The Perception of Coaches of the Impact of the COVID-19-Related Shutdown of Sports in the Spring 2020 on the Academic Performance and Mental Health of High School Student-Athletes in Bergen County, New Jersey

Farina, Daniel P.

Dissertation

The Perception of Coaches of the Impact of the COVID-19-Related Shutdown of Sports in the Spring 2020 on the Academic Performance and Mental Health of High School Student-Athletes in Bergen County, New Jersey

Public Deposited

Download PDF

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how coaches perceived the shutdown of sports, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020, impacted the academic performance and mental health of high school student-athletes in north New Jersey. To conduct this study, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews asking open-ended questions of 11 coaches from Bergen County who were employed during the 2020 Spring season as coaches and teachers in the high schools they represented. At the base grounding this study was Self-Determination Theory (SDT), as proposed by Ryan and Deci (2000). Through the examination of interview responses, the researcher determined that the shutdown of sports had a negative impact on the academic performance, academic motivation, and mental health of student-athletes. While the impact on the academic performance of student- athletes was perceived to be comparable by some to others in the building, evidence indicated that the shutdown of sports hurt student-athletes because of factors that included social isolation, a lack of physical activity, and the perceived loss of a reason to attend school. The coaches also perceived that the mental health of student-athletes, both male and female, was impacted by the shutdown of high school sports in 2020. Especially impacted by the lockdowns were senior athletes who were hurt because of the loss of opportunities to achieve certain goals in their last year of high school and interference with college opportunities that arose as a result of the shutdown of sports during the pandemic. Lastly, it was found the coaches shared varying recollections in terms of the impact of the shutdown of sports on male athletes compared to female athletes, with the belief that male athletes were more negatively affected, both academically and from a mental health standpoint.

Last modified