On and off the fields, student-athletes grapple with balancing mental health. While physicians treat athletes for their physical injuries, they often overlook mental health, according to health.clevelandclinic.org. Along with other coaches nationwide, the Sacred Heart Greenwich Athletic Department has recently recognized the need for mental coaching by implementing practices that prioritize all the needs of an athlete.
Mr. Mike Locksley, head football coach at the University of Maryland, began practicing mental coaching when he lost his son as the result of a long battle with depression. Mr. Locksley explained how important the mental game is in an athlete’s performance, according to The New York Times. He reflected on why he started prioritizing mental health in athletics.
“The tragedy of losing my son, which may have been attributed to his mental health issue, has motivated me to take care of the 18 to 22-year-olds that I have had the opportunity to develop from boys to men,” Mr. Locksley said, according to the New York Times.
This fall, Dr. Joanne Bullard, sports performance and psychology consultant, introduced mental performance coaching to Sacred Heart athletic teams. Dr. Bullard commented on how coaches should prioritize their players’ psychological and physical needs.
“Training the mind is just as important as training the body,” Dr. Bullard said. “When athletes work on enhancing their mindset, they become more self-aware and learn how to self-regulate. If each team member is working on this individually, it is going to help enhance the foundation for the team to collectively rise as a whole.”
Dr. Bullard practices many different ways to improve mental toughness. She implements evidence-based approaches to look at complex situations. Dr. Bullard discussed how athletes should practice mental skills daily to master them.
“There are numerous elements that teams can benefit from incorporating performance psychology, including team cohesion, […] communication, trust, and leadership,” Dr. Bullard said. “Implementing these practices early in the season is beneficial by allowing all team members to have an understanding of these elements that are essential for team success.”
Dr. Bullard recently began working with the varsity soccer team. Senior Maddy Hartnett, captain of the varsity soccer team, explained what the team has been doing to implement Dr. Bullard’s methods to create stronger team bonds.
“We worked on having respect for each other and Sacred Heart soccer,” Maddy said. “We had an open discussion about issues we all felt were going on within the team. Following that, we worked on ways to fix issues individually and how we can grow as a whole.”
The effort to apply Dr. Bullard’s strategies allowed the soccer team to work together as a unit. Focusing on cultivating a positive team atmosphere led the team to numerous wins throughout the season. Maddy expanded upon the benefits of Dr. Bullard’s strategies.
“Becoming self-aware and learning to understand how they responded in these situations will help them develop appropriate strategies for the next time,” Maddy said. “Implementing positive self-talk strategies, like mantras, could help an athlete with [her] mentality.”
Featured Image by Addie Callaway ’27
