Universities Study Athletes' Mental Health after Recent Crises
2022-11-27
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1Late last summer, two football players at Indiana State University were killed in a car crash.
2Just over one week ago, three football players at the University of were killed when they were shot by a former teammate.
3In both cases, university leaders needed to make a plan to support the teammates and friends of the students who died.
4Sherard Clinksdale is the director of athletics, or sports at Indiana State.
5He had to find ways to help the students work through their sadness.
6He also had the difficult job of telling the football coach and the parents of the students that their children had died.
7"There is no playbook for something like this," Clinksdale said.
8At the University of Virginia, Carla Williams has the top athletic job.
9When the news came out that the students were killed on November 14, the university canceled classes and other school activities for two days.
10The school did not play its next football game, either.
11Mental health professionals and dogs trained to offer comfort were made available to students.
12Williams said it was important to make counselors available for all students, not only the ones who were part of the sports team.
13In recent years, sports leaders at universities say they have paid more attention to the mental health of their students.
14A study done in 2019 showed that college presidents were also paying more attention to student mental health.
15But in 2021, a survey of college athletes found that only 53 percent of those questioned thought their coaches took mental health seriously.
16The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, oversees college sports in the U.S.
17 It does not have the power to make colleges change their mental health policies.
18But it does offer tools the schools can use to help students.
19Sunday Henry is a doctor who works with students at Washington State University.
20She helped the football team there deal with the deaths of players in 2018 and 2019.
21Henry said the first part of the plan is to bring together all of the team members to tell them what happened and the ways they can get help.
22She said she thinks college football coaches are getting better at urging their athletes to get mental health help.
23In the past, some players and coaches believed getting help was a sign of weakness.
24Henry also said the athletic trainers are usually the best at noticing athletes who are having problems.
25The trainers spend a lot of time with the students who are recovering from injuries.
26Tony Elliott is the University of Virginia football coach.
27He said he wanted to support his players.
28He added, "Nothing can prepare you for this situation."
29Bryan Blair is the athletic director at the University of Toledo in Ohio.
30He worked in sports at Washington State University when the players there died.
31Blair said many of the adults in the sports department took a class called Mental Health First Aid.
32He said the adults who work in college sports who often have contact with students should "be a resource to the student athletes."
33Curt Mallory is the football coach at Indiana State.
34He said he makes time each Monday to meet with his student athletes, even if it seems like they are doing okay.
35At California's San Jose State University, coaches had to react to the death of a player who was hit by a bus in October.
36The next football game was postponed.
37The football coaches worked to help the student's family and plan a memorial.
38The following week, the school played its game, and won.
39The player who died, Camdan McWright, was honored during a special ceremony.
40His family was there to see the memorial.
41Jeff Konya is the school's athletic director.
42He watched over the sports teams that week.
43He has worked in college sports for 36 years.
44In that time, he said, college sports leaders have gotten better at prioritizing mental health.
45"We are in a better position now," he said.
46He noted, however, that things still can go wrong.
47"It is not foolproof," Konya said.
48I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Dan Friedell.
1Late last summer, two football players at Indiana State University were killed in a car crash. 2Just over one week ago, three football players at the University of 3were killed when they were shot by a former teammate. 4In both cases, university leaders needed to make a plan to support the teammates and friends of the students who died. 5Sherard Clinksdale is the director of athletics, or sports at Indiana State. He had to find ways to help the students work through their sadness. He also had the difficult job of telling the football coach and the parents of the students that their children had died. 6"There is no playbook for something like this," Clinksdale said. 7At the University of Virginia, Carla Williams has the top athletic job. When the news came out that the students were killed on November 14, the university canceled classes and other school activities for two days. The school did not play its next football game, either. 8Mental health professionals and dogs trained to offer comfort were made available to students. Williams said it was important to make counselors available for all students, not only the ones who were part of the sports team. 9In recent years, sports leaders at universities say they have paid more attention to the mental health of their students. A study done in 2019 showed that college presidents were also paying more attention to student mental health. 10But in 2021, a survey of college athletes found that only 53 percent of those questioned thought their coaches took mental health seriously. 11The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, oversees college sports in the U.S. It does not have the power to make colleges change their mental health policies. But it does offer tools the schools can use to help students. 12Sunday Henry is a doctor who works with students at Washington State University. She helped the football team there deal with the deaths of players in 2018 and 2019. Henry said the first part of the plan is to bring together all of the team members to tell them what happened and the ways they can get help. 13She said she thinks college football coaches are getting better at urging their athletes to get mental health help. In the past, some players and coaches believed getting help was a sign of weakness. 14Henry also said the athletic trainers are usually the best at noticing athletes who are having problems. The trainers spend a lot of time with the students who are recovering from injuries. 15Tony Elliott is the University of Virginia football coach. He said he wanted to support his players. He added, "Nothing can prepare you for this situation." 16Bryan Blair is the athletic director at the University of Toledo in Ohio. He worked in sports at Washington State University when the players there died. Blair said many of the adults in the sports department took a class called Mental Health First Aid. 17He said the adults who work in college sports who often have contact with students should "be a resource to the student athletes." 18Curt Mallory is the football coach at Indiana State. He said he makes time each Monday to meet with his student athletes, even if it seems like they are doing okay. 19At California's San Jose State University, coaches had to react to the death of a player who was hit by a bus in October. The next football game was postponed. The football coaches worked to help the student's family and plan a memorial. 20The following week, the school played its game, and won. The player who died, Camdan McWright, was honored during a special ceremony. His family was there to see the memorial. 21Jeff Konya is the school's athletic director. He watched over the sports teams that week. He has worked in college sports for 36 years. In that time, he said, college sports leaders have gotten better at prioritizing mental health. 22"We are in a better position now," he said. He noted, however, that things still can go wrong. "It is not foolproof," Konya said. 23I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Dan Friedell. 24Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 25_________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27coach-n. a person who trains or teaches an athlete 28playbook -n. a book that contains sports plays but in this case a guide of best practices and ideas 29counselor -n. a person who is trained to help people struggling with problems or concerns 30comfort -n. a state of feeling less worried or upset during a time of emotional pain 31survey -n. an activity where a number of people are asked questions in order to gather information about what most people think about something 32trainer-n. a person who helps heal or prepare athletes for sports 33prioritize -v. to make something the most important or first thing in a series of activities 34foolproof -adj. something that is difficult to get wrong 35______________________________________________________________ 36We want to hear from you. Do you think colleges will keep getting better at helping students with their mental health? 37We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 38Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.