Mental health struggles continue for high school athletes after statewide pause of sports

Mark Ganziano still had more to say.

A 6-minute phone interview wasn’t quite enough to articulate his feelings as the prospect of an Illinois high school football season – among many other sports seasons – remained in limbo for months.

Ganziano has played football since he was 6 years old. Playing sports year-round was his normal. Football practice and lifting sessions were his release – his escape – “from school and everything.”

For months, that escape hasn’t been there.

“Something that I would like to add is, you never know what somebody is going through,” said Ganziano, Burlington Central’s senior quarterback on Jan. 8. “It doesn’t matter what they do on Friday nights; you never know what somebody is going through in their life.”

For Ganziano and thousands of high school athletes, days turned into weeks, weeks into months waiting to learn when high school-sanctioned sports can begin.

“It’s just tough. You go on Twitter and you (see), ‘Oh, the IHSA is going to meet with (Gov. JB) Pritzker,’” Ganziano said. “It leads you to think ‘Oh, we’re going to play’; and then within a couple of days, you see nothing’s happened.

“It’s taken such a toll on everybody,” Ganziano continued. “I’ve talked to people at school, and they say they miss going to all the games and being there. I’ve talked to parents and everyone; it just reaches so far past just the athletes that it’s crazy.

“During these times, we need something to turn to. One of the things that we can turn to – that we’ve always turned to – is sports. I just feel that we’re in a position where we can safely play sports... we all need sports just to bring back some normalcy to everyone’s life and bring a light during these times.”

Those cries for action were amplified in organized rallies in Springfield and Chicago last fall. It’s transitioned to social media as #HearOurVoiceIllinois rolls across Twitter feeds. Athletes and coaches have resorted to videotaping messages to Illinois leadership as to why they feel the return to sports is so critical.

Concerns for the athlete’s mental health and well-being, it appears, is at the forefront of that specific movement. One scroll through that hashtag tells that story itself.

A recently-published study conducted by a team of medical doctors and psychologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison perhaps might explain why.

The study, conducted in May 2020, involved 13,002 athletes between the ages of 13 to 19 years old who lived across 46 states and 825 counties. The highest percentage of participants was from the Midwest at 70.2%.

The participants completed an anonymous online survey, which sought to describe the mental health of athletes during COVID-19-related school closures and sport cancellations. Health-related quality of life, mental health and physical activity was measured in the self-report surveys – not the result of clinical examinations by health care providers.

Based on the study’s findings, the prevalence of depression symptoms was highest in team sport athletes at 74.1%. For athletes competing in an individual sport, that statistic was 65%.

Females reported a higher prevalence of moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (43.7%) compared to 28.2% of males.

Athletes from counties “with the highest poverty levels” exhibited the highest generalized anxiety disorder scores, highest scores on a patient health questionnaire (which assesses depression severity), “and highest prevalences of moderate to severe anxiety and moderate to severe depression”.

“Mental health, physical health and [health-related quality of life] worsened with increasing grade in school,” the findings read.

Doctor Christopher Watson, a board certified child and adolescent psychologist, founded Northwest Behavioral Health Services based in Arlington Heights. Watson sees approximately 30 to 40 clients per week and approximately 40% of his caseload consists of teenage clients.

“I was kind of surprised by that 75% [for team sport athletes] in May number because I felt like we were kind of early on. I saw more anxiety at that point [earlier in the pandemic],” Watson said. “Now, I think, teens are done with (the pandemic)...the adolescent brain is uniquely designed and pre-disposed to take risks.

“ ... The positive side of that is, that means teens are going to take risks in ways to be inventors and innovators and risk-takers,” Watson continued. “Sports provides that sort of structure for them to do that. Without it, they are taking risks in other ways. A lot of them are unfortunately ... (turning to) drugs, alcohol, other things that are risky.”

In July 2020, another study conducted by UW-Madison researchers found that approximately 68% of the 3,243 athletes surveyed “reported feelings of anxiety and depression at levels that would typically require medical intervention.”

Watson cautions individuals to recognize the signs “that [indicate] teens are in trouble” and share those signs of potential anxiety and depression.

Those signs, Watson said, include increased irritability and agitation, withdrawal and lack of passion for activities that are generally considered enjoyable and more.

“I guess what I would say to (young people): ‘Hold on and talk to somebody,’” Watson said. “Talk to your parents. Talk to a psychologist or whomever you trust that’s going to be able to give you some adult perspective.

“We’re here to help change perspectives; we’re here to help them think about the circumstances and what matters. How you think about something dictates how you feel about it. And, that dictates what you do.”


The timeline for returning to play high school sports has varied state-by-state. Some have approached playing contests more aggressively. Arkansas, for example, held basketball games as early as October.

While play for many states has resumed, it has not come without speed bumps with cancellations, postponements and more. Here is a small snapshot across Illinois’ border.

As of Jan. 19, via the National Federation of State High School Associations, 33 states have started regular season basketball contests.

On Jan. 22, Illinois announced that as long as a health region is within Phase 4 of its mitigation plan, high-risk sports can play games within school conferences and regions. Lower-risk sports, including badminton, bowling and cheer, are expected to begin contests in the coming weeks. The IHSA will be announcing adjustments to its revised sports calendar by Jan. 27.


“Before this all began, I [had] back-to-back practices. Sometimes, I had three a night,” St. Charles East freshman basketball player Lexi DiOrio said.

With the fate of the basketball season remaining to be seen at that point, DiOrio instead opted to play tennis in the fall.

“I was able to be part of a team, which I really enjoyed,” DiOrio said.

DiOrio, however, wouldn’t go as far to cite being depressed at varying points.

“When I am in a gym and working out, that’s my happy place. That’s when I’m most happy,” DiOrio said. “Not being able to have that [with my high school] that really affected me...I was able to find other ways and alternatives where I could still have that [fix]. I know some people, [however], haven’t been doing anything.

“I just want to be able to play. That is where I am happy. When I’m done with school, that’s my escape from all the stress.”

If and when contact sports can officially start, St. Charles East junior basketball player Olivia Kiefer and her family will have a huge decision to make whether to even play.

And, she arguably won’t be alone.

“I have two people [in my family] that are at high-risk,” Kiefer said. “I already had [that] conversation [with them]; They were like: ‘If you really want it, we’re willing to risk it.’”

“Then,” Kiefer continued. “That’s such a weight on my shoulders of having to choose between me playing a season of high school basketball versus them potentially passing away or having some severe illness.”

If play starts, Kiefer expects to have a long conversation with family as to what she’ll do. How soon those at-risk individuals can get vaccinated could make-or-break her decision.

“If [basketball] comes back and we were able to play (it’s going to be) a really, really hard decision for me to make personally because I don’t want a loved one to pass because I want to play one season of basketball,” Kiefer said.