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OU football: Oklahoma allotting more time to focus on players' mental health

Norman Transcript - 6/6/2020

Jun. 6--Some of the work toward having college football in 2020 has centered around how schools will physically train players in order to safely compete.

There has been discussion about how long athletes should have during a preseason, and more recently, increased talk about returning for voluntary workouts, which will take place even sooner. Players sheltering at home have been supplied video workouts from strength coaches.

But those activities strengthen only the body.

Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley was recently asked about another aspect of player health amid the coronavirus pandemic: How are they holding up mentally?

Those exercises are critical too.

"You've got players that are totally out of their comfort zones right now," Riley said. "(They) have been gone so long, missing all the things that they're used to doing and want to do. Yeah, and then with obviously the two major different things going on in our country right now, and in the world, I mean, it's a huge deal."

College athletes are sometimes hidden inside the conversation of sports' restart, without consideration to how they're handling the instability that has gripped America the past three months. That includes the pandemic and instances of police brutality against African Americans, the latter which has sparked a swelling anti-racism movement.

According to the National Institute of Health, in 2017 young adults age 18-25 had the highest prevalence of Any Mental Illness (AMI) at 25.8% compared to those 26-49 years old (22.2%). AMI is categorized as any mental, behavioral or emotional disorder with ranging impairment.

Young people age 18-25 also had a higher prevalence of Serious Mental Illness (SMI) at 7.5% compared to the 26-49 category (5.6%). SMI has more serious impairment day to day.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll from late April showed the pandemic has exacerbated existing problems, with 56% of U.S. adults reporting that worry and stress related to the virus has caused at least one negative effect in their mental health.

College students aren't exempt from pandemic-related issues that can worsen general depression and anxiety -- the spike in national unemployment, which dropped to 13% Friday, can have an effect if their parents have lost their jobs.

OU has been focused on athletes' mental wellness for some time.

Cody Commander is director of the Psychological Resources for OU Student Athletes, which was created in 2004 -- 12 years before the NCAA published its first student-athlete mental health handbook. Athletes can make appointments by phone or arrange them through their trainers, coaches or advisers.

When school and sports resume together, in a much different world than the previous semester, that system may be more important than ever.

Riley said some of the time coaches are allotted for football-related activities has been funneled toward mental health the past few months.

"We're directing (more time) towards that area," Riley said. "... It's a big factor. Our health and well being of our players, we never put anything in front of that. I think we've taken some positive steps, but certainly as these guys get back on campus, it's something we're gonna really be watching out for.

"You're thankful that you have the resources you do, because I think it'll be all hands on deck (moving forward)."

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Notable

--Jones lands at ECU: Former OU linebacker Ryan Jones has found a home at East Carolina after entering his name in the transfer portal this offseason.

ECU, of course, is where OU coach Lincoln Riley was offensive coordinator before joining the Sooners.

Jones played a little bit of everything at OU. He committed as a wide receiver but played at safety and linebacker. At ECU, he'll move back to offense, according to Hoist the Colours blog.

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Tyler Palmateer

405-366-3580

Follow me @Tpalmateer83

tpalmateer@normantranscript.com

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