Mental health education for coaches can help young athletes on and off the field

Coaches are especially well-positioned to support youth since they spend more time with their athletes than most other adults week-to-week, and might coach the same kids for years. Those deep relationships are incredibly valuable for teaching kids valuable life lessons like how to navigate pressure — and spotting when something is off.

It’s especially important for coaches to have this awareness since the signs and patterns of an eating disorder — changes in emotion, performance, weight, and energy, or new patterns of injury — can be subtle. Stereotypes about who gets eating disorders can also mean some athletes (like boys or larger players) are even less likely to be noticed. A coach who only knows to look for dramatic weight loss will miss many tell-tale signs (like skipping meals, under-fueling and increasing obsessions). That makes it even more important for coaches to have mental health training to support their athletes.

The training promoted by SB26-060 will help coaches make sure they can spot when something is off, and know how to set a positive tone for young athletes, including when it comes to body image, food and their long-term relationship with exercise.

We have the opportunity to involve thousands of Coloradan coaches in addressing our youth mental health crisis. It’s one we cannot miss.