I sat down at the table in the boardroom. I was always nervous for this portion of interviews, you never knew who the people were asking you questions, if they already had a candidate in mind, etc. Had I drank too much water? Would I need to run out to the bathroom first? Did I not drink ENOUGH water? Would I run out of breath talking and start coughing. The rep from HR started with her question.
"As a coach, have you ever talked to a student-athlete about something other than their sport"
Looking puzzled"...um. Yes?"
She looked back semi-shocked that I answered in the affirmative, "Well, why?"
Laughed, looks at her semi accusatory"You've never coached college athletes before, have you"
I didn't get that job, but would still respond the same way. As college coaches actual "coaching" is a small percentage of what I do on a daily basis. Sure there is recruiting, travel, budget, equipment, the meetings, checking grades, more meetings, facilities, meetings about the facilities etc. I'm referring more towards the growth of the student-athletes and more specifically their social and psychological growth.
30% of college students have reported depression in a 12 month period and at least 50% have reported a high amount of anxiety (Ann Kearns Davoren and Seunghyun Hwang, Mind, Body, and sport: Depression and Anxiety Prevalence in Student-Athletes). As I coach at a University where a vast majority of students are also Student-Athletes, these percentages ensure that a large number of these athletes will have some mental-health issues at some point in their careers. As coaches we are told on an almost daily basis that "They are STUDENT-athletes, make sure to emphasize the STUDENT", which is true. In a sport like track and field where there is not much money to be had post-collegiately, and a very small percentage of student-athletes actually move on to the Olympics and sponsorships, a degree is very important. However, many student-athletes will tell you that part of the anxiety that comes from college life stems from them feeling "alone". Not just alone because they are away from home the first time, or maybe they have never been too social, but alone from the stand-point that no one listens to them, and they feel as though they cannot communicate to anyone how they are feeling. Being someone they can talk to often falls on being the responsibility of the coach.
Do not get my statement confused, however, this doesn't mean to become a "Friend Coach", because anyone that has spoken to me knows how I feel about that particular breed of coach, but it means to make yourself available if any issues arise. And trust me, issues will arise. Look for a few warning signs,
Suddenly tired and fatigued
Injury prone or seeming never ending soreness
Suddenly irritable or mood swings
Sports Performance dropping off
Tardiness, both at practices and classes
There are others as well, but these are generally the ones I see pop up. And I know, some of these behaviors an athlete might exhibit every single day because, well, that isn't a mental health issue, it simply is someone that isn't mature enough yet to be a student-athlete. But if someone on your squad suddenly starts exhibiting these qualities try to set up a time to talk to them. Most of the time they won't seek you out for a conversation, so you need to be vigilant and patient with them, and that all begins with trust-building. During one of the coaching courses, building trust was listed as one of the primary focuses of early season training. The main logic at the time was to establish trust so that if you change training one day, or ask them to do a very complicated or difficult workout they will "buy in" without arguement, but in terms of establishing yourself as a trusted member of the college community to confide it, it works the same way.
I could drone on about this topic for quite some time, but I wanted to keep this post brief, so now I will just touch quickly on mental health of you, as a coach, also. A coach whom I greatly respect talked about this topic at the end of a presentation and it perfectly described me sometimes. He stressed how stressful it is to be a coach. Apparently only nurses have a higher amount of anxiety and stress in their lives according to one study (couldn't find the study so take it with a grain of salt, that is just what was told to me). He described how some of the best coaches end up gaining weight, abusing substances and/or alcohol, falling into depression and having relationship issues because of the pressure they feel to make a positive impact in their student-athletes lives. I have noticed (and let's face it, experienced) the same thing. Sometimes the happiest coaches are the "worst" in terms of actual coaching for this very reason, and the most irritable, most stressed coaches are the best. An athlete asked me once if I enjoy meets now because I don't compete, I said no. I told them...
"Imagine how much emotion you put into your event, and how much emotion you go through after your event depending if you do well or poorly...now imagine having to go through that 100 times for different athletes every meet". Sounds a bit over-dramatic but it's true. Most meets, I will fall asleep around 7:30pm afterwards just from the amount of stress and how drained I feel afterwards, and a huge amount of coaches I know and respect are the same way. It is terribly draining to be the rudder for a ship, making sure everything stays on course. So for 2018, as well as making sure your athletes are mentally healthy, take care of your own mental health as well. Know when to slow things down a bit, set aside time for your own workouts, training, entertaining. And sometimes, most importantly, know when to just turn it off and step back for a bit. The #1 factor that student-athletes said affected meet and practice performance was the mood of their coach, so sometimes it isn't the athletes mental state that is hurting things, it's yours. Happy New Years!!!!....PS...Go Eagles...Dallas Sucks.
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