Beyond the Outcome is a searchable collection of articles about current topics in athlete mental health. I hope this helps you as an athlete or coach in developing awareness of mental health and reducing the stigma associated with it. 

Show All 2021 Stories

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.....Rubin and Moreno-Pardo (2018) reported on deep burnout in the student-athlete academic services area. Among many comments the authors reported, one stood out: “We’re extremely underappreciated, but yet the first ones to point to and blame if something happens.” The participants also complained of the lack of professional growth opportunities.   ...more

Bethany`s Notes: Those caring for student-athletes are also struggling with their own mental health and possible burnout.

.....The pressure to perform well came from within. Thinking, if she could only lose a few pounds here or there, she’d run faster and be more competitive. Smith simply wanted to make her parents and coaches proud. Ultimately, she veered too far from her lane....

.....Eventually this led her back home, to Philadelphia, to finally find the root of the problems. Smith blamed herself for the stress fractures, believing they stemmed from what she put her body through during college. It was a burden she could no longer bear.

“That’s when we found out that it was actually my body, and the structure of my foot,” Smith said. “It all would have happened if I was a happy go-lucky person without an eating disorder in college.”

This was the moment Smith could finally begin to heal, giving herself a new lease on life.....

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Bethany`s Notes
Notes: A very true and real story of Claire Smith. I`m glad to see people stepping out and sharing their story. The more people share their story the more other will be willing to seek help and know they are not alone.

.....“I worry when I see some of these players, you can see that they`re struggling with their diet. But people will say they look good. What looks good? We don`t look athletic.

“When I look at some of the foreign national teams, you look athletic, you can see a difference in somebody that looks athletic and somebody that looks skinny, and somebody that doesn`t eat because they want to look a certain way.

“I spoke about it quite regularly with some of my club coaches, it`s not right we just talk about being a certain body fat percentage, that`s not educating people.

“Or you get fat-tested every time you go into camp. And if you`re not under a certain body percentage, you go into fat club. For me, to label something as fat club as a professional is crazy. I was always worried as a player. I was never in fat club; I would never go, I would just not play the game.

“The term was openly used at big clubs in the WSL; an openly-used term, you go to fat club. That`s something I`ve spoken about for years to managers at club level, because I`ve always disagreed with how the body fat percentages have been used, especially with women......

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Bethany`s Notes: How we talk about others and what we say as coaches, parents, and peers matter. Use your words wisely.

.....“It’s hard for me to differentiate my skating accomplishments and my identity. I always get those two mixed together,” said Chen, who is also a student at Cornell University. “So when I don’t have the best skates, I feel like I let myself down. I feel like I let my family down. I feel like I let my coaches down. I feel like I failed as a student, I failed as an athlete, I failed as a daughter. And that’s something that I’m still working on — to learn to differentiate my self-worth and identity [from] my success as an athlete.".....   ...more

Bethany`s Notes: I can think almost everyone can relate to this comment finding our identity or worth as a coach or athlete based on success or failure.

.....As a world-class athlete, Hawkins is aware of her tendencies to become disciplined to the point it makes her feel overwhelmed and rigid. She’s refined her mornings to a couple of meaningful tasks and avoids a checklist of things to do.

“I used to have an intense morning routine and an intense night routine,” Hawkins says. “And I would have a checklist, and I had to knock everything off that checklist. And I felt burnt out all the time.”.....

.....As a world-class athlete, Hawkins is aware of her tendencies to become disciplined to the point it makes her feel overwhelmed and rigid. She’s refined her mornings to a couple of meaningful tasks and avoids a checklist of things to do.

“I used to have an intense morning routine and an intense night routine,” Hawkins says. “And I would have a checklist, and I had to knock everything off that checklist. And I felt burnt out all the time.”

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Bethany`s Notes: Some good ideas and recommendations from elite track and field athlete Chari Hawkins.

....She talked about the power of the mind, and how mental strength could overcome perceived physical weaknesses, including a human being’s inability to fly or, in Mitchard’s case, overcome gruesome injuries that may leave most of us unable to walk again. In fact, her talk was almost a plea for doctors to treat extreme athletes differently. Mitchard, while still recovering to this day, returned to the sport they both love. Other friends in their sport have done the same thing. 

It may be more important than ever that doctors rethink how they treat so-called extreme athletes, because they aren’t as extreme as they once were: More and more of us are doing the kind of outdoor adventure sports that years ago only people such as Mitchard would attempt….. 

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Bethany`s Notes: The athlete mind can be very beneficial in recovery of injury...they fight is different for elite athletes and they should never be underestimated.

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Thanks for your interest in Beyond the Outcome.

Brewster just recently completed her Master`s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. She is interested in applying systemic therapies in team and individual settings.  Players are often not only competing with other teams, they also compete with each other for positions, playing time, and, in some cases, scholarship money. These unique team circumstances can lead to conflict within and among team members, including the coaching staff. The need for more information on mental health is essential for both coaches and athletes.  This website provides a gathering of information and resources to help serve the sports community. 

Brewster is the current cross country/track and field coach for Edgewood College, located in Madison, Wisconsin. A highly decorated student-athlete while at the University of Wisconsin, Brewster has a total of 11 Big Ten championships to her credit. She was an All-American selection six times during her career. Post collegiately, she competed in the 1500m at the 2004 Summer Olympic Trails in Sacramento, CA. Brewster is a USATF Level 1 and 2 certified coach.
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