Coaches and Adolescent Mental Health

Understanding the mental health of athletes is the first step to their development and success

INTRODUCTION
It is widely known that physical activity and sport has a considerable impact on the health of the general population and athletes alike. Furthermore, numerous studies have reported on the psychological benefits of organised sport within children and young adults. High levels of mental health issues amongst young adults suggests a need for intervention strategies to change this trend. Typically, young adults are more comfortable about discussing their mental health issues with peers or a trusted adult and within the sports environment (this trusted adult is very likely to be the coach). Due to the contact time and nature of the coach-athlete relationship, a coach is in an ideal position to provide information or assistance for young athletes with possible psychological issues. Having said that, there are obviously restrictions on how much information or intervening a coach can have given their typically limited experience and knowledge in the area of mental health. The aim of the current study was then to gain a greater understanding of how coaches perceive their role in the promotion of mental health for young athletes.

WHAT THEY FOUND
Using focus groups within 20 Australian coaches from an array
of sports (swimming, cricket, basketball, Australian rules, and
tennis), the researchers highlighted a number of key points
relating to the mental health within the context of adolescents
and sport:

 Many of the coaches suggested that when working in
youth sport they often feel required to serve a number of
different roles including being a mentor, an educator, a
motivator, as well as someone whom their young
athletes can confide in.
 Most coaches also saw their role within the mental health
of their young athletes as someone who was better
placed to identify possible psychological issues and refer
them to those with more experience and knowledge in
this area, as opposed to intervening and providing
assistance.

 A number of coaches found it challenging to discuss
mental health with their young athletes or that this did
not happen directly as they were unsure how their
athletes might react. On the other hand, some coaches
encouraged their athletes to discuss mental health issues
with them and made this part of the club culture.
 Coaches were generally unsure on how to approach the
topic of mental health with young athletes after initially
asking “Are you alright?” due to a lack of knowledge and
experience within this area.

 The coaches appeared to have some knowledge of the
possible triggers linked to mental health problems within
young adults including schoolwork, relationships (e.g.
parents, teachers at school), and social media.
Additionally, these same coaches tended to understand
some possible recommendations on how to overcome
these issues, including discussing their problems with a
trusted adult or professional and sufficient sleep.

 Coaches also believed that the parents of the young
adults played a key role in the mental health of young
athletes as well as their personal development.
Unfortunately, the coaches noted that many parents do
not see this as their role that may lead to future mental
health issues amongst the young athletes.

WHAT THIS MEANS
It is clear that coaches, particularly of young adults, must play a
number of different roles, which includes dealing with the
mental health of their athletes. Although it may not be one of
the reasons for a coach taking up employment with an athlete
or a team, coaches understand that they have a responsibility to
oversee and be mindful of the psychological well-being and
development of their athletes. Coaches seemed to know what
may be the cause of any mental health issues and what may be
some approaches on how to overcome these. However, the
manner in which coaches approach this though appears to
differ considerably and, in most cases, as stated by the authors
“…coaches were unsure of what help was necessary and unsure
of how to provide that help.”
This highlights that coaches do understand the impact an
athlete’s mental health can have on their development as well
as performance, yet they are unsure on what they can really do
about this.

Practical Takeaways

Psychological health is often taken for granted or not even a consideration for many coaches when constructing their training plans. A lack of education or experience in the area is likely to cause many coaches
to ignore this part of an athlete’s development, which is entirely understandable. Those involved in youth sport (or at any level) are encouraged to improve their mental health literacy. Again, as the authors suggest, this might include becoming more aware of the signs and symptoms of poor mental health as well as acknowledging when to seek professional help. As such, it may be recommended that coaches add mental health education to their continuing professional development list as this will most definitely develop the coach’s skillset and ability to connect with their athletes, not to mention support their health and wellbeing.