Marissa Beck: Cross Country and Track Coach
- Cross Country Coach at Sacred Heart Prep, Atherton CA
How are you aware of the mental health challenges faced by your student-athletes?
“I am a teacher and a coach, so I feel like I'm pretty aware of how athletes and students act. Some signs that they might be having mental health challenges might be feeling really fatigued, losing their patience, or sometimes crying or getting frustrated. You can kind of see signs in them based on how they're performing. With running, lots of times, we can see like, ‘Oh, I'm feeling really tired’ or ‘Oh, I'm feeling like crap; I just can't do it’. So sometimes that is then related to your mental health, and then you ask athletes questions. Lots of the time, they're sleep is affected when mental health is being affected, and if a student or an athlete tells me they have been having trouble sleeping, that's usually a red flag, and then also affects their performance.”
How do you foster a team culture that prioritizes mental well-being?
“Our number one priority is to have fun and to build a culture, especially in the first few weeks of practice. We're really trying to get to know everyone, and yes, we're always running, but we are also trying to get to know each other and talk and socialize. I think running is pretty unique and that we can kind of talk most of the runs. The other coaches and I try to take turns running with different groups and talking with different athletes. If I think, ‘Oh, I haven't talked to so and so in a while,’ I'll try to just like check in with them. Doing lots of check-ins individually but also as a group and just making sure everyone is laughing and smiling at practice. Also, make sure everyone knows that number one; we just want you to show up and be with us at practice.”
How do you balance the pressure to win with a mental health mindset, and what are your recommendations for that?
“I've always thought that if my team is happy, then they will perform well. I think that it's really important to build that team kind of bonding, and then people just naturally want to do better. I actually really don't focus much on athletes winning, it just sort of happens because everyone wants to perform individually and as a team. We do try to set goals especially with upperclassman and athletes who have been on the team before. Because goal setting can be stressful for some people so we try to think about that. We are asking someone about goals, but trying to find a healthy balance between goal setting, but not stressing as much about winning. Even though it is in the back of a lot of people's head, I just find that performances will improve and goals will be met if a person is happy.”
What techniques do you teach your athletes to help them manage their stress anxiety?
“To get closer to our goals during races, we try to talk to the athletes about visualization. Some of the other coaches race ourselves, and I think we all find the visualization helpful. We try to pass that on to the athlete once again, and then actually at races, if I know someone tends to be anxious, I will try to warm up with him or try to do a one-on-one check-in with them. Some athletes do really well with music, and that relaxes them, especially the girls. Every athlete is different, so reminding athletes what their mantra is, we've shared mantras that work for us, and athletes have shared mantras that work for them. Once again, just trying to make it more fun and not so. If you make it more fun and exciting and focus on individual goals and not just winning, then usually there's less stress.”