During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA selected several teen athletes who brought home multiple victories. However, being a teen athlete isn’t as easy as it seems.
These athletes often struggle with mental health due to the immense pressure and limited personal time. According to Valerie Valle, Psy.D. from John Hopkins Medicine, “Young athletes can get stressed when they don’t make the team, make a mistake, don’t get the play time they want, or fall short of a metric they are working to achieve.” This is true whether you’re an Olympian, like Claire Weinstein and Quincy Wilson, or a Mustang, like Jake Garner and Maggie Linville.
Claire Weinstein:
One of the standout teen athletes at this year’s Olympics was Claire Weinstein, a 17-year-old swimmer who began swimming at the age of 3. Weinstein along with her teammates won a silver medal in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay in Paris.
Weinstein has been open about her mental health struggles. “You’re probably going to have more bad days than good days,” Weinstein explained in an interview with Bustle. “My biggest struggle is getting very anxious and doubting myself. People joke about self-affirmations, but they really help me—in the pool, just reassuring myself that I’ve trained for this, I’m prepared, I can do this.”
When training gets difficult, Weinstein looks on the bright side to stay motivated. “On bad days, you have to come out of practice learning something and recognizing that you did something good—even if you didn’t do the time you wanted or succeed as well as you wanted, you’re getting better.”
Quincy Wilson:
16-year-old track and field star Quincy Wilson also represented Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He took home 1st place in the men’s 4×400-meter relay, making him the youngest male track and field champion ever.
Wilson, who still has two more years before he graduates, works hard to find a balance between his athletic and academics, maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
Keeping a busy schedule, Wilson explains, is key to his mental health. “I can actually enjoy lunch with my friends, go out there and talk, and I don’t have to think about track all the time,” he told NBC News. “I feel like track is a mental sport, and if you’re thinking about it all the time, that’s where you start getting messed up in the head.”
The Mustangs:
Jake Garner, who swims for Center Hill, believes it’s aspirational to see teens competing at the Olympics.
“It’s amazing that at such a young age, they’re able to compete in the Olympics, one of the best sporting events there is,” Garner explained. “It’s a great opportunity for them.”
These young Olympians might not realize it, but they set a huge example for other teens, showing that age is not a barrier to following their dreams.
A member of both the cross-country and track and field teams, sophomore Maggie Linville shares her own mental health struggles as a teen athlete.
“Yeah, [I struggle], especially because coaches can put things in your head, and there’s a lot of expectations to be good. So, it can stress you out a lot.”
This highlights that being a teen athlete involves a lot of pressure and baggage and comes with its own unique set of challenges. It’s crucial for these young stars to have the support they need to maintain their mental health.
Whether you’re an athlete or just a student, remember to take time to focus on your mental health because it is very important.
