I remember waking up early, the start of the season with a big parade, hearing the honking, while throwing candy. I was just 4-5 years old, running around, playing, and being myself. I was always having fun from T-Ball to Baseball and was never worrying who I was or how good I was. But as time moved on coming into high school, baseball became a business and changed. It stopped feeling like just a game, and became serious. In high school and higher levels everything matters-your performance, you effort, as well as your results mattered. It became the difference between playing and losing the game you love. Like people always say, baseball is 90% mental and 10% physical, and that mental side only gets harder as you grow up and continue to play your sport.
Sports are one of the first things many kids first start doing that they love and get hooked on, but the same sports they fell in love with young can bring mental health struggles that people don’t always see or believe in. Many people believe that sports are just for fun, but not for athletes. Some play to be the best and push themselves past their limits. They do whatever they can to be the best. We need to recognize that mental health struggles in athletes are real. As 1 out of the nearly 9 million young athletes in the US, I can speak and vouch from experience that it’s something many of us deal with and struggle with, even if we don’t talk about it.
One of the first major reasons mental health struggles in sports are real is because of pressure. Pressure comes from coaches, teammates, parents, and even from themselves. They feel like they constantly have to play and perform at a high level. According to research from the National Institute of Mental Health, “one in three adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 will experience an anxiety disorder, and participation in competitive sports can sometimes intensify these risks, particularly in environments that foster perfectionism or excessive pressure.”(Moore). Take a moment and think about that. One in three kids. That means there can be multiple kids on the same team, multiple people silently dealing with anxiety while being expected to compete, perform and be the best. That type of pressure doesn’t just leave and disappear when the game ends. It always stays in their mind. Imagine being that kid, replaying and rethinking every play or mistake, constantly worrying about what people think and how their performance was. They feel like one performance can change everything or ruin them. They feel like there’s an anvil on their shoulders, a heavy unbearable feeling that causes them to forget who they are. Kids feel this and overtime can lose who they are after their sport. What started as something “fun” slowly becomes them, and their whole world. And when that happens, the pressure becomes them.
Another major reason mental health struggles in sports are real is because of the symptoms athletes show in and during the process. In an article it has stated, ” A systematic review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that up to 34 percent of elite athletes experience symptoms of anxiety or depression, a rate that matches or exceeds that of the general population.” (Moore). Even the best or “elite” athletes all go through rough patches with themselves. In baseball, sitting in the middle of a slump, nothing clicking at all, and starting to feel like every AB is a failure. You start overthinking, doubting yourself, and slowly losing all your confidence. In basketball, you shoot many shots but nothing is draining, and try to make an opportunity to help your team out but you see no results. As your missed shots add up, your negative thoughts also come up. You start to believe you suck at the sport you play, and you question yourself. The struggle in their head is real, and it affects their performance more than physical does.
The third major reason mental health struggles in sports are real is because of injuries, especially when they are strongly connected to their sport. When an athlete battles an injury it’s not just on their body, it’s on their mind also. The feeling of being forced on the sideline and the disconnect of the sport you love is a hard part. It can be draining to many athletes. An author wrote, “An athlete whose identity is strongly tied to their sport is also at higher risk for developing mental health concerns, especially when experiencing injury.”(How We Can…). For many athletes, their sport isn’t just a hobby or something they just do, it can be a big part of who they are. When it is taken away from them, permanently or temporarily it raises a question, how do you stay mentally strong when the thing that defines you is no longer in control? I asked myself the same thing.
Looking back, it’s a very clear change from the first time you played your sport. I still think back to those days. Back when it was all fun, no stress, no fear or judgement, just playing the sport I loved. But as you grow older, the game grows as well but your love does as well. It’s just covered by the pressure, the symptoms you feel and injuries. They start to shape how you see yourself, that’s why mental health in sports matters. It is very much real. Under that jersey, is still the same kid that played for the love of it. Mental Health Is Serious. It. Is. Real.
Works Cited
“How We Can Support the Mental Health of Young Athletes.” Aap.org, 2020, www.aap.org/en/news-room/aap-voices/how-we-can-support-the-mental-health-of-young-athletes/?srsltid=AfmBOoreDB8d6hqWhEI3cJSt58WNGNtLS3EZS8ZgODzeLPj_xHrKxgup. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
Moore, Jasmine. “Beyond the Game: Protecting the Mental Health of Young Athletes – Athletes for Hope.” Athletes for Hope, 28 July 2025, www.athletesforhope.org/2025/07/beyond-the-game-protecting-the-mental-health-of-young-athletes/.
