Beyond the Game: The Evolving Importance of Mental Health in Sports

by Emily Kulyk

If you watch an interview with a retired player who lived through playoffs, record-breaking seasons, and intense moments, they may not mention the behind-the-scenes battles they faced. They may not reveal that they pushed through injuries, mental strai,n or the difficulty of recovering, both physically and mentally. While playing with grit remains true even now, it’s likely those retired players didn’t have the assistance players and teams currently have.

The intersection of mental health, performance, and psychology is becoming more visible in sports. Fans are seeing more examples of this. The New Jersey Devils brought in psychologists and mental health professionals to help players stay focused and aligned with team goals. Kirk Cousins was drafted by the Washington Commanders in the 2012 draft. Since being drafted, Cousins has played for three NFL teams: the Washington Commanders, the Minnesota Vikings, and, just recently, signed with the Atlanta Falcons. The Netflix special Quarterback showed Cousins working with a psychologist during his time with the Minnesota Vikings. The NHL and NFL are just a sample of leagues that work with these coaches.

Mental challenges could be something where the entire team is collectively feeling the challenge throughout a season. Maybe luck isn’t going in favor of the team, and they must work through the slump that hits teams throughout a season, all while trying to play the game as they know, against the words of the media and fans. Older players didn’t have the levels of social media and the media as a whole that we see currently in sports. This could be a contributing factor to the mental challenges current players face. Veteran players didn’t see those same challenges at the level it is now. Challenges you could see now would be, as referenced, the challenges of the media and social media. However, trades, getting used to a new system and team environment, can also be additional factors. In unique cases, players come from other countries to play in the United States. In a league like the NHL, this is especially true. Adjusting to America can be a challenge in itself, and when families are involved, the stress may compound.

But now, more than ever, resources are available. At the end of the day, players are still people. Needing help can cover a wide spectrum. Bringing in performance coaches or other mental health professionals can be based on maintenance. Sorting something out can begin before the impact is felt.

Sports psychology has evolved from a practice that was brought in as a reactive approach, something done when something happened. While that is still a helpful way to use the practice, it is now being used as a proactive way to enhance athlete performance. Some athletes use it similarly to how they would train with a personal trainer. It would be on their own time, as a supplemental tool. It becomes an element they use as a habit. Elements like emotional regulation, visualization, and setting personal goals might seem silly to some, but many professional athletes count on and depend on these for their needs and goals. The positive influence can be seen through their performance.

The modern history of sports psychology dates back to the 19th and 20th centuries. Of course, the practice looks much different than it did then. The topics sports psychologists focused on at that time were athletic performance and adapting mental skills to fit those performance ideas. Throughout those early years, sports psychology was a research-based method, and then the ideas were followed to be used in athletics. In the 1920s, the first team to work with a sports psychologist was the Chicago Cubs. A society focused on sports psychology wasn’t developed until the 1960s. It wasn’t recognized as an academic program until about a decade later.

Fast-forwarding to the present day, the overall psychology discipline has evolved and continues to do so. Methods have been worked into performance and exercise psychology. Performance psychology can be adapted to ideas outside of sports, like performing arts or other high-stakes areas where performance is vital. Exercise psychology attempts to understand the physical aspects of physical activity. This portion of sports psychology looks to understand how physical activity plays into one’s mental wellness. Sports psychology now broadly focuses on load management for athletes and how to help them perform without exhausting their bodies.

The discussion around professional athletes using mental health professionals is an important one. Referenced in the study “Athlete Mental Health and Wellbeing During the Transition into Elite Sport: Strategies to Prepare the System,” the transition to professional leagues is something only a few understand when looking at the grand scheme of it all. The idea of early intervention isn’t as common. Studies are finding that young athletes should be utilizing treatments to reduce risk factors around that transition. Risk factors may include new performance expectations, lifestyle changes, training loads and possibly becoming public figures. The larger the market they play in can be an influence, too. Implementing practices to keep wellness in mind can help the longevity of their playing careers.

While sports psychology can be labeled as an early intervention or maintenance program, it can also be used as a treatment option. The study “Mental Health Symptom Burden in Elite Ice Hockey Players and Its Association with Self-reported Concussive Events” references understanding how treatment can be used if and when symptoms begin to onset. Hockey players experience high rates of injuries, including concussions. It’s no surprise that hockey is a contact sport, and that comes with its own set of risks. It has been found that players who experience three or more concussive events are twice as likely to have depressive symptoms and over three times more likely to have burnout symptoms compared with those with no concussion history. Concussions could be a predictor. While being a predictor does not mean it is a definite correlation. Professional athletes are just as susceptible to mental health challenges as any other person, but the stressors they face could be an influence. Having regular mental health screening, which could include monitoring beyond an injury, could be a factor in adequate treatment for professional athletes.

Sports psychology and mental performance coaching have some overlap, but there are key differences. Mental performance coaches target specific mental skills based on how the athlete is performing. Sports psychology can be a broad range and adapted to fit the needs of an athlete. It is becoming more common to hear athletes talk about working with these professionals. By doing this, it opens a world to young athletes that is beneficial to their development as athletes, but more importantly, as people. Fans respect athletes for what they do when performing. Many believe players deserve respect for who they are off the field, too. Many avenues within sports psychology are being explored, and it is a growing practice. The information in this article is simply a small piece of a much larger puzzle.

Disclaimer: This article reflects personal opinions and research and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any individuals, teams, or organizations mentioned.