Mental Health for Runners

Up to 44% of student-athletes report daily mental health symptoms, with anxiety and depression at 1.5-2x higher rates than before the pandemic. Coaches can address this through mental resilience training, recognizing warning signs, supporting visualization and reframing techniques, and creating inclusive team cultures that prioritize well-being.

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The mental health crisis in youth athletics has reached a critical point. Up to 44% of student-athletes report experiencing mental health symptoms daily. Anxiety and depression among student-athletes remain 1.5 to 2 times higher than before the pandemic.

Yet coaching remains powerful. We have the ability to make a real difference in our athletes’ lives.

Understanding the Scale of the Problem

The statistics are sobering:
– ~44% of student-athletes experience mental health symptoms daily
– ~22.3% show signs of clinical depression (1 in every 4 athletes)
– Female athletes experience mental health issues at ~2x the rate of male athletes
– Minority athletes face compounding burden of racism and discrimination

The pandemic didn’t create these issues—it amplified them and gave permission to talk openly about challenges that were previously hidden.

Why High School Athletes Are Particularly Vulnerable

Our athletes face unique pressures that compound normal adolescent challenges:

Developmental Timing: High-performance demands collide with the volatile shift from adolescence to young adulthood. Athletes must develop identity and emotional regulation while managing intense physical competition.

Performance Pressure: Anxiety, burnout, and injury are linked to early attrition and lower academic functioning. Yet teenagers often lack the neurological maturity to maintain perspective on impossibly high stakes.

Overcommitment: Rare for athletes to get 8 hours of sleep or eat family dinners. Balancing school, work, and sport would challenge most adults—for students, it’s perpetually exhausting.

Vulnerable Populations: Female athletes and minority athletes face additional layers of stress (social stigma, racism, discrimination) that increase mental health risks.

Recognizing the Warning Signs

Mental fatigue manifests in ways coaches can observe:

Physical Signs:
– Chronic muscle and joint pain, weight loss, increased resting heart rate
– Performance leveling off or diminishing, chronic fatigue, decreased strength
– Prolonged recovery time, frequent illnesses

Behavioral Changes:
– Punctual/motivated athletes start missing practices or disengaging
– Withdrawal from teammates and social interactions
– Loss of interest in sport or activities normally enjoyed

Emotional Indicators:
– Irritability and overly emotional responses
– Personality or mood changes, increased anger
– Difficulty with concentration, forgetfulness, diminished schoolwork

Critical: When these symptoms appear, training plans become meaningless. An exhausted athlete won’t perform well or adapt to training stress. As coaches, we must recognize that pushing through isn’t always the answer—sometimes backing off unlocks potential.

Building Mental Resilience

Pre-Race Anxiety Management Techniques

Visualization: Experiencing an athletic event in your mind reduces anxiety from uncertainty. In days before competition, mentally rehearse every aspect—arrival, warm-up, crossing the finish line.

The key is specificity. Athletes should immerse all senses: sights, sounds, smells, movements, emotions. What does the starting line look like? How does the ground feel? What do they hear? The more vivid the mental experience, the less threatening the real one becomes.

Practice this regularly—5-10 minutes daily in the weeks leading to competition, incorporated into cooldowns or before bed.

Reframing Pre-Race Nerves: The body doesn’t distinguish between anxiety and excitement—both are high-energy states. Teach athletes to reframe: instead of “I’m so nervous,” say “I’m excited for this challenge.” This linguistic shift transforms jitters from threat to opportunity.

Focus on Process, Not Outcome: Racing with talented athletes isn’t competing against them—it’s an opportunity to push yourself to new heights. Emphasize team aspect: athletes aren’t alone on that starting line. They’re surrounded by teammates and coaches.

Practical Strategies for Coaches

Building Mental Resilience Through Language

Introduce specific mental frameworks throughout the season. Phrases like “stay out of the bucket” and “relax, breathe, believe” become cognitive tools athletes deploy when anxiety threatens performance.

Mental resilience helps athletes improve performance, enhance sports enjoyment, and protect against situational depression from setbacks or trauma.

Creating a Supportive Environment

Normalize Conversations: Mental health is health. Create safe environments where athletes feel comfortable discussing struggles.

Check In Regularly: Don’t wait for crises. Regular individual and group check-ins foster a culture where mental health is discussed openly.

Adjust Training to Reality: Consider what’s happening in athletes’ lives (exams, holidays, stress). Build flexibility and recovery during naturally taxing periods.

Teach Time Management: Help athletes prioritize. They may need to cut work hours or focus on one sport per season.

Encourage Routine: Regular meal times, consistent bedtimes, daily routines reduce anxiety. Predictability aids mental recovery just as much as physical rest.

Focus on Strengths: Enhance positive affect. Highlight what athletes do well. Shift focus from negative self-talk to growth mindsets.

Know Your Limits and When to Refer

We are coaches, not psychologists. While coaches can provide initial support, there are times when professional help is necessary. If you have concerns about an athlete’s mental health, involve parents ASAP and seek professional guidance from school counselors.

Trust your instincts. If something feels seriously wrong, act on it.

Resources:
– School counselors and social workers
– National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)
– Mental Health America (www.mhanational.org)

The Case for Sports Psychology Investment

In 2021, one program invested $300 to bring a sports psychologist to their team. That single investment proved to be among the most valuable ever made. Athletes learned vocabulary for discussing mental challenges. Parents gained perspective on psychological demands. Coaches became acutely aware that emotional distress and race anxiety were primary barriers to performance.

If professional athletes with every resource imaginable need this support, imagine how critical it is for high school students juggling academics, athletics, and adolescence.

If your program doesn’t have access to sports psychology resources, advocate for them.

Building a Championship Culture Through Mental Health

Coaching is often compared to parenting. Our ultimate goal is seeing student-athletes happy, fulfilled, and successful—both on and off the field. We want to win championships, yes, but here’s what experience teaches: true success results from building safe and encouraging environments where athletes can develop and thrive.

The championships follow when we prioritize well-being.

The Path Forward

The American Academy of Pediatrics declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for young people ages 10-34.

We cannot ignore this reality. Athletic directors must prioritize mental health by discussing it actively with coaching staffs. The investment in athletes’ mental resilience—through training, education, and professional support—pays dividends measured not in wins, but in young humans who develop mental skills that will serve them for life.

See also: Mental Toughness Race Day Mindset, Helping Runners Overcome Race Anxiety, The Chimp Paradox for Runners, Breaking Self-Limiting Beliefs