Sports have many positive impacts on people, from strengthening bones and muscles to reducing stress. However, these activities can also negatively impact athletes in a variety of ways, whether injuries, unhappiness with their own performances, time management struggles, or pressure from coaches and parents. For many student-athletes whose participation in sports is a part of their daily life, an injury may not only inflict physical pain but also mentally drain them.
When student-athletes get injured, they often face a disconnect from their teammates and suddenly have lots of free time they don’t know how to fill. Tracy Klein, a former student-athlete and varsity tennis coach at Hewitt, agreed saying, “I feel that there is a decline in mental health [of the student following an injury] as they feel they are letting the team down by not being able to partake in their sport. Also, without the daily outlet of their sport, part of their life is taken away from them.”
Hewitt’s school counselors, Amy Nichols and Christina Daly explain “that it can be disappointing for a number of reasons when one of our athletes gets injured. It can be hard when your expectations of what your season is going to look like (or even your daily activities) have to shift.”
Moreover, many student-athletes find their participation in sports to be mentally draining, even when they are able to play. Some students struggle with more time management challenges during the season than they regularly do. Conversely, other student-athletes find themselves more productive during their sports season as they know what their schedule will be in advance.
The stressor for every student-athlete is different. Klein says that she was “always more energetic and positive even with having less time in a day. That was a strong part of being active and having my teammates by my side. On tough days, I was able to lean on them, and they were able to boost me up. In addition, being a student-athlete always helped me better manage time so I wouldn’t have as much stress about getting work done last minute because it was always scheduled and completed in advance. That helped alleviate some stress, which ultimately benefited my mental health.”
In all, the toll or benefit sports can have on student-athletes is subjective and varies from person to person. That said, those looking to pick up a sport should evaluate their time management skills, how their schedule can best operate, what it means to them to be part of a team, and the pros/cons of exercise. On the other hand, those of you struggling to maintain a productive schedule with your respective sport should evaluate what the sport and team mean to you, how exercise benefits your livelihood, and if you should rearrange your schedule to best support your physical and mental health. If you’re looking for a place to start, feel free to lean on your friends, as Klein mentioned, or reach out to Hewitt’s Learning Specialist, Leslie Rapchik, who has successfully helped many Hewitt School students set up productive and beneficial week-by-week schedules for themselves.