When it comes to sports and commitment the main theme is hard work. You are supposed to show up every day, work hard, and not complain but there is a thin line between working hard and overworking yourself. Athletes think that if they push themselves to the breaking point that they will become a champion and I think for some champions that is what they did. On the other hand, we must consider that there is such a thing as being overworked.

A three-hour practice with 1 hour of lifting and 1 hour of watching tape seems like a great way to become a resilient, strong, well-rounded athlete but in all honesty, we don’t always think about how mental health comes into play with sports. Of course, we think about keeping a positive mental attitude when practicing and playing but we don’t think about how the workload effects our mental health. Pushing your body to the breaking point also pushes your mind to the breaking point and while being sore and tired is a way to strengthen your body and get better it is not such a great thing to do to your mind.

Your body’s soreness will fade and your fatigue will slowly go away but sometimes mental deficits cant be fixed. The mind is an incredible thing especially for young athletes here at FHC. We need to cherish our minds and take care of them. As teenagers and athletes and students we experience such a great amount of stress and we often don’t take care of ourselves how we should. The grueling practice schedule might win a team a state championship but is that title worth a players sanity? As coaches, parents, and players we all need to make sure we stay alert and aware of the fact that mental health is an important aspect in sucess and in order to stay well balanced, strong and healthy we need to treat our bodies with respct as well as our minds.