Special Concerns Unique To Performers

1. Athletes are very visible and vulnerable to criticism from fans, coaches, and teammates.
   

   Most people go to school or work and work privately on projects, assignments or other tasks. Their work is judged by a teacher or superior and perhaps a small group of colleagues or fellow students. Errors are noted and corrected in a fairly private system. Usually a person has an opportunity to correct a mistake and go on with the next task. This is not true for the competitive athlete: the football player who drops a pass when wide open . . . the track performer who is disqualified because of a false start. . . the golfer who misses a short putt . . . all do so in front of teammates, coaches, friends, and fans. At some levels of competition, the news media also observes the performance and writes or broadcasts news about the athlete's performance. There are few opportunities for an athlete to correct a mistake until the next play or contest. In many cases the mistakes cannot be corrected. Similarly, the athlete who performs exceptionally well is praised by friends, teammates, and fans. The athlete must cope with the visibility of her/his successes as well as failures.
   

2. Athletes are expected to meet the demands of fans in their social life as well as the playing field.
   

   It is not enough for the competitive athlete to practice and perform in contests. Fans of high school, college and professional sports expect consistently excellent performance and a willingness of athletes to meet and talk with their fans about their sport. Success in sports lead to to certain expectations and demands by fans which many athletes are not prepared to handle effectively. There are times when an athlete wants to be alone or with friends and forgget her/his sport. Yet, athletes are not able to control the behavior of fans and often find it difficult to find privacy.
   
   

3. There is a consistent need for athletes to improve skills.
   

   Each performance by an athlete is an opportunity to improve skills. Athletes strive toward learning from past mistakes and successes so that each event is better than past events. An athlete cannot rest on past performances very long and expect to maintain her/his place on a team or her/his personal performance standards. An early maturing sophmore in high school may appear to be getting worse by only staying the same. Coaches and fans as well as athletes keep looking toward constantly improved performance. There is a consistent pressure to imporve by learning more about strategy, increasing physical skills or improving mental attitude.
   
   

4. Athletes face a time-limited career due to age and/or injury.
   

   No matter how skilled and well-trained an athlete has become, there is always a time limit to participation. Graduation is a clear ending for high-school and college athletes. Professionals recognize the average length of a career and realize few athletes perform past a certain age depending on the sport. This inevitable end of a career is stressful for many athletes who wonder what will fill the void in their lives when competitive sports are no longer part of their lifestyle. Many high-school athletes recognize the reality that they do not possess the size, strength, or skill to compete in college or professional ranks. Many college athletes realize a small percentage of their peers will continue their sport careers as professionals. Most athletes will suffer an injury that will keep them out of competition for at least a short time during their career. A six week injury can be half the season to an amateur athlete. The threat of serious injury which can end a ports career is always present especially for those in high risk activities. The transition that occurs when an athlete must end a sports career because of age or injury is a difficult time for many men and women. This transition requires a reassessment of self-image, use of time, non-athletic skills, relationship with friends and a revision of exercise habits.
   
   

5. Athletes have superior physical ability which can mask health problems.
   

   Athletes who are gifted with extraordinary natural abilities can often develop health behavior problems without demonstrating serious symptoms. This is a clear risk for the athlete who uses chemicals in a problematic way yet is able to perform at an acceptable level due to superior ability. Some athletes have developed serious chemical use problems over a long period of time, but have not diminished athletic performance noticeably. This results in a serious problem for some people who might have been helped earlier but physical ability hid negative symptoms.
   

   Likewise, athletes can develop serious stress-related problems such as anxiety or troubled relationships without showing evidence of those problems during competition. Even if an athelte experiences success, what could have been? It is important for athletes to be aware of this issue and be willing to recognize and accept symptoms of developing health behavior problems.
   
   

6. Athletes often experience separation from families and friends.
   

   Practice schedules, travel to contests in other communities, and fatigue resulting from the exertion of training and competition require time spent away from family and friends. Recreation time is often reduced for an athlete and social support is sometimes available primarily from teammates and coaches. None of us are single dimension or single interest people and the demands of athletics can reduce an athlete's contact with others. This can create stress for the person who values family, friends, and activities outside of sports. Practice and game schedules often remove college and high school athletes from regular family and other friend activities. Athletes also practice during vacations and other "free" times. Time spent improving athletic skills will often limit the time spent developing social skills.
   
   

7. Participation in sports requires inconsistent demands on an athlete's time.
   

   Closely related to seperation from family and friends is the reality that time for practice and competition requires a significant commitment by an athlete that is not always consistent. Some sports require an intensive pre-season preperation program with long periods of "down time" between contests during the season. Some sports require intense preperation throughout the season and few time demands in the off-season. Other sports require consistent readiness and practice time. It is difficult for many athletes to cope with the up-and-down demands on time. There is a need to develop lifetime sports skills, even for athletes. Some athletes actually find off-season or rest periods between contests to be some of the most stressful times in their lives. What is there to do after school? During the off-season? Many athletes experience difficulty in maintaining peak physical and emotional conditioning throughout the year and some develop health behavior problems.
   
   

8. There is a clear connection in our society that links sports with alcohol use.
   

   The societal expectation for athletes today is to celebrate victory with alcohol and to drown the sorrows of defeat as well. Extensive advertising of beer on televised sports events, champagne in the locker room and societal support for alcohol use in general are influences felt by all athletes encouraging the regular use of alcohol. Slow pitch softball beer trophies are sometimes valued as much as championship trophies. Not too many years ago there was an image that athletes in training would choose not to drink or drink only very moderately. Today, the societal image of athletes often includes the expectation of hard drinking young men and women. TV advertisements for beer is another example of the sports and alcohol connection.
   
   

9. Athletes who experience problems, including chemical use problems, receive attention from the public and the media.
   

   Most people who develop chemical use problems affect a limited number of people in their lives and are able to seek help in a confidential manner with a small number of family and friends who are aware of the problem. An athlete who develops a chemical use problem may be a news story. Whether a professional athlete's story is published on a national wire service or a high school athlete's problems are discussed in a local community café, the visibility of athletes and public attention to athletes is a fact. The effect of this fact can vary yet it is potentially a source of stress now and in the future. Athletes are role models for young people today and problems of role models are openly identified and discussed. The athlete is vulnerable to the demands of the public to not only perform well during athletic competition but in other aspects of her/his life.
   
   

10. Athletes are affected by others' use of chemicals.
    

    Family, friends, coaches, and teammates who use chemicals can have a tremendous impact on the concentration and feelings of athletes. An athlete who is concerned about the use of alcohol by parents or friends may not be able to fully concentrate on the physical and psychological training required for consistently good athletic performance. An athlete who is concerned about a teammate's use or is mistrustful of that teammate's consistent level of performance, may also be negatively affected in her/his own play.
    
    
    
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