Sydney Danielewicz, a fourth-year Mount Royal University Women’s soccer athlete, grew up loving soccer but has always struggled with her mental health and stigmas that come with being a woman in high-level sports.
Although both men and women struggle with mental health in elite sports, their issues are often different.
“Women athletes are at greater risk of a range of psychological stressors that contribute to health concerns and mental health disorders, which can impact their career satisfaction and longevity,” concluded a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Danielewicz openly speaks about her experiences with issues many other players also feel at a higher levels of play. She lists performance anxiety, mental health concerns related to body image, and a lack of respect as some of the main challenges.
“Being an athlete, and especially being a female, being muscular is depicted as not super attractive,” said Danielewicz.
She recalls a few specific instances where people mentioned the lack of competitiveness or seriousness within her sport.
“It makes you feel undervalued because I know that they were just saying that to me because I was female.”
In a study of female professional soccer players’ mental health, nearly 31 per cent of the athletes reported having depressive symptoms, while seven per cent reported having symptoms related to anxiety. The study points out that a healthy, supportive culture amongst players and positive coach-athlete relationships are important factors when addressing mental health issues.
What is being done from a coaching perspective?
MP Duxbury, who teaches at The King’s University in Edmonton and has more than 25 years of coaching experience from youth to collegiate level soccer, said the main challenges he sees with players are the expectations and insecurities about what other people think. He notes that gaining confidence is a huge struggle for many young women in sports that’s often reflected in their performance on the field.
Danielewicz recalls her experiences where tensions have been so high during games that she has run off the field crying because she does not think she played well enough. Some athletes find the pressure they face during game days, especially at the collegiate level, unbearable.
When asked what needs to change going forward from a coaching standpoint, Duxbury said, “We need to take a step back and try and view it from the athletes eyes. From a point of view where we have got these girls as a team that are unified because they love the sport, and we need to make that our starting point.”
Both Danielewicz and Duxbury stressed the critical role that coaches have in the mental health growth of their players, both on and off the field, and how they respond to and support them during this process.
One of things Danielewicz highlighted is the importance of taking a mental break if needed, even though teammates are often scared to do so fearing they might get cut.
Confronting the situation, Danielewicz said, “If you need to take a break and your coach has a problem with it, that is a problem with the coach not with your playing ability.”
For Duxbury, he feels the best he can do is support the player. He emphasized that all other questions go from his mind as soon as a player discloses they may be struggling with mental health issues, leaving him to ask just, “What can I do for you?”
To combat their performance anxiety as they grow as players, one of the things Duxbury does is promote the idea that nerves are okay, they’re manageable.
“Nerves are okay because they mean two things. One is that nerves mean you’re human and the other is that you care — those are two things that I can work with.”
