Mental health In ThunderRidge Sports

In 2019, mental health has played a big part in CHSAA creating a class to help coaches identify the signs of a student struggling with mental health and how they can help. According to the New York Times post, “1 in 5 adults have developed a form of mental illness before the age of 24 due to the competitive nature of the sport.” This year, there have been two major NFL players, Andrew Luck and Rob Gronkowski,  who talked about how football has affected their mental health in a Fox Interview.

Gronkowski said “I got done with the game, I could barely walk” adding “now I can barely walk. I’m at the after-party, I sit down and I’m just chilling all day, like the rest of the night until 3 a.m. I try to go to bed, I slept for five minutes that night. I couldn’t even think. I was in tears, in my bed after a Super Bowl victory.” 

Luck tweeted “I remember being very sad. It was a bad day. I played very poorly, but something I learned last year was that my worth as a human was going to be tied into how I did-the result of a football game-then I was going to have, pardon my french, a really shitty life.”

I recently spoke with ThunderRidge Baseball coach, Brad Johnson, and Charlie Ryan, a linebacker for the ThunderRidge football team. The question that was asked was “Do you think that spending more time with the students makes it easier to spot struggling kids?” 

Johnson stated “Hopefully, yes. It is a team effort though, and kids are often reluctant to tell coaches they are struggling, because they are afraid of how it will be perceived. Sometimes teachers, counselors, and parents will see a side of a student that is hidden from coaches, which makes it very difficult to know when they need extra support.” 

While Ryan said “Yes, as long as people are trained to see the signs. If they aren’t, then it doesn’t matter how much time is spent.”

I asked both Ryan and Johnson “if you wanted to teach these students any life lesson what would it be?” 

Johnson responded with “It is ok to ask for help” while Charlie Ryan responded with “As long as fellow athletes know that they have time for themselves. Make time for mental health or you could be damaged by it” 

A Question just for Johnson was  “How do students athletes compared to normal students when it comes to struggling with mental health?” 

Johnson said “Some student athletes feel an added layer of pressure to perform well.  Whether it is from internal or external factors, it can take a toll on them” 

No matter what age you are and no matter who you are, if you don't take a day, or even ten minutes to yourself, it could damage your mental or physical state.