Mental Health and Sports - Under Pressure, by Kimberly Koland

If you’ve ever sat in the stands and watched a teenager lace up their cleats, step onto the field, or stand nervously on a starting block, you know the feeling, that mix of pride and hope. We cheer for them. We post pictures. We dream big dreams, but behind the highlights and medals, many of our young athletes are carrying a weight we don’t see.

This season of life, adolescence, is already a whirlwind. Emotions are intense. Identity is still forming. And for kids involved in sports, there’s an added layer: the pressure to perform. It can be thrilling, but it can also break them down.

We talk a lot about strength in sports, but not often about the silent kind—the kind it takes to deal with anxiety before a big game, to manage disappointment after a loss, or to recover mentally from an injury. And we rarely talk about what happens when that pressure becomes too much.

The Stats Are Real, But So Are the Stories

Nearly 8 million teens in the U.S. participate in high school sports. But one in three of them is also struggling with anxiety or depression. Those numbers spiked during the pandemic and haven’t dropped.

Different Pressures for Different Kids

Girls in sports, especially those where appearance matters, face pressures around body image and eating that can be dangerously invisible. More than a third report disordered eating patterns, and often, it’s brushed off as “part of the game.”

Boys, on the other hand, are taught early to toughen up and to keep emotions off the field. A recent survey found that less than a third of male athletes feel safe talking about their mental health. Vulnerability shouldn’t be a penalty.

And then there are the injuries...

It’s not just about a torn ACL or a fractured wrist; it’s what gets taken away with it. For many teens, sports aren’t just what they do. It’s who they are. When an injury sidelines them, even temporarily, they lose structure, identity, and often their sense of belonging. Depression and anxiety aren’t far behind.

So, how do we help them carry the weight better?

We start by being the kind of grown-ups who see the whole kid, not just the player.

• We create room for mental health in athletic programs, not as an afterthought, but as part of the foundation • We teach coaches, mentors, and parents to recognize signs of stress, burnout, and depression.
• We permit our kids to rest.
• We encourage them to build identities beyond sports—to discover their gifts, their relationships, and their worth.

Organizations like The Hidden Opponent and Athletes for Hope are doing incredible work to make space for athlete voices and stories. They’re helping kids see they’re not alone, and that strength doesn’t always mean staying silent.

At the USA Cup, a soccer competition in Blaine, Minnesota, knows this. For the past four years, they have had a mental health initiative, which includes a mental health focus day and a partnership with the US Center of Mental Health and Sport. They work alongside players and coaches and provide resources for mental health, including a Speak Up Day in which local mental health organizations are invited to participate as well as providing mental health awareness certification for teams through an offered class.

Our kids are worth more than their stats. Let’s be the ones who remind them that it’s okay to ask for help. That their value doesn’t come from a scoreboard and that thriving, not just winning, is the goal.

We don’t just need stronger athletes, we need healthier humans.

Sources:

1. National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
   • NFHS. (2023). High School Athletics Participation Survey.
   • https://www.nfhs.org
   • Details the number and demographics of U.S. high school athletes.
   
   

2. Journal of Adolescent Health
   • McGuine, T. A., Biese, K. M., Petrovska, L., et al. (2021). Mental Health of Adolescents in Sports During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
   • Journal of Adolescent Health, 68(4), 739–744.
   • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.01.003
   • Found 1 in 3 youth athletes reported anxiety or depression during the pandemic.
   
   

3. Journal of Athletic Training
   • Brewer, B. W. (2019). Case Study: Performance Anxiety and Burnout in a High School Athlete.
   • Journal of Athletic Training, 54(7), 720–728.
   
   

4. National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
   • NEDA. (2022). Athletes and Eating Disorders.
   • https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
   • Over 33% of female athletes reported disordered eating symptoms.
   
   

5. The JED Foundation
   • JED. (2022). Mental Health and High School Athletes: Survey Findings.
   • https://jedfoundation.org
   • Found only 27% of male student-athletes felt comfortable talking about mental health.
   
   

6. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine
   • Yang, J., Schaefer, J. T., Zhang, N., et al. (2020). Depression and Anxiety Among Injured Adolescent Athletes: A Longitudinal Study.
   • Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 30(2), 120–125.
   • Found up to 45% of injured athletes showed signs of depression post-injury.
   
   

7. The Hidden Opponent
   • https://www.thehiddenopponent.com
   • A nonprofit advocacy group founded by former collegiate athlete Victoria Garrick, focusing on student-athlete mental health.

8. Athletes for Hope
   •https://www.athletesforhope.org
   • A nonprofit that connects athletes with causes, including youth mental health advocacy and awareness programs.