Written by: Neala Jacobson-Dicks
Mental health maintenance is becoming a more relevant topic of conversation recently, especially focusing on students and athletes. During the Covid-19 shutdowns, many high schoolers faced mental health conditions as they did not have a routine. Some adults who work with this demographic have taken on the responsibility of trying to help.
Covid especially affected athletes who were used to constantly being busy with practices, meets, and never ending activities. They now had to stay home in quarantine. Although a lack of routine and structure took a toll on many teens across America it also affected many teens at Northview specifically.
Northview’s assistant varsity cheer coach, Kelly Richardson took it upon herself to try and help her team improve their mental health. She started doing mindfulness activities every Thursday with the cheer team.
According to senior Elizabeth Schuitema, varsity cheerleader, practicing mental training activities strengthens bonds.
“[This type of practice] Prevents conflicts and brings the team closer,” Schuitema said.
Richardson believes that it is important for athletes to take care of their mental and physical health. Richardson understood that last year was a tough year for athletes so she wanted to give her team the tools to recover physically and mentally.
“I truly feel that incorporating mental training for athletes can help take any team from good to great,” Richardson said.
Through the season, Richardson began incorporating various exercises to help train the mind. One of them was a visualization exercise where she would guide the cheer team’s focus on a time that they failed at something, then she had them revisualize the same situation but as a success. She asked the girls what small changes they could make for a positive outcome.
Throughout the rest of the season, Coach Richardson would ask the girls where their focus was, Acknowledging that success can’t come from focusing on the negative.
“[Being] Mentally tough is just as important as being physically tough, but it takes practice.” she said. “ Just as we train our bodies we need to work on training our minds,” Richardson said.
Another teacher who also made time to focus on mental health is English teacher Audra Whetstone. She made it a priority to take time every week to practice mindfulness in her class.
Senior Cora Blatchford, a previous student of Whetstone, said “Mindfulness was a good way to start her day, and debrief and take a step back, it helped me focus more on school.”
Whetstone doesn’t expect her brief moments of focus in class to be life altering, however, these practices do equip students with skills they can use outside of school. Whetstone understands that the life of a High school student is filled with stress, so even though it may be difficult to fit in time to do it, she makes it a priority.
“People need to connect with themselves before they connect with others,” Whetstone said.
Both Richardson and Whetstone, plan to continue to help students and athletes improve their mental health. By doing these small activities and taking time to try and give students the tools to do it on their own, their hopes are to help them stay mentally healthy.