Cheerleaders’ mental health is challenged with early mornings, late evenings, injuries and more

By Tatum James
Staff writer
thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com

Mental health is something that anyone and almost everyone goes through at least once in their lives.

A good number of the world’s athletes struggle with mental health, whether it’s caused by tiredness, injuries, and/or burnouts.

Alyssa Johnson is a Hutchinson Community College sophomore on the cheer squad who has had multiple injuries throughout this year. With two concussions and multiple leg injuries, she has spent more time out of practice than in.

“I felt defeated at first, but then I understood that I couldn’t do anything differently to prevent some of the injuries that I had,” Johnson said, “I felt more of a drive to be more involved in cheer in the ways I was able to and I was eager to become healthier.”

Getting over injuries and mental health can be a lot easier with a good support system and good teammates.

“My parents helped me through the process of understanding that it takes time to heal and that the only thing I can do is have a positive attitude and keep striving to get better,” Johnson said. “My best friend (also on the cheer team) made practices so much easier to keep coming to. She kept me entertained and up to date with what was going on in practices when I wasn’t in the gym at times.”

Sometimes injuries and mental health can make it harder to have that same motivation to come back to the sport with the same drive and motivation you had before. Getting used to sitting out and not doing anything can become a habit for some.

“My motivation hasn’t necessarily pushed me to work harder for a spot back on the mat (the competition team), but to work harder towards perfecting the skills I have and becoming prepared for if I am to be thrown into a spot,” Johnson said.

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