Mental Health in Football Academies: The Root of a Huge Problem
“I don’t think clubs and academy staff are honest with themselves when it comes to mental health because I still think they do judge.” Harvey Steel
Young athletes face many mental health issues within the football academy system. For most of these young men, football is their entire life. They experience a great deal of pressure to perform, but do not have the same tools to manage these strong emotions that their older counterparts do. In an article from Men’s Health, the story of Harvey Steel is used to showcase the harsh reality of struggling with mental health within the academy system.
Steel had always been an elite athlete, so when he was not playing during his time at the academy, he did not know how to handle it. The pressure to be the best player was immense, and led Steel to experience a rapid decline in his mental health. Steel references his experience meeting with the team’s counselor, stating that it did not help him at all. The sessions would take place outside, where the entire team could watch (Men’s Health). Steel’s struggles were on full display. The academy did provide this therapist, but in practice did not do much else to support the mental health of their players. Feeling that the sessions were not improving his mental state, Steel stopped having them. His battle with his mental health led Steel to attempt to take his own life. This event prompted him to start seeing an outside therapist, which was much more beneficial than his academy provided service.
As has been seen, participating in football academies puts immense pressure on young athletes. When one’s life is completely devoted to a sport, losing it can be detrimental to their mental state. ITV News surveyed more than 100 players who had been released from the top 92 English Football League clubs. According to the survey, “72% of players felt they were not given enough support by the club that released them” (Sports Gazette). Additionally, “90% of respondents reported depression or high levels of anxiety after being released from their clubs” (Sports Gazette). These are stark findings. Working to improve the mental health of athletes begins in academies. Jeremy Wisten was released from Manchester City’s academy, and in October of 2020 took his own life at 17 years old (Sports Gazette). One of his friends spoke out, saying that “released academy players should be offered the same kind of support as Army veterans” (Sports Gazette). This is one possible solution to the mental health crisis the football industry is experiencing. Athletes like Harvey Steel are using their platform to speak up and raise awareness for this problem, hoping to prompt some sort of solution to the problem.
It is clear that football academies must put measures in place to protect the mental health of their young athletes. What measures do you think can be taken to do so? Leave your ideas in the comments.
https://www.menshealth.com/uk/mental-strength/a42176951/football-academies-mental-health/
I think one of the main things that needs to be changed is the stigma surrounding mental health in athletes, especially men. Sports require a certain level of pressure, physical/mental strength and “toughness”, which often makes athletes feel that struggling with mental health is unacceptable or makes them “weak” and less of a player. The fact that there is such a strong stigma when it comes to men’s mental health struggles leads to athletes feeling alone in their struggles and choosing to suffer in silence rather than seeking the support they need. Some steps football academies can do to break the stigma is educating their players about the commonness of mental health struggles in athletes, encouraging open dialogue, having certain role models share their own experiences with mental health and not shying away from difficult or uncomfortable topics. Additionally, the poor structure of provided therapy described in this post is an example of an area where football academies need to improve. They should create a stronger support system including offering private and professional therapy sessions, requiring counseling for players who appear to be struggling and having regular open discussions and educational sessions where players can discuss their experiences and feel supported by one another.
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree that men’s mental health is a subject not talked about enough. There is a lot of stigma around mental toughness for men, and male athletes are held to these same standards. I think that your idea of really educating people on how common these mental health struggles are is the first step in changing the narrative about men needing to hold in their pain instead of working through it in a healthy way.
DeleteI think mental health in sports is underlooked, as their are so much pressure on athletes, especially at the professional level. The stigma around mental health needs to change, and I think that starts internally. I think that teams need to hire teams of mental health professionals to help the players whenever they need it. Persistent mental health issues can lead to worse issues, which is why so many young and promising athletes end up falling short of their potential.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this. The issue of mental health struggles among athletes does not get enough attention. I think that your idea of hiring a group of professionals to help these athletes would be a very positive step forward toward combatting mental health problems within academies specifically.
DeleteI think that the idea that men and boys need to be strong, mentally, needs to disappear. This puts an incredible amount of pressure on athletes, especially men, to not show their emotions that could be seen as weak. Of course, women are also experiencing similar things but I believe not to the extremity that men are. These academies are focused on one thing only, being the best in football. With that amount of pressure, there is bound to be both physical and mental health issues. These academies need to provide counseling without questions. This should be confidential counseling because I think that what is stopping many players from having a counselor is other people knowing about it.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a very good point. As the article stated, it can be very uncomfortable to engage in public therapy sessions and have your entire team know that you are struggling. I think that providing confidential services with mental health professionals is the bare minimum of the changes that these academies need to make to improve the mental health of their players.
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