Tips in Supporting Your Student-Athlete 

By: Jennifer Gutierrez, Registered Marriage & Family Therapist Intern

 

Encourage and Teach Time Management Skills 

 

Navigating the demands of school can already be daunting for many students. Involvement in an extra-curricular activity, such as involvement in sports may increase the demands of your child. Coupled with physical fatigue and mental fatigue, finding the time and energy to balance schoolwork and athletic demands may seem daunting; It is hard enough as adults to navigate the delicate dance of a work-life balance, imagine the difficulty a high schooler may experience! 

 

Helping your adolescent develop time management skills may aid in navigating stress related to completing the plethora of tasks on your child’s to-do list. Consider the following tips to model and teach time management skills:

 

Pomodoro Method

The pomodoro method provides children the ability to focus on a specific task in timed intervals and creates much needed space for breaks. The benefit of the Pomodoro method is that it is easily accessible and there are plenty of free apps which provide a guideline for its implementation (FocusPomo, Focus Keeper). To use the Pomodoro method, first pick a task. Then set a 25-minute timer. While the timer is on, focus on the task for the full 25 minutes without distraction. When the timer is up, reward yourself with a much earned 5-minute break. After 4 Pomodoro’s (25-minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break) give yourself the gift of a longer break for 15-30 minutes. Using the pomodoro method may prevent burn-out, increase motivation and balance priorities. 

 

Pro Tip:

Limit screentime on breaks and allow yourself to rest and recharge. Stand up, go for a walk, eat a snack, meditate, stretch, pet your dog – scrolling on social media will just cause more strain on your eyes. 

 

SMART Goals 

Smart goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. To make a SMART goal, follow the following guideline: 

 

Specific:

What am I specifically going to do and why is it important to me?

Measurable:

How will I measure my success? How do I know when I have   achieved my goal? 

Attainable:

How will I accomplish this goal? What is required of me? How can I acquire the skills I may be missing? 

Relevant:

Is this goal aligned with my values and relevant to my current life? 

Timely:

How much time will I give myself to accomplish this goal? How realistic is my deadline? 

 

 

Consider the Week in Advance 

An 8-hour school day, followed by a 3–4-hour practice, followed by participation in an external league or competitive team, followed by dinner, homework, family bonding and sufficient rest is a ton. It is exhausting to even write it all out! Taking an hour on Sundays to plan the week in advance may aid in reducing tasks throughout the week and increasing the availability of free time. Consider what meals and snacks you can already prep in advance for your child such as lunch. Create a “sports bag” which has everything your athlete may need at practice (shoes, athletic wear, extra socks, braces, gels) that will be readily available to go throughout the week. Creating a drawer for athletic related things (athleisure wear) may reduce overflowing drawers and a mess when looking for your child’s lucky shorts. It may also be useful to designate a hamper for athletic clothing to reduce any “Mom, why haven’t you washed my uniform!? I need it for tonight’s game!” arguments. 

 

Create a schedule with time-blocks 

Time blocking splits your day into what the name suggests – blocks. Each block can be designated to a specific task such as homework, lunch and even play time. Time blocking takes time-management a step forward by considering the task you need to do and when you have the time to do it. It may also allow you to see what free time you do have in your schedule to give yourself some TLC. An example of a time-blocked school day may be as follows: 

7:15AM: Morning Routine 

8:00AM-2:30PM: School 

2:45PM-5:00PM: Team Practice 

5:30PM-6:00PM: Refuel & Rest

6:00PM-7:30PM: Homework/Studying 

7:30PM-8:00PM: Dinner

8:00PM-9:00PM: Quality Time

9:00PM-10:00PM: Teens Free Time

10:00PM: Bedtime

 

 

Prioritize Sleep 

Sleep plays an important role in our ability to navigate the day ahead and optimize our performance. Research suggests that lack of adequate sleep may lead to increased risk for injury and lower performance levels. It is suggested for teenagers to get an average of 8-10 hours of sleep. To help your child develop healthy sleep habits consider the following suggestions: 

 

Implement a Wind-Down Routine

A wind-down routine helps us prepare for bed by promoting relaxation for your body and mind. Activities in a wind-down routine should be non-stimulating. Examples of things to do to prepare for bed may include listening to relaxing music, taking a warm bath, reading a few chapters of a physical book, completing a meditation, journaling, breathing techniques or low impact stretching.

 

Assess for Comfort 

Inquire on how comfortable your child’s room is for them and their current sleep habits. Does it get too hot for them at night? Do their pillows feel like bricks? Is there too much light in the room? Are they creeped out by decorations you can remove? Your child’s room should feel safe and cozy. 

 

Encourage Only Using the Bedroom Bed for Sleep. 

It can be easy to fall into the trap of eating in bed, scrolling on Instagram reels, and doing homework in bed. It is important to train the brain and body to associate bed specifically with sleep. We promote this by only using the bed to sleep and utilizing other living spaces for the aforementioned activities. 

 

Avoid Caffeine/Liquids Before Bedtime. 

We’ve all been there before… its 2am and you’ve woken up with the sudden urge to use the bathroom. To prevent this from happening, try to limit consuming liquids or late-night snacks before bed. 

 

Limit Screentime a Hour Before Bed. 

Doom scrolling is a sure way to limit the promotion of healthy sleep habits. Our screens impact our sleep quality and ultimately delay are ability to fall asleep swiftly. The blue light from our screens impacts the release of a sleep regulating hormone called Melatonin. Our screens also impact our mood and can stimulate our minds leading to difficulty falling asleep. 

 

Maintain a Consistent Sleep-Wake Routine. 

 

 

Promote Mental Health  

Meeting the demands of an academic curriculum coupled with the demands of a sport can be difficult. The sense of pressure your teen can feel may feel like a kettle overflowing with hot water. Being a high schooler is already difficult enough; add balancing team politics, external/internal pressure, school drama and perfectionism and mental health surely has entered the chat. 

 

Reduce Mental Health Stigma

Your children are watching and listening to you. How you speak about the aunt with substance abuse issues, the remarks you make about the movie character with depression, the comment on a gymnast’s body type and the condescending tone about your cousin who is gay is all being witnessed by your child. Though as a parent it may seem as an off-handed comment to you, to your child they are viewing how you see the world; consider your child thinking “if my mom sees the world like this, how would they see me?” If as a parent you won’t accept or try to understand mental health, then what type of environment are you creating for your child? Odds are, they probably won’t want to open-up anytime soon. Mental health does not discriminate, and it can affect a young person’s life at any age. 

 

According to the CDC approximately 2.7 million children between 3-17 years old experience depression and approximately 5.8 million children experience anxiety. The CDC also found that in the 2018-2019 year, of adolescents between 12-17 years old: 15.1% had a major depressive episode, 36.7% had persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 4.1% had a substance abuse disorder, 18.8% contemplated attempting suicide, 15.7% made a suicide plan, 8.9% attempted suicide.  

 

 

Prioritize Time for Self-Care

Aside from homework, chores and practice, what other activities is your child interested in that are fun? Sometimes, sports may start off as fun and later become pressured and feel like work. The focus on obtaining an athletic scholarship may get in the way of enjoying the game. When looking at your child’s weekly routine, is there time for fishing, going on a hike, watching a baseball game or spending time with cousins? 

 

Listen When Your Child Speaks About Their Coach & Practice

In recent years we’ve seen the mental health of professional athletes in the spotlight and we’ve seen the impact coaches have on their experience. What type of coaching style do you observe from your child’s coach? Your child may spend upwards of 15 hours a week with their coach. It is important to know what environment they are in, who they are around, what “consequences” on the team are, how they are being spoken to and what demands are being made of your child. A positive way to see coach-player interactions is by attending your child’s games. Additionally, check-in with your student athlete on how they are feeling towards their sport. Remember, is this my dream or is it my child’s? 

 

If your child is struggling with student-athlete pressures, call us today to schedule an appointment. 

 

Resource: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, March 8). Data and statistics on children’s Mental Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html