Student Athlete Mental Health
Stress, Anxiety & Performance Pressure
By: Alyson Miller, MS
I’ve been a school counselor long enough to watch a lot of kids try to do everything at once. Classes, homework, practices, games, friendships, family responsibilities, and the regular messiness of being a teenager can already fill a student’s schedule. Adding competitive sports to that mix can make student athlete mental health a complicated issue.
There are expectations to perform, maintain a starting position, meet academic responsibilities, and avoid letting other people down. Coaches and parents can contribute to those expectations, but students often place plenty of pressure on themselves. They want to show that they care about their sport and their team. A difficult game or mistake can leave them wondering whether they are good enough or whether they still belong.
The difficult part is that emotional struggles aren't always visible. A student might walk into school smiling, participate in class, go to practice, and appear completely fine while privately questioning themselves.
Sports can be an incredibly positive part of growing up. I’ve watched students find close friendships through their teams, develop confidence, learn how to handle setbacks, and discover a place where they feel accepted. At the same time, athletes can experience anxiety, depression, burnout, and other mental health concerns.
Understanding what student athletes are carrying emotionally allows parents, coaches, educators, and counselors to support more than just the athlete's performance. Compass Counseling and Associates is available to help students and families navigate these concerns and find appropriate support.
Why Student Athlete Mental Health Matters
Student athlete mental health involves much more than feeling nervous before a competition. It includes the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of students who participate in sports.
Every athlete experiences that world differently.
A student might feel butterflies before a big game and settle down once competition begins. Another student may experience racing thoughts throughout the entire event. Someone else could be dealing with depression, burnout, an eating concern, or the emotional effects of an injury.
Two athletes can share a team, practice together every day, and play the same sport while having completely different experiences.
Athletic success can also make mental health struggles harder to notice. A student who starts every game may still be struggling internally. Good grades, strong work ethic, and confidence on the field do not necessarily tell us what is happening emotionally.
Sports culture can add another layer to the problem.
Athletes are often taught that toughness means pushing through pain and continuing when circumstances become difficult. Those qualities can certainly be valuable. There is also a point when perseverance can turn into ignoring a problem that needs attention.
Young athletes are still developing emotionally and learning how to understand their thoughts and feelings. A mistake that an adult may see as a normal part of competition can feel much bigger to a teenager. Cognitive patterns can also contribute. A missed shot can become, “I'm terrible.” A bad race can turn into, “I'm not good enough.” A difficult performance may begin to feel like evidence that they don't belong.
When Athletic Performance Becomes Part of Self-Worth
There is a meaningful difference between:
“I had a bad game.”
and:
“I'm a bad athlete.”
The first describes an experience. The second turns that experience into a judgment about identity.
Research has found that adolescents involved in organized sports tend to report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who are not involved in organized sports (Panza et al., 2020). Sports can provide connection, structure, confidence, and a sense of belonging. Those benefits matter.
They don't make athletes immune to mental health struggles.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has also recognized the tension between the benefits of sports and concerns such as perfectionism, pressure, and serious injuries (Kinsella & Swanlund, 2022).
For the adults supporting student athletes, it is worth looking beyond the scoreboard and paying attention to how the student is actually doing.
A Mental Health Check-In for Student Athletes
Take about a minute before continuing.
Place both feet on the floor and take one slow breath in. Then slowly breathe out.
Ask yourself:
What am I feeling right now?
Where do I notice that feeling in my body?
What pressure am I carrying?
Is all of that pressure actually mine?
Then consider this question:
If my teammate were feeling this way, what would I say to them?
I’ve noticed that students are often much more compassionate toward teammates than they are toward themselves.
A teammate misses a shot, and they may respond with, “Shake it off. You've got the next one.”
After making the same mistake themselves, that same student may begin questioning their ability, their future, or whether they belong on the team.
When I ask what they would say to a friend who had done exactly what they just did, students often pause. Most already know the answer.
The challenge is remembering that they deserve the same kindness they would readily offer someone else.
Strategies for Managing Student Athlete Stress and Anxiety
Separate Athletic Performance From Self-Worth
A performance represents one moment. It cannot tell the entire story of who a person is.
A missed shot, disappointing race, difficult loss, or injury can feel enormous, particularly when other people are watching. The concern arises when that single experience becomes proof that an athlete is not good enough.
When a student says, “I played terribly, so everyone probably thinks I'm terrible,” we can slow the thought down.
What actually happened?
What evidence supports that belief?
What evidence challenges it?
What would you tell a teammate who had the same experience?
The goal isn't to convince the athlete that the performance didn't matter. If they care deeply about their sport, disappointment is a natural response.
The healthier skill is learning to acknowledge disappointment without turning it into a permanent label.
Instead of:
“I played terribly, so I'm terrible.”
A more balanced response might be:
“I didn't perform the way I wanted today, but one performance doesn't define me.”
Manage Pre-Game Anxiety and Performance Pressure
Nervousness before competition is normal.
For some athletes, it shows up as racing thoughts. Others notice shaky hands, a fast heartbeat, sweaty palms, or an uncomfortable feeling in their stomach.
Trying to force those sensations away can make them more noticeable. A simple breathing exercise can help the body settle. Try breathing in for four seconds and then breathing out for six. Repeat the pattern several times.
The purpose isn't to eliminate every nervous feeling before competition. Athletes can learn to recognize those sensations and still perform effectively.
Rather than thinking:
“I can't be nervous.”
Try:
“I can be nervous and still do what I need to do.”
Focus on What You Can Control
Athletes can spend enormous amounts of energy thinking about things outside their control.
Playing time, referees, rankings, other players, coaching decisions, the final score, and other people's opinions can all become sources of stress.
It helps to separate those concerns from the things an athlete can actually manage.
Things I can control:
My effort
My preparation
My attitude
How I communicate
My sleep
How I respond to mistakes
How I treat my teammates
Whether I seek support when I need it
Things I can't control:
A referee's call
Another player's performance
Someone else's opinion
The final score
Another athlete's playing time
A coach's decision
The things outside our control still matter. A referee's call can change a game. A coach's decision can affect an athlete. Losing can hurt.
Recognizing that reality allows students to put their energy toward preparation, effort, communication, recovery, and how they respond.
Talk Honestly About Student Athlete Mental Health
Many athletes hesitate to discuss mental health because they worry about how other people will respond.
A student might fear that a coach will see them as weak or question their commitment. They may worry about how teammates will react. Some even expect their parents to tell them to work harder or simply get over it.
The NCAA Student-Athlete Health and Wellness Study included responses from more than 23,000 student-athletes across all three divisions. The study found that academics, planning for the future, and finances were among the major stressors affecting student-athlete mental health.
Those concerns exist alongside athletics.
A student may be struggling with grades, family problems, college decisions, friendships, relationships, exhaustion, or something they cannot quite identify.
They do not need a perfect explanation before starting a conversation.
They might simply say:
“I've been feeling more overwhelmed lately, and I don't really know what to do about it.”
That is enough to begin.
A trusted adult, school counselor, coach, parent, or mental health professional can help the student understand what is happening and determine what type of support would be appropriate.
Remember That Rest Is Part of Training
Rest matters.
That includes physical recovery as well as mental recovery.
A student athlete's day can be packed from morning until night. Classes, homework, practices, workouts, games, travel, studying, and other responsibilities leave little time when the student isn't expected to accomplish something.
Young people need time when they aren't performing for anyone.
Sleep matters. So do friendships, family relationships, hobbies, and activities that have nothing to do with athletics.
Recovery isn't wasted time. It is part of caring for the person behind the performance.
Your Sport Doesn't Define Your Identity
There is a question I’ve asked athletes that can make them pause:
“If sports disappeared tomorrow, who would you still be?”
For a student who has played the same sport for years, that can be difficult to answer.
Athletics may shape their friendships, schedule, goals, and plans for the future. It might even be the first thing other people know about them.
Sports can be an important part of identity without becoming the entire identity.
A student can be an athlete while also being a friend, sibling, student, musician, artist, employee, volunteer, or simply someone who enjoys spending time with friends.
Those other identities become especially meaningful when something goes wrong in sports. An injury, loss of a starting position, failure to make a team, or decision to stop playing can feel devastating when athletics represents nearly everything.
The other parts of who they are remain.
Nervousness can also be viewed differently. Feeling anxious before an important competition does not automatically mean something is wrong. It can reflect how much the outcome matters.
The goal isn't to eliminate every uncomfortable emotion. Learning how to experience those feelings without allowing them to take over is a more realistic and useful skill.
Asking for Help Doesn't Make You Less of an Athlete
Support can be part of that process. Reaching out doesn't mean an athlete has stopped caring about their sport. It means they have recognized that something is affecting them and deserves attention.
One of the hardest things for a student to say may also be one of the simplest:
“I'm struggling.”
Those words can open the door to an important conversation.
Signs a Student Athlete May Need Mental Health Support
Stress is a normal part of being a student and an athlete. There are also situations in which a student may need additional support.
Parents, coaches, teachers, counselors, and other adults should pay attention to significant changes, including:
Losing interest in sports or activities they previously enjoyed
Major changes in sleep or appetite
Ongoing sadness, anxiety, anger, or irritability
Extreme fear of making mistakes
Constant perfectionism or self-criticism
Pulling away from friends or family
Significant changes in grades or school performance
Difficulty functioning at school, home, or practice
Signs of burnout
Difficulty coping after an injury
Talking about hopelessness, self-harm, or suicide
Research involving student athletes has also identified injuries, sleep, and social support as important factors in athlete mental health.
That is one reason it is so important to look at the whole student instead of focusing only on performance.
When Student Athlete Mental Health Requires Immediate Support
If a student talks about suicide or self-harm, the concern should always be taken seriously. The student should be connected with appropriate professional or emergency support immediately rather than being expected to manage the situation alone.
Student Athlete Mental Health: Supporting the Whole Student
Being an athlete can be a meaningful part of growing up.
Sports create friendships, teach discipline, and give young people opportunities to experience failure, persistence, teamwork, and achievement. For many students, those experiences stay with them long after their playing days are over.
There will also be difficult days.
Mistakes happen. Games are lost. Injuries occur. Expectations aren't always met. Students become disappointed, anxious, stressed, or uncertain about themselves.
I’ve seen students who appear completely confident struggle with things they never talk about. I’ve also seen the difference that can occur when a student finally feels safe enough to say, “I'm not doing okay.”
That conversation can be where support begins.
As a school counselor, I believe one of the most valuable messages we can give student athletes is that their value reaches far beyond what happens during a competition.
Hard work and competition can remain important. Goals can still be ambitious, and winning can still feel good.
Students also deserve room to rest, recover, talk honestly about what they are experiencing, and get support when life starts feeling like too much.
Caring about a sport and caring about mental health do not have to compete with each other. Both deserve attention.
If you or your child is dealing with athlete anxiety, burnout, performance pressure, or the challenge of balancing sports, school, and everyday life, Compass Counseling and Associates is here to help.
Reaching out can be a first step toward helping a student feel understood and supported while learning how to manage the demands of athletics, school, and everyday life.
References
Brenner, J. S., LaBella, C. R., & Brooks, M. A. (2024). Depression, anxiety and stress among female student athletes: A systematic review and meta analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 58(9), 521–530. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-107328
Kinsella, S. B., & Swanlund, C. J. (2022, August 22). How we can support the mental health of young athletes. American Academy of Pediatrics.
National Collegiate Athletic Association. (2023). Student athlete health and wellness study. NCAA.
Panza, M. J., Graupensperger, S., Agans, J. P., Doré, I., Vella, S. A., & Evans, M. B. (2020). Adolescent sport participation and symptoms of anxiety and depression: A systematic review and meta analysis. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 42(3), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2019-0235
