There is Hope for Student Athletes Enduring Mental Illness From External Pressures

This past weekend we celebrated as several local High School Student Athlete standouts that we covered at Kee On Sports, were drafted into the NFL. Medina QB Drew Allar was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Strongsville Mustang Blake Miller went to the Detroit Lions and Glenville Tarblooder Arvil Reese became a New York Giant. After that, Saint Ignatius Wildcat product Aidan Hubbard is headed to the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent.  It was a wonderful feeling seeing those young men’s hard work and passion pay off.

As great as it was, it is far from common.  The odds of that happening when you factor in all off the high school student athletes in the United States alone, is extremely slim.  Approximately 6.5% to 7% of high school players compete at the NCAA level.  Only about 2.6% of high school players make it to NCAA Division I.  Less than 1.6% of NCAA senior football players are drafted by an NFL team.  Out of roughly 1,000,000+ high school players, only about 250–300 are drafted annually.

That’s just football alone, when you factor in all the other sports a kid has the choice to play in now a days is astronomical.  LAX, Tennis, Softball, Rugby, Track and so many others going on in the Spring as we speak.  This doesn’t factor in AAU Basketball which is starting to ramp up it’s head again as well.  Pressures coming at these kids from every which way!  And when you tell a kid, “hey, you’re not getting a summer break, instead you’re playing AAU basketball”, is that really a summer break?

So, this makes me wonder about the pressure put on these kids from a young age, from coaches, parents, travel programs, AAU basketball coaches at times as well.  So much money is spent to get these kids in programs from a young age in the hopes of them, “making it big”.  It is sad, it truly is.

The parents get roped in from false promises of AAU coaches, programs, clubs and so many other avenues that get told they “need to pay into” for their kids to “make it big”.  Again, sometimes it happens and they succeed into D1 College athletics, sadly, more often then not, they don’t.

This causes the parents to think with their hearts and wallets both, signing their kids up for every practice team, program, club, special trainers and everything else under the sun in the hopes that their kid will too be on the pro level one day because the man or woman you just handed a check of $5,000- $7,000 too, told you they would!  Don’t get me wrong, there are quite a few good programs in girls LAX and AAU basketball, but sadly, there are several that are in it for the wrong reasons.

The amount of burnout that is caused by this is insane as student athletes lose their passion to play.  Between parents trying to relive their lost glory years or coaches who just want to improve their own resume, the mental health of the athlete can easily get lost.

Even worse than that is the large amount of High School Student athletes who do make it to D1, but are so burnt out by the time they get there, they barely last a year.  These are young men and women, barely 19 or 20 years old and major universities are counting on them to perform to further their own bottom line.

By the time these kids get to college, their about ready to quit because of burnout.  Approximately 30% to 46% of college student-athletes stop playing their sport before exhausting their four years of eligibility. While many, particularly in high-revenue sports like football and basketball, leave due to injury or burnout, others cite academic pressure or a desire to pursue other interests.  About 15% of scholarship athletes voluntarily walk away from their awards, often due to the intense demands of the sport.

I’ll say it again, there is A LOT of pressure on student athletes for a dream that is more often than not more important to the people around them, then the student athletes themselves. The mind games some coaches play is truly insane.  I’ve even seen AAU coaches tell their young impressionable teenage girls what media outlets to follow and unfollow on social media. Who they can go to school dances with and other area’s of their life they should have no control over or any say in.  Who they date, how much they weigh, the color of their hair.  How in the world is this ok?

I spoke with a parent of a female student athlete who has dealt with some of this in his own home with his daughter, here is what he had to share about the pressures. “Last year it got so bad that the team got together and penned a letter to the AD because of the treatment of the girls. 

Their coach was more concerned with yelling then teaching, some kids needs to be coached not yelled at.  Some girls are told to split time because other girls need time to get a letter, but even that falls into a false promise, which can cause major drama and heartbreak. These coaches cannot make promises and threats to these girls and then not follow through with it.

There was a time when the girls heard their coach tell the other coach the “ my seniors are dead weight”.  It is a different world now and these coaches needs to change their temperament and vision.”  

The biggest thing is the wide variety of sports available for kids now too.  These coaches may not realize they can sour them on a sport easily.  Take spring sports for example, don’t like your softball coach, no problem, go out for track, flag football or LAX, that is just how easy it is to lose a kids passion.

This parent spoke on that as well, “It is already happening on there with the clicks and coaching problems.  These kids lose their willingness to play. They quit a sport they have played for years.’

I spoke to another person who is around High School athletics quite a bit because of her job, and she was also a wealth of knowledge on the pressures these kids face, “I bond with them and it is hard to watch when they get mis coached or screamed at.  I tell them to focus on the good and then go back and work on the negatives.  I get to see a different aspect of the game and it is nearly impossible not to get involved with the coaches, but I don’t.  They push them to hard sometimes, it is not the military, you cannot do that with student athletes.

I’ve seen hardworking kids quit, great athletes because they are so burnt out.  Education is the most important thing and I try to remind these kids of that when their heart is no longer in it.  When they get pushed too hard, I try to remind these kids that sports just get you to college, but education gets you a future.

When I talk to kids who are good enough to be DI athletes but don’t want it to be a full time job, I remind them it is ok to have an offseason too.  They need to relax and recoup and everything else. I tell them to be a kid! They have to find a way to before they burn out. Kids have to be kids first and foremost.

My advice for parents and coaches who simply don’t get it is look at what you are doing to these kids, see the bigger picture!  This is not your accomplishment, not yours. Let the student athlete push themselves, not you.  Build them up, do not put them down. Coaching girls is so difficulty and you need to be a coach, friend and mentor . “

As hard as all of this and the burnout is very real, there is hope for these kids, they have an outlet if they need it in the form of Morgan’s Message. There is a light at the end of the tunnel even when it seems there may not be as mental illness amongst student athletes is at an all time high and so is the suicide rate.  We need an answer for a kid who feel’s as though they don’t have an outlet to turn too, now they do!

Morgan’s Message® is a 501(c)(3) that strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics. They aim to expand the dialogue on mental health by normalizing conversations, empowering those who suffer in silence, and supporting those who feel alone with several programs,

Ambassador Program

Morgan’s Message® Education Program supports motivated students to become active leaders and advocates of student-athlete mental health on their campus and in their communities.

The Mental Matchup® is a podcast and blog series where we share stories about the mental health journeys of fellow athletes. We hope that it will provide a safe space for processing difficult topics and emotions, and make people feel less alone.

Morgan’s Message® At-Large Ambassador Program brings together mental health advocates and empowers them to share Morgan’s Message within their communities and advocating through specialized Ambassador Groups.

Morgan was a beloved daughter, sister, friend and teammate. A tenacious individual, she gave 100 percent of herself to every passion, project and person she encountered. In the classroom, Morgan was a bright student with limitless curiosity; on the field, a talented athlete with relentless drive; in her sketchbook, a gifted artist with keen attention to detail; and in all spaces, a fiercely loyal friend. It is this depth of character that provided encouragement and inspiration to so many, but it was her contagious laugh and infectious energy that embody Morgan’s irreplaceability. If music was playing, she was dancing — and bringing everyone to the dance floor with her.

As an underclassman in high school, several high-caliber programs recruited Morgan to play Division I Women’s Lacrosse. Morgan knew she wanted to play at the highest level the sport could offer while earning a world-class education. Her dream came true in the fall of 2014 when she accepted an offer to play for the Duke University Women’s Lacrosse Team. Still, her vibrant personality and daily life included a reality less visible to the outside world. During her senior year, Morgan began to experience high levels of anxiety; however, she received tremendous support and professional help that proved beneficial at that time. Despite the challenges in her life, never had Morgan been so optimistic about her future as a Blue Devil. She was eager and well-equipped for a successful college experience.

In January 2017, just before the beginning of her sophomore season, Morgan endured a dream-shattering knee injury. She spent the next 12 months determined to return to the field, undergoing surgery and dedicating herself to an intensive rehabilitation program. Morgan struggled with this abrupt change because she felt she had lost control within her life. As a result, Morgan’s self-worth plummeted. While she presented a strong, happy and resilient face to her community, she grappled with feeling that she was not living up to her expectations. Her feelings of isolation from the team and stress caused by other relationship issues accelerated the return of anxiety and depression. This time, Morgan chose to suffer in silence, keeping family and friends in the dark as she battled her mental health.

As a result, Morgan died by suicide July 11, 2019 at the age of 22.

Although her life was cut way too short, Morgan’s legacy of unconditional love remains. Her energy empowers those she has left behind to transform devastation into action.

We elevate her story to provide a platform where others feel safe to share their own, be a catalyst for change within our mental healthcare systems and foster a community for which tomorrow always exists. Morgan’s Message is clear: as an athlete, there is no shame in seeking physical healthcare — the same should be true for mental healthcare. In order to close the gap, we must eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health together.

YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT MORGAN’S MESSAGE HERE – https://www.morgansmessage.org/