Although I am not a college athlete, I actively participate in a high school sport as a varsity cross-country runner. This paper serves as a reflection of my personal experiences with stressors and their correlation with sports and overall mental health. Sutcliffe and Greenberger (2020) identified a number of stressors that can affect college athletes: peer pressures; the need to please family, friends, and coaches; high expectations; time management; and fear of injury or illness. Personally, I have encountered several of these pressures throughout my athletic career and have observed them in others. A high percentage of my sports anxiety is derived by the surrounding expectations of others. Sports anxiety is generally defined as a tendency to perceive competitive situations as threatening accompanied with feelings of apprehension and tension. Furthermore, stress results from the imbalance between the perceived demands and athlete’s perceived ability to respond (Patel, Omar, & Terry, 2010).

Athletes may believe they must perform at a certain level to please their family, teammates, or coaches. Although this desire to please others can motivate athletes, it can also lead to resenting the people they are trying to satisfy. Races have always been a significant source of stress for me as a result of self-expectations to perform at a certain level. Prior to a race, I would constantly focus on the amount of pain I had to endure while running, as well as the emotions I would face if I let anyone down. Fortunately, my parents have given me complete freedom to choose how I perform; however, I know other athletes whose parents are very harsh on them if they do not meet their high standards. 

During the summer before my senior year, I had the opportunity to study psychology through an online college course. In this course, we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of punishment versus reinforcement. In simple terms, punishment is a consequence that serves to reduce a certain behavior, whereas reinforcement is a consequence that serves to increase a certain behavior. In the example above, the parents who held high expectations for their child used verbal punishment to push their child to satisfy their standards. Although punishment has proven to be effective in altering one’s behavior, it has had several detrimental effects. The consequences of using punishment can foster fear in a child that could stay with them into adulthood and potentially negatively impact their relationship with their parents. Punishment can also lead to more aggression and make kids and/or teenagers more prone to delinquency. Although this is not the case with every punishment, parents should be wary of the possible drawbacks of their actions (Spielman et al., 2017).

I want to clarify my meaning for this reflection. I am not saying no one should play a sport because of the potential effects it will have on one’s mental health. I am saying the stressors kids feel towards sports are real and should not be overlooked. I am hoping this discussion may allow others to see differently and broaden their view on the reality of the situation by putting sports in their proper perspective. Perhaps athletes will be able to relate to one another regarding the pressures they feel, or parents will better understand how certain expectations can impact their child’s wellbeing. However, there are obvious benefits of athletics as well. They can provide an escape, a way to feel accomplished, and/or improve one’s overall health. Participating in a sport is a wonderful thing, but there are associated stressors that athletes feel. I am specifically discussing the part that goes unspoken, which leads kids to resent their sport rather than find enjoyment in it.

Another point I want to discuss is daily stressors and the activities children/teenagers deal with that do not involve sports. Kids have a daily responsibility to attend school and maintain a certain grade point average to further their academic career. School is a major catalyst for one’s anxiety considering the numerous assignments, tests, socialization, etc. Not to mention the physical and mental exhaustion that accompanies 6–8 hours of learning and insufficient sleep. Some kids also have troubles at home, strained relationships with friends, and overall poor mental health. This is a lot to take on for any person; therefore, the culmination of all these aspects can easily overwhelm someone and lead to periods of distress. On a more consequential tone, the continuation of these profound feelings can result in a declining mental health and potentially a mental illness. Because the result of stressors has proven to be grave for certain people, I believe it is important to first acknowledge and discuss it. Gustafsson, Sagar, and Stenling (2017) reported that fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment had a statistically significant effect on perceived psychological stress and one dimension of burnout, which led to a reduced sense of accomplishment. In the end, the cultivation of open conversation provides a welcoming place for youth to relate their feelings and hopefully find solace to improve their mental health.

References 

Gustafsson, H., Sagar, S. S., & Stenling, A. (2017). Fear of failure, psychological stress, and burnout among adolescent athletes competing in high level sport. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 27(12), 2091–2102. doi-org.ezproxy.uttyler.edu/10.1111/sms.12797

Patel, D. R., Omar, H., & Terry, M. (2010). Sport-related performance anxiety in young female athletes. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, 23(6), 325–335. doi-org.ezproxy.uttyler.edu/10.1016/j.jpag.2010.04.004

Spielman, R. M., Dumper, K., Jenkins, W., Lacombe, A., Lovett, M., Perlmutter, M., & OpenStax College. (2017). Psychology.  Retrieved from openstax.org/books/psychology/pages/preface.

Sutcliffe, J. H., & Greenberger, P. A. (2020). Identifying psychological difficulties in college athletes. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 8(7), 2216–2219. doi-org.ezproxy.uttyler.edu/10.1016/j.jaip.2020.03.006