The mental health of a sportsperson is vital to their performance. While the physical attributes of an athlete make them capable of doing something, the execution still rests with the mind. Recognizing this concern, the Nebraska Huskers Volleyball Team recently highlighted a way to optimize the mental health of players.

A former captain of the Nebraska Huskers, Lindsay Peterson recently appeared on a podcast to speak about the same. A clip of the episode was uploaded to social media, shedding light on the efforts of their university. In fact, she also revealed a program in place that helps the team to take care of their mental health.

Identifying the problematic areas with the mental health program

Lindsay Peterson has been directing the operations of the Nebraska Huskers Volleyball Team for 17 years. Being a former Husker captain herself, she is well-versed with what goes on the court and what are the needs of the players. The official X account of the Huskers Radio Network recently uploaded a video of Peterson speaking about a mental health program. She also explained the pitfalls a player usually faces both on and off the court.

According to Peterson, “Usually when you get to this stage, these players are very physically gifted. You’re gonna make some changes and improvements, but really where they’re gonna see a lot of growth is the mental side of the game. Just because of the amount of pressure that’s on them, there are expectations being put on this program. A lot of retired recruits are coming in, so they have expectations from that.” Peterson also revealed how the program will target the exact spots that build tension amongst volleyball players

The former captain said, “So, you wanna make sure that they’re not letting everything kinda build up and store inside. Or feel that everything is on their shoulders. They’ve got to be able to handle the grind mentally. Going on the road, playing in this environment, the expectations of volleyball and academics at the same time.” 

While Lindsay Peterson mentioned all the target areas that can affect a student, she also mentioned the solutions the University offers. In fact, she also mentioned how neglect in this area can crumble a player.

Taking care of the volleyball team’s headspace and confidence

Lindsay Peterson noted the ways the University offers help to its students when they face mental blockers and problems. She said, “We really stress the importance of a healthy mindset, whether it be meditation, visualization, meeting with our sports psychologist. Whatever it is, whatever they need, to make sure that they’re staying in a good mind space and that they’re feeling confident.” 

The Director of Operations also revealed that negligence in this domain can severely impact the confidence of a player. Peterson also revealed an area of improvement she noticed where the team lacked. She revealed, “As soon as you see them struggling mentally you’ll see their confidence slip. That will be the first thing to go. Maybe that was a sign to us in the first few road trips, that our serving is in struggle, the natural and mental skill in the game”.

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She continued “You need to have control over that and you have to have confidence when you go back to the server’s line. We’ve been struggling a little in that area. That was a little red flag for the coach to see this might be a good time to give them an opportunity to reset, step back for a second.” As the world observes another Mental Health Day, the wise words of Peterson offer great tips to coaches and a renewed hope to struggling students.

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