The Toxicity of High School Sports

Disclaimer: I am not writing this article to attack high school coaches; I know these coaches invest a lot of time and effort into their job, and we appreciate that. Rather, I am trying to raise awareness of the harmful coaching practices that take place. There is a change that needs to happen in high school sports for the sake of the mental and physical health of athletes.

Disclaimer #2: Some of these stories have been slightly altered in order to protect the anonymity of the athletes.

Nearly 8 million US students participate in high school sports, more than half of America’s high school population of 15 million. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, there are a multitude of long-lasting benefits of participating in a high school sport, including skills of perseverance, team work, self-confidence, empathy, fitness habits, and more. Some research even suggests that high school athletes report lower rates of depression and anxiety, and overall, perceive their mental health to be better.

Unfortunately, however, more recent research has found that high school sports have the opposite effects. A 2015 study by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association found that student athletes actually report higher levels of negative emotional states than their peers who do not play sports. Marshall Mintz, a sports psychologist with over 30 years of experience, states that “The professional consensus is that the incidence of anxiety and depression among scholastic athletes has increased over the past 10 to 15 years.”

Mintz, along with many other professionals, attribute this trend to the increase of intensity in high school sports; many teams have begun to copy the training methods and team approaches of college sports. According to Linda Flanagan, a reporter to The Atlantic and high school cross country coach, “This professionalization has led to overtraining and exhaustion, which is central to the mental-health problems of competitive high-school athletes.”

Especially in a town with a strong athletics department such as Needham, many teams develop a toxic environment that ends up causing more harm than benefits for players. Countless athletes have said that the intense atmosphere, often cultivated by coaches, has led to immense stress and taken away the happiness their sports once brought them.

These toxic environments seen at Needham (and other schools) are created for a variety of reasons, many of which stem from coaches. ​​As a Needham High athlete myself, I have experienced and witnessed harmful coaching practices that have taken away my passion for my sport and the passion of far too many others. Between over-competitive atmospheres, favoritism, being pushed to play through injuries, experiencing discouragement from coaches, and the fear to make the tiniest mistakes due to repercussions, it is no wonder that players slowly lose their love for their sport over the course of high school.

One of the most harmful coaching practices is creating an over-competitive environment in which players are pitted against each other and hostilities are built. In an effort to push athletes to be better, many coaches try to create competitiveness among teammates. Of course, healthy competition is incredibly helpful in motivating players to want to improve, but when it is taken to the extreme it can turn into a harm rather than a help. In this kind of atmosphere, coaches can unconsciously make “worse” players feel that they are not valued members of the team.

As a member of an NHS sports team, I saw firsthand the unhealthy competition created by the coach. Though we got many speeches about team bonding and “gelling as a team,” he made a strict division between the starting lineup and the “second string” team. At most practices, the scrimmaging was between the two teams, which is not necessarily a problem, but it was the way it was presented. The “worst” team was made to feel lesser than and got very little attention from the coach during such scrimmages, as he would spend most of his time telling the “better” team how to improve. At some games, the coach would threaten to pull all the starters if they were not playing well. All this comparison and being pitted against each other created animosity between the players. One player stated that “When coaches make it clear that you are a second-tier player and put the “better” people on a pedestal, it is incredibly discouraging and fosters a negative environment between players.”

Another member of a sports team states that “Everything was about starting, and starters vs non starters became a big conversation. I vividly remember a game where the coach stated that the team went downhill in a game when he took some starters out. Imagine how that made me feel.”

An athlete on a different team also experienced a similar situation with teammates being compared and pitted against each other by the coach. About her situation, the student said: “​​I knew that I wasn’t the best athlete on the team, but I should not have been leaving practice everyday feeling worthless and invisible.”

Not only do coaches make players feel bad about themselves by pitting players against each other, but they also created an environment where one could act hostile toward one another. One athlete states that “the way that the program was run made it an overly-competitive environment, and teammates seemed to turn against each other because of that. Kids would come off these fields crying if they were subbed out because they thought someone was beating them out of their spot. The sad thing is subbing should be a good thing; people can get rest and other players can get the opportunity to bring their unique skills to the team.”

Another NHS athlete opens up about her experience with animosity between players that originated from the toxic competition the coach created, saying that even “teammates will insult you for making mistakes.”

Individual sports especially create divides between athletes. An NHS athlete with experience in individual sports explains that “In individual-team sports like track or swim, certain groups of athletes are the only ones to score points, this creates cliques of people and opposing groups point aggressive comments towards each other.” Another swimmer elaborates on the toxic atmosphere of individual sports created by coaches, saying “During tryouts, our coach turned the swimmers against each other by emphasizing that during this time the other swimmers were not our teammates, but our competition in order to make the team and get recognition or attention from the coach”

How can players feel comfortable with each other if they are put down and made to feel lesser than by both teammates and coaches? Healthy competition can be good, but it is often taken to the extreme and ends up ruining the sport for athletes. Coaches need to stop dividing teammates and emphasize that everyone is a valued member of the team, and they must do this with their actions; just saying team-bonding is not enough.

Favoritism is also a major part of high school athletics. Many coaches pick clear favorites, which also throws off team dynamics, especially in an over-competitive environment. Once, I witnessed a coach tell one girl “what the hell were you thinking” when she made a mistake that led to a goal. Another girl who was equally responsible for that goal was crying as she came off the field, and the coach gave her a hug. The favoritism could not have been more explicit. Of course, favoritism can drive a wedge between teammates.

When coaches play their favorites over other equally-deserving athletes, teammates can get frustrated. One NHS athlete states that “It stinks because sometimes it feels like the coach just chooses favorites instead of the more qualified players.” Another states that “Coaches can be more forgiving for mistakes made by a favorite player, whereas a similar mistake from another can ruin their coach’s confidence in them.”

The emotional well being of athletes is clearly neglected at times, and unfortunately, their physical health can be as well.

One athlete states that “I suffered a significant injury in the middle of the season -- the team environment and one of the coaches made it feel impossible to take care of myself and take the time I needed to heal. This injury got worse as a result.” Another athlete stated she played through injuries because she was afraid to lose her starting spot (a fear developed by the over-competitive atmosphere).

One athlete mentioned a hip injury they had that was not taken seriously by coaches: “I had a really bad, painful hip-click and was advised to “take it very easy” from an orthopedic doctor. Despite this, the coach seemed to not believe my injury and instead indicated that I was overreacting. Because of that, I decided to not take it easy in fear of repercussions. My hip did not fully recover until after the season when I allowed myself to fully heal.”

Coaches can also push players to play in such a way that they end up receiving an injury.

An athlete mentions a moment with a coach that contributed to an injury he later received: “Once I had been hustling and doing my best, but yet my coach yelled at me in front of everyone asking “what was wrong with me.” When I went back out, in an effort to push myself more, I ended up with a season-ending injury.” If the coach had approached this player in a kinder, more constructive way, the player believes he may not have had that injury.

I had a similar experience. I was constantly told I was not aggressive enough by my high school coach no matter what I did, making me feel that I needed to be over-aggressive to “prove myself.” This led me to receiving a severe concussion which I am still dealing with today and a broken wrist. I felt I had to do things I was uncomfortable with that were downright dangerous. Unlike other coaches I had, the high school coach seemed to value over-aggressiveness more than technique, which is why I ended up playing in a dangerous fashion that led to a significant injury.

Perhaps the biggest problem with high school sports is that many coaches discourage players rather than build them up, which subsequently drills into one a fear to make mistakes. Whether it is unintentional or not, the negativity that radiates from the coach can have profound effects on players.

Multiple NHS athletes mention that both them and their teammates have gone home in tears after games or practices because of things their coaches said to them . One player admits that “The old coach was very verbally harmful to many of the players when they did noy live up to her expectations. People often went home crying.” A member of another team adds onto this idea, asserting that “​​Going home crying should not happen. Period.”

Personally, I witnessed and experienced harmful coaching practices over my four years at NHS. Tiny incidents, such as everyone having to do full field sprints over a singular flat ball at tryouts and a player being screamed at and brought to tears over a broken cleat, were common occurrences. However, there were many more harmful incidents that occurred.

We were completely screamed at over losing to a team that was objectively better than us (they went on to win the state championship) to the point where the majority of the team was crying; what we needed after that loss was a coach to give us a pep talk and inspire us to do better, not tear us down. The coach also frequently screamed “what the hell are you thinking” while the player was still on the field, which really only flusters people and does not make them play better. Health professional ​Jessie Shepherd explains that “yelling is the least effective form of communication, and it just doesn't work for discipline.” ​​

One NHS athlete stated that they heard a coach flat out say you “have to knock people down to build them back up.” It is understandable that older coaches who grew up hearing this believe it, but they are sadly mistaken. The notion of knocking people down in an effort to push them to be better is… outdated, to say the least. This idea just destroys an athlete’s passion for their sport and can create a situation where the player feels worthless.

Make no mistake, I am not in any means implying that a coach should not be hard on players/the team at times. Tough love is needed. It is when coaches consistently say or do negative things that slowly chip away at a player's love for the sport. This toxic atmosphere can create a major fear to make even the tiniest mistakes.

An NHS athlete describes the anxiety they developed due to their coach. She says that “the coach constantly pointed out my one weakness, and instead of trying to build up my skills in that area, he discouraged me. I knew any mistake I made he would judge me for. On a club team, however, my coach gave lots of positive praise and expressed confidence in my abilities rather than doubting them. That “weakness” of mine was not seen at all during that club season. It was only during the high school season when my abilities were doubted that I made mistakes. It’s hard to play for a coach that does not believe in you. By the end of my senior season, I had no desire to play my sport again.”

One NHS athlete who had a similar experience states that “It is really hard to play for a coach that does not believe in you. I felt scrutinized. I felt nothing I did would be good enough. It got to the point where I did not want to play anymore because any little mistake I made would be held against me. And I am certainly not the only person who feels this way.”

While many Needham High School athletes feel they experience harmful coaching practices, this issue is certainly not specific to NHS. Athletes all around the country feel the unnecessary intensity of their school sports. The reality is, these are high school sports. We are not Division I athletes. We are not professionals. Why are coaches creating such an over-competitive, toxic environment and pushing kids to the point of tears and injuries? We do sports to have fun, to bond with our fellow students, to create lasting memories. Yet too many players leave high school hating their sport.

Renowned US soccer star Abby Wamback posted on twitter that she “witnessed [coaches] be emotionally and verbally abusive and dehumanizing. I am so deeply sorry to all the players who have been hurt inside the sport we all love.”

It is time for a change in high school sports. A new era of coaches who use constructive criticism and compassion needs to rise. There is hope for improvement. An article written by ESPN staff writer Myron Medcalf describes the benefits of younger coaches: “Younger coaches have an edge when it’s necessary to relate to their players. In most cases, they're more connected to players culturally and socially than veteran coaches.” Indeed, older coaches are, well, old-school to say the least. A more relatable coach who brings youthful, positive energy to their team and who focuses on building players up rather than tearing them down will be a more effective coach to high school athletes.

For the sake of athlete mental health, I, along with my fellow peers, call for a change in coaching practices.