Sports and Mental Health

                  Last week was National Girls and Women in Sport Day.  I want to take this opportunity to discuss mental health and sports.  There is research that indicates that exercise is beneficial to mental health.  I am not going to cite research.  Anyone who wants to learn more about that can do a simple Google search.  I want to focus more on the reality I have experienced and witnessed. 

                  From a personal perspective, I know my depression improves when I am taking regular walks.  Dr. Klein often encourages me to go for a walk.  He is usually right.  It improves my mood.  Sometimes the improvement is significant.  Other times it is slight.  Regardless, it is helpful.  Unfortunately, because of my cancer treatment my ability to go for walks has been negatively impacted.  I am working on building up my endurance because I know it will help me.  

                  For several years I was a high school coach.  I also worked basketball camps during summers while I was in college.  My win/loss record does not stand out, but I believe I was successful as a coach because I focused on building self-esteem in my athletes.  I shared a philosophy with the teenagers on my team.  It was simple.  “Believe in yourself.”  I explained to them that this meant to believe in themselves in good times and in bad.  One play didn’t define them as a person or as an athlete.  There would always be the next play.

                  Opportunities in sport for women and girls have multiplied greatly from the time I was growing up.  Women and girls are making strides that I never dreamed possible.  This gives the younger generation hope.  There are more female role models for girls now.  When I was a kid, Larry Bird was my basketball role model.  There just were not well-known female athletes to aspire to be like.  Now, girls can look up to Sue Bird, A’ja Wilson, Megan Rapinoe, Serena Williams, and so many others.  Having someone of the same gender to look up to is affirming for girls. 

                  From a mental health perspective, I am happy to hear many of these female sport stars (yes, there are men, too) who are not afraid to talk about their mental health.  Athletes like WNBA stars Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson are open about their mental health.  Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka have spoken about taking care of their mental health.  The courage these women have in sharing their stories helps girls who are growing up playing a sport.  It is giving young athletes encouragement to address their own mental health.

                  I look at my niece, who is a college softball player.  I see all the effort she puts into her sport.  I am grateful that there are strong role models for her.  I hope that she sees that if she struggles with mental health, she is not alone and can still be successful in the sport arena.  

                  Being an athlete takes mental and physical strength.  I am amazed by the women (and men) who can be open about their mental health while competing.  Recently, Kelsey Plum, the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball, shared the impact her pursuit of that record had on her.  She didn’t stop there. She urged people to respect the impact the chase could be having on Caitlin Clark, who is chasing her record.  The world of sport needs more understanding of mental health.  We all see the accolades of athletes, but we don’t always see the struggle, both mental and physical, that goes on behind the scenes. 

                  Back to my niece.  She grew up on the dirt softball fields as star catcher.  To be in the position she is in she had to work hard.  That hard work is more than just catching and batting practice.  She has to believe in herself.  She had to learn to deal with moments of doubt.  I hope that the athletes she looks up to have taught her that she needs to care for her mental health on the field and in life as much as she develops her physical prowess.  I hope that maybe she reads this blog and knows that her aunt is here if she ever needs help with the mental health aspect of the game and more importantly, life.  

                  I was lucky to find two mentors in basketball who taught me as much, if not more, about the mental aspects of life as they taught me about the game.  I met Pam Martin and Carol Harrison when I was an 18-year-old college student.  Over 30 years later Pam and I still talk all the time.  I still learn from her.  We talk basketball and enjoy watching women’s collegiate basketball and the WNBA grow.  More importantly we talk about life.  We encourage and support each other.  Not a day goes by that I don’t miss Carol.  She passed away a few years ago, but I still hear her voice encouraging me.  Sport brought Pam and Carol into my life when I was struggling with my mental health.  I can only hope that I have helped others the way they helped me.  I hope that there are a lot of Pam and Carols out there giving young athletes hope. 

                  National Girls and Women in Sport Day is chance to focus on all the aspects of a female athlete’s life.  The game, no matter the sport, is just as much mental as it is physical.  Learning to deal with the mental aspects of sport can benefit us in how we deal with the mental aspects of life.   Sport does have a physical effect on our mental health, but I believe the confidence and mental strength it builds in an athlete is just as important.  Sport teaches us to deal with struggle and loss.  It teaches us to set goals and work towards them.  At times that goal is going to be to take care of our mental health.  What a gift it is to young girls playing a sport to have athletic role models who understand their struggles and are open about what they have gone through.  Thank you to those athletes who share their mental health stories and are role models to countless young athletes and fans.