mental health concerns were highest among demographic subgroups commonly displaying higher rates of mental distress” (NCAA, Charly Henry). A few other key factors that can have a negative impact on a student-athletes mental health are:

  • Pressure to succeed: College athletics are incredibly competitive. There’s constant pressure to perform at your best, meet coaches’ expectations, and potentially secure a professional future. This pressure can lead to intense anxiety, fear of failure, and difficulty managing stress. Anja Solveig Kane, a former division 1 softball player who graduated from Saint Peter’s University in 2023 believes that her personal expectations of herself had a huge impact on the poor mental health issues she experienced as an athlete. “What impacted my mental health negatively was the concept that the level of success I had or didn’t have, from a game to game basis, determined my worth…” Kane says, “I felt decently worthy of myself when I performed well in a game, but the moment I committed an error or didn’t perform well at the plate it felt like all of the good I had done prior completely vanished.” Kane went on to explain that she felt like her performance as an athlete even had an impact on her relationships outside of softball, she says that “softball instilled this pressure that the value of my friendship to my teammates was also determined by the number of RBI’s or errors I committed.”
  • Balancing Act: Student-athletes are juggling a lot. They have to balance demanding practices, games, travel, academic work, and a social life. This leaves little time for relaxation and self-care, key elements for maintaining good mental health. Madison Umlauf is a junior pitcher on the Rutgers-Newark softball team. The Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders compete in the NJAC which is one of the most competitive Division 3 conferences in the NCAA. Madison is a neuroscience major on a pre-med education path, she has also maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her collegiate career. When asked how she felt balancing her impressive academic performance with her athletic career impacted her mental health, Madison stated that, “at times, the stress of performing well in my sport and in the classroom put a huge strain on my mental health. I was exhausted both physically and mentally and it took a huge toll on my body and mind.” Student athletes can spend between 15-40 hours a week solely on practicing, playing, and traveling for their sport; this can make it extremely difficult to balance academics as well as a social life on top of that. Another high-academic athlete, Sarah Lawton, was a pitcher at both Florida Gulf Coast University and Sacred Heart University and she also managed to maintain Dean’s List level academics throughout her career as a division 1 pitcher. Lawton went on to graduate from the Connecticut State Trooper Academy in 2023; although she believes she owes some of her experience as a college athlete to giving her the ability to mentally get through 6 months in the academy, she also admits that there were times where balancing her grades and her role as her teams #1 pitcher was extremely stressful.
  • Injury and Setbacks: Sports injuries are a part of the game, but they can be emotionally devastating; Injuries can sideline you from your sport, impacting your sense of identity and self-worth. This can lead to feelings of depression, frustration, and isolation. As a former pitcher, I first hand felt feelings of isolation and depression that directly correlated to an injury I sustained my freshman year. I damaged my elbow halfway through my freshman year, and I continued to attempt to manage and play through this injury for 4 more seasons. Throughout my 5 year athletic career for the Saint Peter’s Peacocks, I threw a significant amount of innings every season and felt like my team was always relying on me to throw well in order to win. The pressure of consistently getting the nod in the circle while also dealing with the physical strain it was having on my body was difficult; I often felt like my coaches or even some of my teammates didn’t value me as a person if I wasn’t able to perform my best because my arm hurt. Playing through my injury also caused an immense amount of stress and frustration, I was constantly in some sort of pain despite all of my efforts in the weight room and physical therapy, and I was always very anxious that my arm wouldn’t recover in time for my next start. Although I loved my experience as a student athlete, I do fear that it took some form of a toll on my mental health that may never fully go away. In addition to this, another member of the Rutgers-Newark softball team Josie Morales also stated that the balancing act between school, athletics, and managing an injury is difficult. Josie partially tore her labrum before the 2024 season and has been dealing with shoulder pain for years; Josie said that dealing with her injury has had a very negative impact on her mental health, she stated that “it’s difficult to accept or bounce back from something as difficult as an injury and be expected to pick right back up where you left off.” Another former college athlete who experienced the stress and frustration that accompanies a shoulder injury is former softball catcher, Hanna Senerchia. Hanna played one season for the Barry University Buccaneers after she tore her labrum before entering her freshman year at the NCAA Division 2 university. Senerchia felt that not only was the recovery from her labrum repair surgery difficult, but it also made it difficult for her to compete for a spot with athletes that had been able to practice at 100% all year. After Senerchia’s freshman season, she ended up removing herself from her softball team and transferring schools because her injury had such a negative impact on her identity as a softball player and her mental health. 
  • Fear of Stigma: There’s still a stigma surrounding mental health, especially in competitive athletic environments. Athletes may fear being judged as weak or unfit if they seek help for anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges. Anja Kane went on in her interview to state that “while there were some resources provided by my school surrounding mental health, they weren’t specifically designed for athletes and the quality of these resources were not necessarily up to par”…“There were also zero positive mental health resources stemming from my coaches and they often made their athletes feel like they were ‘weak’ if they stated they were struggling with their mental health.” A NCAA report showed that athletes feel less confident about sharing their mental health struggles with their coaches or a university staff member than they had in previous years. In 2019, “a previous NCAA survey of student athletes found that 62 percent of male athletes and 49 percent of female athletes said they would feel comfortable talking with a coach about mental health issues,” (Alonso, Inside Higher Ed) in the latest survey, those numbers dropped to 54 percent and 40 percent.
Two rugby teammates embrace one another walking off of the field

How to Improve Mental Health While Balancing a Busy Schedule

Even with a packed schedule, there are ways to prioritize your mental health as a student-athlete. Here are a few tips:

  • Talk It Out: Find a trusted friend, teammate, coach, counselor, or therapist to talk to. Talking about your struggles can be a huge weight off your shoulders and provide valuable support. Anja Kane also stated that she felt that a resource that she was very lucky to have were her roommates who also played for the team. Kane stated that, “most of the time they provided me with the best outlet to talk about my emotions.” In the NCAA’s study on the correlation between poor mental health in athletes, 56% of the students surveyed stated they know how to help a teammate who is experiencing a mental health crisis. In addition to this, 63% of the athletes surveyed said they felt like their teammates took their mental health concerns seriously. 
  • Time Management: Learn to manage your time effectively. Make a schedule that allocates time for classes, practices, games, relaxation, and social activities. Sticking to a schedule can reduce stress and help you feel more in control. In an article published by the NCAA in 2023, it states that “time management is a key component of any collegiate student’s success, but it is especially important for those who play sports” (NCAA). Below is an image representing the average amount of hours a student athlete spends per week on athletics, academics, and extracurriculars:

According to these statistics, student athletes dedicate about 70 hours per week to their schoolwork and sport; this means that over 40% of a student athlete’s weekly schedule is already taken due to practices, games, team events, classes, and homework assignments.

  • Prioritize Sleep: Getting enough sleep is crucial for both physical and mental health. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Another former Division 1 softball player from Saint Peter’s University, Courtney Fraher, stated that she believes prioritizing her sleep allowed her to get a better version of herself every day. “I started partaking in a night time routine that began after practice and had me in bed almost every night by 9…” Fraher says “…In addition to this, I would try to go to bed even earlier on nights when the team had team lifts at 6am. I feel like getting a better night’s rest every night gave me more energy throughout the day to tackle both of my academic and athletic responsibilities.” This was Fraher’s final year as a Peacock, and she maintained a 4.0 average while also participating in competitive weight lifting competitions and acting as the teams starting right fielder.
  • Healthy Habits: Eating nutritious foods, staying hydrated, and exercising regularly can significantly improve your mood and overall well-being. Find healthy ways to manage stress, such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises. Courtney Fraher also mentioned in her interview that she began to adopt a healthier lifestyle her senior year that incorporated intense crossfit sessions and a healthier diet. Fraher stated that, “I began to enjoy new hobbies such as crossfit and competitive weightlifting, along with a newfound passion for eating healthy and taking care of my body. I think this had a huge impact on my mental health. My hard work eventually led to me getting more playing time during the season.” The grit that Fraher acquired through her years as an athlete has set her up perfectly to apply for the New York State Police Academy for this upcoming class.
  • Disconnect to Recharge: In today’s constantly connected world, it’s important to schedule time to disconnect from your phone and social media. This can help reduce stress and improve sleep quality. A helpful method for me when I was an athlete was deleting or limiting my time on social media apps during the season. This allowed me to remove any negative energy that stems from posts on social media, I was also able to focus solely on my performance on the mound and my grades.
A group of soccer teammates laughing and enjoying themselves

Resources for Athletes and How to Improve Mental Health

Remember, taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health. Don’t be afraid to seek help.  Here are some of the resources that are available to student-athletes:

  • School counselors and therapists: Most universities offer mental health services on campus. Don’t hesitate to reach out and schedule an appointment. Several of the athletes that were included in this article stated that going to therapy had a huge role in improving their mental health. I can also personally vouch for the positive effects that therapy has had on my ability to healthily vent and cope with the negative emotions I experience from sports. 
  • Sports psychologists: These professionals specialize in helping athletes cope with the mental challenges of competition. Rebecca Voelker who wrote an article discussing sports psychology as a new “hot career” stated that sports psychologists “can help student athletes maintain good mental hygiene to stay competitive in the classroom and on the field… at least 20 Division 1 Universities have a sport psychology professional on staff, and another 70 to 100 contract with outside specialists.” Despite the positive correlation between improved mental health among athletes and having easy access to a sports psychologist, none of the athletes surveyed for this article went to a university that had one on staff.   
  • Support groups: Talking to other student-athletes who understand your struggles can be incredibly helpful. See if your school has a mental health support group for athletes. Current sophomore catcher for the Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders, Gaby Forese, states that “having an outlet and being able to reach out to a small circle of friends and teammates that I can trust and talk to has helped me a lot.” Her classmate and teammate Josie Morales added, “talking to friends or people that I can rely on and they understand where my struggles are coming from has had a positive impact on my mental health… I feel like I’m not the only one going through this.”
an image that represents mental health

By prioritizing your mental health and seeking help when needed, you can ensure your success both on and off the field. Remember, you are not alone in this battle. With the right support system and healthy coping mechanisms, you can overcome the challenges of mental health and thrive as both a student and an athlete.