Your student-athletes are watching Simone Biles. Are you?

If you were one of the 32 million Americans reportedly tuning into the 2024 Olympics, you know Simone Biles had an amazing redemption tour. She’s brought a few medals home to add to her already impressive collection, but that is, arguably, not the most significant impact she made. 

Simone Biles spent 4 years working on her mental health. She returned to the Olympics and killed it. What is this teaching the millions of young female athletes watching and learning from her? 

Great athleticism and mental health do not have to be mutually exclusive. 

They watched the GOAT in her element with a genuine smile and a matt-side meditation practice. She challenged the idea that athletic success must be a miserable journey. Why? Because, as she says, “mental health matters”.

This is a defining moment in the conversation around mental health in athletics. Your athletes are learning. They are celebrating her accomplishments and they are celebrating her bravery in her willingness to be vulnerable. Are you? 

As a coach, a mentor, or a leader in athletics, are you creating a safe space to discuss mental health? The reality is, this conversation saves lives. Even if we take Simone Biles’ passionate display of mental health and self-care out of the conversation, the statistics still speak for themselves. 

• 40.6% of high school students are at risk of anxiety disorder, with 23.9% experiencing mild symptoms, 10.9% moderate, and 5.8% severe symptoms. Female students often report higher anxiety levels compared to males, particularly related to academic performance and athletic pressures​ (Frontiers).

• A study indicated a 25% increase in anxiety and depression rates worldwide during the pandemic. For high school female athletes, this period intensified pre-existing pressures from both academic and athletic responsibilities, leading to higher anxiety and stress symptoms (MDPI)​ (ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws).

• Around 35% of elite athletes experience symptoms of depression. This rate is significantly higher than that of their non-athlete peers due to factors such as societal pressures and the dual demands of academic and athletic performance​ (MDPI)​ (WFYI Public Media).

• According to an NCAA survey, 65% of female athletes acknowledged taking their teammates’ mental health concerns seriously. Less than half felt comfortable seeking support from a mental health provider on campus. (WFYI Public Media).

• 29.1% of female collegiate athletes report experiencing “overwhelming anxiety” daily. (Center on Sport policy and Conduct)

• Collegiate athletes experience higher rates of anxiety compared to the general college student population. While around 20% of the general college population reports significant anxiety symptoms, this number is higher among athletes due to the added pressures of sports performance and academic responsibilities​ (ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws)​ (Center on Sport Policy and Conduct).

• Anxiety, along with other mental health issues, contributes to alarming suicide rates among collegiate athletes. From 2002 to 2022, 128 NCAA athletes took their own lives, making suicide the second most common cause of death among this group. ​ (Center on Sport Policy and Conduct).

These numbers are staggering and sobering.  The primary causes of anxiety among student-athletes are social relationships, fear of injury, the challenge of balancing athletics with academics, work, and family responsibilities, and high expectations from coaches, parents, and themselves. Those pressures can be overwhelming and, frankly, soul-crushing. If you combine that with a fear of coming forward or a sense that there is no safe space to speak honestly, what’s their solution? 

This is why it is more important than ever that you, as a Coach, mentor, or parent, are starting the conversations. As a speaker on mental health, I’ve led countless workshops for students to be vulnerable and safe while creating supportive relationships. These are a few of the questions I recommend in starting the conversation:

• Do you hear an inner critic? What does that voice say?
• Are you having fun? 
• What do you need from me this year to make it more enjoyable? How can I support your mental health/wellness? Is there anything you need me to stop doing?
• Is there anything you want to do differently this year? Is there anything you’d like to pause or put down this year? 
• What are you nervous about? What are you excited about?
• What caused you the most stress last year? What brought you the most joy? 

These are great conversation starters, but asking the question alone doesn’t inherently create a welcoming space. Your response as the listener is the determining factor. This is not a time to judge, diminish, dismiss, or try to reframe. All you need to do is sit, listen, and empathize. That is the starting point. That’s what creates a fragile but valuable sense of safety.

We all need relationships that provide us with a space to be safe, vulnerable, and supported. Doing the work to create a secure environment for your student-athletes can save a life and transform a season.