There is another way to sustain trauma in sports besides physical injuries; there is the possibility of sustaining emotional trauma while participating in sports. Emotional trauma is especially...

There is another way to sustain trauma in sports besides physical injuries; there is the possibility of sustaining emotional trauma while participating in sports.

Emotional trauma is especially devastating to young sports participants. Emotional trauma can occur as a result of inappropriate relationships with coaches, verbal abuse such as name-calling, hurtful comments about a player’s performance, swearing or derogatory language by players or coaches. Emotional trauma can come from coaches, trainers, other parents, or other players.

Injury to players can also occur when coaches use hurtful physical pain, or when they subject the players to excessive exercise, denial of fluids, or using unreasonable requests as a form of punishment or to create inappropriate team discipline. This would include slapping, grabbing, spitting upon, shoving, hitting, throwing equipment at the players, or making verbal demands of the players such as to run around the track until they vomit as a punishment for losing a game.

Coaches and other players can bully more passive players using verbal, physical or psychological abuse, which can lead to health risk.

Hazing is a common activity especially in college sports teams. Having degrades a player and can cause emotional harm, even physical harm, regardless of the player’s willingness to participate in the hazing in order to be apart of the team. Hazing can involve both emotional and physical abuse such as forcing a player to perform lewd acts or to drink excessive amounts of alcohol.

These types of relationships between coach and player are disrespectful and compromise the professional integrity of the particular sport program. Coaches naturally have an innate power over players and they can verbally praise, criticize or demean players. Derogatory language and intentional hurtful statements from coach to player is wrong and can cause immeasurable emotional trauma to a player, especially a young player.

Emotional trauma in sports can lead to lowered self-esteem of the player, a future dislike of sports, and an unhealthy atmosphere in which the player has to participate as many sport abuses carry over into the school atmosphere by other players who witness the bullying by the coach and continue it in the classroom.

Often time’s emotional trauma in sports can escalate into psychological or physical abuse of the players.

When emotional trauma exists on a team it undermines the professionalism that should exist in the sport, destroys the ability for players to respect and trust the coach, and tears down the team spirit of the individual players.

Parents taking an active role in practices, training sessions and games so that coaches and players can be monitored can achieve prevention of emotional trauma in sports. A written policy should be in place that not only clearly states the standards of professionalism that the coaches are to be held accountable to, but the policy should be monitored carefully to assure strict compliance.

Guidance counselors, teachers, families and others should be available to the players who need to relate possible infractions of the coaches towards players.

Coaches need to have clear rules about appropriate and inappropriate behavior that is taught to them, with ongoing training and continuing education regarding the age group that they are responsible for.

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