BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Sports fans everywhere attend games, matches, meets, and races to root for their favorites to win, but they may not think about the pressure many athletes deal with at each competition. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and as the month wraps up, 23ABC is taking a look at college athletes and how they keep their demanding lives in balance.
The fields become a second home for student-athletes as they continue both their sport and their education at the highest levels. Cal State Bakersfield soccer player Stephon Marcano says his love of the sport has helped him manage academic challenges and rigorous recovery from an ACL injury.
"When I step on the field, I feel like I'm free. All the thing I'm focusing on is the game. Nothing else really matters, so for that 90 minutes, I feel like I'm locked in," said Marcano.
Marcano says he moved to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago in 2017, and that being away from home was tough the first year as he tried to adjust to the different culture.
Two years after he arrived, he tore his ACL, which took him off the soccer field for the rest of that year. Marcano says the following year, the covid-19 pandemic ended his hopes for a comeback season.
"That was another mental barrier I had to go past, you know? Am I the same player I was before? Are things different? Am I weaker? Am I stronger?" said Marcano.
Marcano says he focused more on his physical recovery and thinks he could have handled his mental health better at the time. He credits the support of his teammates, coaches, and academic advisors with helping him recover.
Jessica Rogge, the head trainer with CSUB, says in her experience with athletes, most play their sport as a release.
"And if they lose that outlet due to an injury, that's where it does come in a lot more, and that's where we see a lot more mental health concerns when someone is injured and out of their sport," said Rogge.
Rogge says the coaches and trainers notice the mental impacts of an injury on an athlete easily and can refer athletes to get assistance from counselors on campus.
One of those counselors, Janet Millar, suggests student-athletes return to the basics of their sport to manage the stressors of a new environment.
"If you're basketball, just go shoot. If you're soccer, just go kick the ball. If you're swimming, just swim to use up the energy that you have," said Millar.
Millar adds that for students moving away from home for the first time, adjusting to a new life with both academic and athletic pressures can be challenging.
"It's important for all of us who work with student-athletes to help them wear that pressure, to manage it so it doesn't become a downer for them in some ways," said Millar.
Marcano considers the pressure to succeed in a match a privilege, and he plans to continue his soccer career as far as he can take it, continuing to play for his national team in Trinidad and Tobago.
"There definitely is a pressure and you feel it after, especially if you lose, you know? You're like, 'I didn't give it my all. I let down some people.' So you definitely feel that pressure after, but I think it's just how you deal with it. You see it as a positive instead of a negative," said Marcano.
While most student-athletes are taking a break for the summer, Marcano has continued spending time on the pitch to stay physically fit, and says he has plans to stay mentally fit by reading and listening to positive podcasts.
