At Oak Park High School, countless students participate in sports, whether it is because of their personal interests or to add to their college resume. Being an athlete in itself, however, comes with many responsibilities and expectations that can influence mental health.
Balancing your time effectively is an important aspect of being a student athlete, as you must work around specific hours of practice and training that are required every week.Varsity football player and junior Noah Goodheart says that it is essential to success.
“Time management is key,” Goodheart wrote to the Talon. “Sometimes it is stressful studying for tests when there is not enough time to study.”
Senior Joy Chu, varsity captain of the OPHS tennis team, and her teammates experience the stress of maintaining their spots on the team.
“There’s the pressure of playing well on the team,” Chu said. “Our spot is never guaranteed, so as soon as you mess up or play badly, that can affect your mental health.”
The expectations coaches place on athletes can affect their performance during games. In the previous year, Chu felt the anxiety from them when she was temporarily moved from Varsity to JV.
“Last year, we had a strong team and I wasn’t performing well,” Chu said. “When I got knocked down, it knocked down my self esteem and I then felt guilty because of that.”
However, some athletes do not feel as burdened by these expectations when playing against teams thought to be better than theirs. One of them is varsity lacrosse player and junior Adli Salie, who remains focused on his game.
“Pressure doesn’t affect me,” Salie said. “I feel nervous but still ready to play.”
Still, the repetitive nature of sports can take a toll on an athlete’s mental health. It can be both physically and emotionally demanding, resulting in burnout.
“The pressures that I have are consistently going to practice and [running] at a specific speed and mileage,” cross country runner and freshman Saoirse Boehm said. “Over time, it is tiring and affects me negatively.”
Sometimes, the pressure of playing in front of spectators helps athletes like junior swimmer Trey Williams perform better.
“When people watch me, I feel like I play better because it creates a need to perform well,” Williams said. “That’s a common thing, especially with NBA players, where statistically with a bigger audience, they’ll perform better.”
Sophomore volleyball player Samantha Liba agrees that stress is beneficial to performance.
“I don’t feel like there was a ton of pressure on me last year, though I was the only freshman on varsity,” Liba said. “However, I feel that [being the only freshman] put a lot of pressure on me to be the best and try to play my hardest.”
Mental health plays a crucial role in games, despite some factors that may be bringing athletes down. Athletes should avoid environments that cause stress and anxiety to maximize their performance and well-being.
“Everyone knows that, mentally, you have to be well if you want to perform well physically,” Williams said. “You want to be in a good environment while you’re practicing, so you actually enjoy the sport.”
For many, playing a sport can reduce stress from school and encourage a positive mental state.
“Playing a sport is a great experience for my mental health,” Goodheart said. “It makes me feel relaxed and gets my mind off school.”
Struggles with mental health are common amongst student athletes, particularly as they face pressures from competition. Luckily, OPHS provides an abundance of resources to support these students who are struggling, such as the Wellness Center and Advanced Peer Counseling.
“At the end of the day, you just have to realize that there’s so many other people going through the same things as you are,” Chu said.
