The effects that sports have on DeMatha athletes

Mental health affects many people at DeMatha and sometimes it is hard to notice. Poor mental health among athletes is common and often overlooked. Some people may be worried about whether they will be good at the sport they spent their whole life pursuing, or others may be stressed out from the amount of work they are putting in.

My basketball teammate Jeremiah agrees with me. Sometimes he has problems like overthinking during the season. This overthinking could take a toll on his mental state. Jeremiah says he gets nervous about how he has to show up every game and remain consistent. He also worries about executing his role as one of the top players on the team and following through with helping his team get the win. He says he sets goals to achieve during the game to avoid overthinking when he is playing.

Not only does mental health take place in basketball, it takes place in football too. The football program makes varsity players practice late and this might take a toll on some of the players. Varsity football player Darian, elaborates on how that affects his mental health. He says that since it is time consuming it results in him not being able to manage his time. He gets behind on homework and has to stay up late finishing it. As a result, he does not get much sleep and this takes a toll on him. Darian is also a senior, and football puts him behind on choosing what colleges he wants to attend in the future. This also may have him staying up late which results in less sleep. All of these factors may worsen his mental state.

Sports could have an impact on your mental health negatively. The stress of performing, overthinking if one is good or not, and staying up late to manage time due to practice everyday can take a toll on athletes. Things like limiting the time spent on a sport or going to therapy could help these athletes