Embracing the Conversation of Mental Health in Athletics
We should prioritize our health and wellness, which will give us the best shot at fending off the virus, and we should do our best to adhere to public health recommendations, which will give us the best shot at limiting the spread of the virus.
We have to frame COVID as an essential public health concern, but not the only public health concern. This is a moment to maintain thoughtful perspective, not entrench ourselves in one side of the discussion or other.
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by Janzen Harding It’s a tough time to be a competitive athlete. Due to COVID-19, professional athletes are facing fan-less stadiums, entire seasons have been postponed or cancelled, and many high school athletes are wondering whether they will get a chance to compete for a championship or play for recruiting scouts. Training schedules have been…
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By Jeremy Weber Two double cheeseburgers, ten spicy nuggets, a large fry and a large soda. This was the typical Wendy’s order I’d shame-eat most nights when I was sitting in my car outside of my apartment. For the better part of a year this ritual was the only thing that made me happy, and…
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By Gabriel Villarreal There are a number of ways you can coach a child with ADHD or that is suspected to have ADHD. It seems like every year I change my approach to programming for this population, but it always works, and the updates are always based on new research or from my own sample…
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Skip Bayless made headlines this week with his callous response to a professional athlete’s mental health concern. Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott admitted that when the quarantine first began he struggled with anxiety, loneliness, and depression. Bayless wasn’t having it. “I don’t have sympathy for him going public with, ‘I got depressed. I suffered depression early…
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By Ben Skutnik All of my life, those that sat in the role of coach or mentor have described me as someone who was “driven”. Whether it was in the high school weight room, competing as an All-American swimmer in college, or as a graduate student. A strong internal drive is often seen as a…
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At the most recent MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that many NBA players are experiencing increased anxiety which is “a direct result of social media… they’re truly unhappy.” Charles Barkley, during an interview on the ESPN show, Get Up, scoffed at the idea. He suggested that Silver’s comment was “the…
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by Annie Gerdes As a soccer coach who is also pursuing a master’s in clinical mental health counseling, this subject hits me very close to home. Throughout my life I have dealt with depression and anxiety and sports helped me cope and survive day to day. I have learned to manage my depression and anxiety…
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Author: Ryan J. Faer In February of 2018, I sat in the office of the Director of Player Development for the Cleveland Indians, ready to share with him something that very few people knew: I was there to tell this man, our Farm Director, that I had depression. In fact, much of my life to…
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Death by suicide is a complicated occurrence which often leaves loved ones saddened and confused. The on-paper version of Tyler Hilinski’s passing is no exception: tall, bright, likeable young man playing quarterback in the Pac10. He leaves behind a loving family and host of friends who will miss him dearly. So what went wrong? Many recent…
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Team Embrace 