Gators find ways to cope with stress, criticism and other mental health challenges
Orlando SentinelOct 28, 2019
Sometimes, Grimes also needs to escape, go off by himself and spend time with Youngboy, DaBaby and Young Jeezy -- three of his favorite artists.
Sitting in his car in the Florida heat, with the AC blasting and the music cranking, Grimes finds the balance and peace of mind he needs in order to endure a long, rigorous season a lot less glamorous than it might appear to most.
"Every day, every time before a game, I just go sit in my car and relax and listen to music for at least an hour-and-a-half, just to relax my mind and get everything off of football," Grimes said. "There comes a point where it's just, I wouldn't say overbearing, but it's a lot of pressure, so that's something I do.
"Yeah, waste a lot of gas, but it helps me out a lot to relax my mind."
Most
"A lot of players have their own little routines," Grimes said.
They also lean heavily on one another.
"We all have group chats and stuff, so we all stay on top of each other," UF safety
The
This past summer, the league set out to help improve the mental health of its football players, a group of young men in a spotlight and under a microscope that continues to intensify in the digital age.
Athletes across the country have come forward sharing their battles with depression, with Washington State quarterback
"The perspectives on mental health represent not a ripple of change, but a wave of new reality, which faces all of us in intercollegiate athletics and higher education," Sankey said during SEC Media Days.
This past week, the No. 7
Most of the time this time of year, though, the
To many outside of college sports, Grimes and his teammates appear to have cashed in the golden ticket. Playing big-time college football for the
"There are guys that on a Saturday, a lot of people come and watch them play, and a lot of people think, 'Boy, these guys are these celebrity football stars,'" UF coach
"We have to make sure they are prepared for whatever life is going through with them."
The attention, accolades, elevated social status, full-time scholarship and NFL opportunities are the spoils of playing in the
The long hours, personal attacks from fans, inevitable injuries and the juggling act of sport and school required of a student-athlete are other realities few consider.
"A lot of us are fighting for a lot of different reasons, fighting a lot of different injuries, different people," said UF defensive tackle
"The people who come out and make it are very strong people because I'm pretty sure everybody that plays football in college has hit a low point at one time."
The low point for Shuler, a former standout at
"I really didn't know what was going on. I felt like I should have finished what I started," the 22-year-old Shuler recalled of his time at West Virginia. "After awhile -- I'm religious -- after awhile I prayed about it. It all came clear what I needed to do.
"It made me happy when I did it."
Grimes, a high school star in his native
Most UF players have been with the program since leaving high school.
Senior receiver
Cleveland, a high-profile recruit, made headlines for the wrong reasons when he and teammate
With experience came perspective for Cleveland, who since has recorded the most community service hours on the team and is UF's nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy, a national award for an athlete's on-and-off-the-field excellence.
"There's a lot of weight on our shoulders," said Cleveland, 21. "But we have to deal with it. That comes with football. There's a lot of pressure. You have to be able to control that and continue to not let the negativity and peoples' opinions affect your game.
"I've gotten a lot better at not buying into the outside noise about my game. I'm waking up at
"As long as I know I'm true for myself, everything will work out good."
Not everyone, though, can rely on their inner strength to navigate the challenges and potential pitfalls of playing college football.
Few can relate to the pressure more than coaches, though few of them grew up in a world where feedback was given instantly and without empathy.
"These guys have grown up on their cellphones,"
"It's important not only developing them as players but also off the field and developing the whole person."
Grimes, a 21-year-old junior, has grown to accept the new world order.
"It kind of seems like everybody has their own comments on everything that you do," he said. "If it's from a tweet or a post or anything, somebody has a comment on it, which is kind of tough nowadays -- there's kind of lack of privacy.
"But it is what it is. We signed up for it and we have to deal with it."
The
UF athletics director
"We invest a lot of resources, and rightly so, to make sure our athletes have as much support as possible," he said. "It's a national issue. I think the current generation of young people have more feedback coming at them than any prior generation."
In the end, coaches and players do not seek to simplify a complex issue that impacts each individual differently.
Grimes turns to music, Shuler to his religious upbringing, Cleveland to plying his craft at dawn. Ultimately, though, the
"You got your brothers here, your teammates. They help you get through it," UF senior receiver
"Everyone is going to go through those tough times in college. One thing about this team is we stick together. We stay together to help everyone get through it."
egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
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