Carly Anderson is a licensed psychologist who specializes in sports psychology and is co-owner of Premier Sport Psychology in Edina. She joined Jill Riley to talk about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young athletes, many of whom are seeing their beloved activities curtailed or changed due to the public health crisis.

Listen to the interview above, and read a transcript of the complete conversation below. Every Wednesday morning at 8:30 CST, Jill connects with experts and local personalities for some real talk about keeping our minds and bodies healthy — from staying safe in the music scene, to exercising during a pandemic, to voting and civic engagement.

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For anyone who's not familiar with sports psychology, what does that mean?

I always like to describe it as a spectrum of areas that athletes and performers might put attention on or work on. Things such as...on one end of the continuum you might have the mental game. Focus, concentration, managing nerves, performing under pressure, leadership, team dynamics.

But we also work with a lot of athletes and performers on the other end, where it might be general counseling. Life impacts us; we're all humans as well as, maybe, athletes and performers, so we might deal with stress. Obviously 2020 has brought a lot of that. We might be going through transitions and adjustments and relationships [and need] help with all of those areas.

And we do a lot of work with folks on the mental wellness and [mental] health side of life.

I think that, right there, is the direction we're heading — especially when it comes to youth sports right now. With the recent cancellations of youth sport seasons in Minnesota due to the pandemic, due to COVID-19, we thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about some concerns, whether it be mental or physical health, but also find those opportunities for student athletes and parents right now. So for you as a professional, what mental health concerns are you hearing about from student athletes or even parents and coaches here in Minnesota, here in the Twin Cities?

I'm hearing, and our group is hearing, a lot of stress, anxiety, depression: feelings of grief and loss that you don't have your normal season, you don't have your normal connection with peers and coaches. Even some of our first-years in college, or seniors in high school, athletes that have missed out on the Tokyo Olympics, opportunities for recruiting...I mean, there's just so much loss there that the pandemic has brought.

Things like low motivation, athletes finding it difficult to find purpose and meaning without practice and competition. Certainly some student athletes are feeling frustrated and angry, feelings of being out of control and the isolation is intense for everyone. So interestingly there also have been some student athletes who have felt that oh, I'm actually getting a chance to have my body rest or letting a longstanding injury heal or [to] get more sleep or connect with my family, with time at home. So yeah, everyone's situation is different, but I think the general stress and uncertainty this pandemic has brought has been challenging for everyone.

Certainly there is some opportunity here...I mean some growth opportunity.

Absolutely, and I'm so glad you said that, Jill, because these are the times in life where it's intense adversity and hardship and though that's uncomfortable and painful and not fun, these are also the really rich opportunities to grow and learn and build resiliency. So I really encourage coaches and parents, athletes, as hard as it is, to look at this year as opportunities to grow and learn.

I sometimes use a little bit of a cheesy metaphor of kind of an oak tree, where you think about I have everything planned, I have certainty, I'm rigid in my structure or my schedule and my training routine. And then you think about, what kind of tree can withstand a 200 mile an hour hurricane? What kind of trees line the Gulf Coast? Most athletes are quick to say yeah, it's a palm tree. What's unique about a palm tree? It's engineered to bend, right? And to be flexible and to adjust. I think those are the mental skills and tools that we all are getting good practice [in using], whether we like it or not: good practice in learning how to adapt and adjust to this really challenging situation.

I think for all athletes, that's a wonderful skill set to have — not just for sports, but for life.

Yeah, that word resiliency is so big right now. We talk about student athletes, but even just students and people with distance learning...how families are adjusting. Just that word, resiliency, comes up a lot. I played team sports when I was growing up; still, every summer, play on a softball team. There's something to that, with the lessons, the life lessons from team sports. Really, what an opportunity to learn that skill — because it is a skill, to be resilient.

Yes. Learning through the hardship, learning how to be persistent, learning how to find meaning and sometimes even purpose in adversity and difficulty — and, at times, even finding some gratitude in that adversity.

I imagine you're hearing from some parents who are wondering, how can I provide support? Are there places where people can be directed to help with that guidance?

Certainly. I really applaud and [give] kudos to the parents and mentors, teachers, who are considering how can I help and support mental wellness and the emotional support and well-being of kids and athletes right now. Certainly, if you're seeing a young person struggling, help them to reach out, talk to a professional. Obviously I work at Premier Sport Psychology; our staff is just one of many options in the Twin Cities to get professional help.

Also there are a lot of online resources — and I know that's kind of a loaded thing right now, with how much is online right now, on Zoom. We've got a mindset program, but there [are also other mental skills resources online]. It's a good time to practice imagery, goal-setting, some of those other skills that get maybe put to the wayside when you're busy traveling for competitions and busy with practices. This is a nice time to work on mindfulness, relaxation techniques. Coaching Alliance is a wonderful website; they actually also just posted an article with some tips for coping with the pandemic.

Then, as simple as it is, just staying connected with meaningful others and making sure your kids — athletes, young people in your life — aren't losing connections with others and aren't getting too isolated.

I think that's good advice — especially for what plenty of people are calling a down time right now. I think [it's important for] people outside of the sports world or youth sports or people who never played a sport to understand just how big the psychological side of that activity is, versus the physical side.

Yes, so true. And I will say, even coaches are stressed through all of this. Parents are stressed as well. So I think there's a unique nature to this particular year, this pandemic. Youth are being impacted, but everyone is in it together, which makes it hard. I would just emphasize your own self-care and making sure you're metaphorically getting your oxygen mask on so that you can assist others in putting theirs on as well.