Athletes and Mental Health | ‘People have to take care of each other’ – The Southern

SIU men's basketball coach Bryan Mullins, a Hall of Fame point guard here in the late 2000s, said with or without games, getting back to a normal schedule was critical for kids' mental health during the COVID-19 era.

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"I think that's the reason you grow up playing sports, to get that release, mentally, physically. It's healthy. It teaches you about life, and about playing for a team," he said. "Any time you take a year off, it doesn't help. Probably, if our guys missed a season, or the guys missed a season, I think what they would miss the most would be just being together. Being part of a team and competing. Being in a locker room and being on a bus. You always think back of your college memories, you miss being with your teammates, your guys, and that's probably the most these kids in Illinois are missing right now."

Loyola men's basketball coach Porter Moser signed two high school athletes for the 2021 class and has two sons in high school right now, a sophomore and a senior.

"It's been really hard to lose sports like that," he said. "I know people say 'Oh, it's just sports,' but, to young kids... think back. I would have been devastated if they took my senior year of high school away from me when I played at Benet Academy. So, it's real. It's real."

Indiana State men's basketball coach Greg Lansing, who has a master's degree in counseling from the University of South Dakota, has seen it. FaceTiming his players, calling his older parents a bit more than usual, and attempting to stay connected without getting together in person. Lansing's best advice for staying in touch during a world pandemic? Don't text somebody. Call them. Today.

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Athletes and Mental Health | 'People have to take care of each other' - The Southern