Imposter Syndrome and its Impact on Mental Health and Performance in College Athletics- Part One

.....Think of how hard it must be to be a high-level athlete; to have your self-worth and competence determined by those around you. Say you are a wide receiver and you drop a perfect pass in the open. Say that pass could’ve led to a touchdown or would have brought you from behind in a game’s waning moments to win. You are hard enough on yourself, so not only are you upset and question your own skills, but then you’ve got everyone around you harping on you because of it. You know you’ve trained hard, and it’s something that you have done in practice, but you didn’t do it on the big stage. Seeds of doubt slip in: Am I a good player? Are my teammates upset with me? Did I disappoint my coach? What kind of hate will I get on social media? How will this impact my performance going forward? Will I go from being a starter to a backup? Will I fade into the background?.....   ...more

Bethany`s Notes: As fans we need to make sure we value the person long before we criticize the athlete. With social media at an all time high...negative words can have a huge impact on an athlete`s worth.