3 Ways to Support Pro-athlete Mental Health

Today we examine ways in which we can provide tools to better support Olympic, professional and elite athletes on their mental health journey.

As seen by HBO's documentary "The Weight of Gold", the strain on an athlete's mental health comes from many areas. Training, competing, putting your life on hold, media attention, financial instability, sponsor commitments and not to mention social media.

One big area that stood out to me was the uncertainty athletes face of what to do once they are done competing. Many athletes describe it as "having to start all over" and feeling like they "wasted" valuable time.

Here are three ways that we can continue to support athletes with this post career uncertainty while preparing them for the next phase in their lives.

1. Pro-active financial wellness education: There is a misconception as a professional athlete that you need to be making millions in order to have financial stability or basic wealth management. Managing your finances is about setting goals and implementing the right habits that will ensure you hit those goals. Offering more programs or partnerships with companies that can lend their financial education resources to Olympic athletes will do wonders in easing the post athletic career pressure.

2. Health Insurance: National Team and Olympic athletes are able to have health insurance through their NGB during their active careers. However this usually runs out within a few months of their final competition. Not only are athletes left figuring out what to do financially, they also have to find new health insurance. An initiative we are currently pursuing is for health insurance providers to offer plans for athletes entering the "transitional" phase of their career upon leaving the National Team. Many athletes retire after the age of 26 and this type of programming would allow them stability while they begin to pursue their professional career outside of sports.

3. Develop the Brand Early: Athlete branding is the name of the game. Too many athletes wait until they are done competing before establishing their brand basics. Key marketing assets such as a personal logo, website, mission statement, merchandise and charitable partners can all be established early in an athlete's career. Helping athletes capitalize on this while they are still competing can lay the foundation for a strong business career in retirement.

As always, please feel free to send me any feedback or contact me directly via email (cejih@cgsportsmanagement.com) if there is anything you want to see in the next Cejih Explains.