World Mental Health Day Gives Student-Athletes Chance to Reflect on Selves

By Gabe Perry
Staff writer
IG: gabep_24

Eat. Workout. School. Eat. Practice. Eat. Homework. Sleep. When will student athletes get a break?

The short answer is, they don’t. Especially as a two-year-college student-athlete.

With World Mental Health day on Thursday, it is important to take a step back, and take time to think about mental health.

Being a student-athlete is one of the hardest things to do in college, because of the toll it takes on the body and mind, and how time consuming it can be. One thing about being an athlete, that doesn’t seem to be as much of a focus, is the mental toll injuries take. Injuries bring rehab, and rehab brings even more time. Athletes are then forced to not compete because they need time to heal. This all adds up over time, and can affect their mental health.

Blue Dragon baseball player Jack Gardner, a redshirt sophomore who has experienced the toll injuries can take.

 “When I figured out that I was going to redshirt and need surgery over Christmas break, it definitely affected my mental health negatively,” Gardner said. “We all work towards playing all year and getting hurt after all the fall and winter weights definitely sucked. Knowing that I would miss out on playing with the guys that I came into the program with as a freshman was the hardest part.”

Gardner is a outfielder on the baseball team who had a knee injury that sidelined him for his entire sophomore spring season.

Another baseball player, freshman Nick Paredes, also has recently dealt with injury.

“You know, I try not to get too down on myself. I understand the injuries happen,” Paredes said. “That’s just part of the situation that I’m in. So, you know, I just got to do what I can to recover and get out there as fast as I possibly can and get ready to play. That’s kind of my mindset right now.”

Paredes is also on the baseball team, as an infielder. He recently suffered an ankle sprain, and is trying to keep a positive attitude as he is officially out for the fall season.

We often expect student athletes to be “robots”, and never stop to consider their mental health.

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