Spotlight on student athletes mental health

Brenden Rosenthal • October 29, 2025

Teens schedules can get hectic and difficult to manage while maintaining their academics. On the other hand, it’s important to be mindful of your health, regardless of what activity you do. In this Q&A, student-athletes share their opinions about how their mental health contributes to their sport.

Spotlight on student-athletes’ mental health

(Brenden Rosenthal)

Freshman Jeremy Recinos

Sport: Boxing

Q: What do you do after a game/meet to mentally recover?

A: Honestly, I would just try to train harder or find some way to improve. I feel like loss is just an opportunity to learn from mistakes or stuff that I could have done and use it later on.

Q: How do you think emotions play into your sport?

A: They affect it a lot. I think it has a lot to do with motivation and being able to get up every day to say, ‘Hey, I'm gonna go train’ or ‘I'm gonna do this today because of my boxing.'
Sophomore Jake Galdamez

Sport: Cross Country

Q: What do you do after a game/meet to mentally recover?

A: After a meet, I usually just eat something nice and take a shower after. Then I get some sleep. If I don't do good, then I just try harder.

Q: How do you think emotions play into your sport?

A: It's all about the mind. If you're running and you feel like you want to stop, you can’t. If you start slowing down, your legs are gonna feel pain. It's against you and yourself. I control my emotions by breathing and trying not to over exert myself.
(Brenden Rosenthal)

Junior Mateo Zazueta

Sport: Golf

Q: What do you do after a game/meet to mentally recover?

A: I guess I sort of meditate, or clear my mind in a way. To recover from a bad game you can pick yourself up and go, ‘What did I do wrong? Where can I improve?’ Just sort of analyze yourself because it's a very independent game, even if we play it as a team sport.

Q: How do you think emotions play into your sport?

A: Because it is, again, very much a mental sport, you have to learn how to control your emotions. If something infuriates you, don't let it take you over because that's going to mess up your game. It's going to mess with your head and then you're not going to be able to play your best.
(Brenden Rosenthal)

Senior Mariana Alvarez

Sport: Soccer

Q: What do you do after a game/meet to mentally recover?

A: I talk with my friends or my teammates about how we did in the game and have some feedback between us.

Q: How do you think emotions play into your sport?

A: It's just a game where you can just have fun and it's not emotional. It depends on the person, though, but for me, it is not emotional.

About the Contributor

Brenden Rosenthal, Staff Writer

Brenden Rosenthal is a sophomore and in his first year on staff for the DPMHS Student Media. His goal for this school year is to express his passion for sports in his articles and photography. Brenden is Sports Club President, a Pearl Ambassador, a Board District 3 Student Advisory Council member and the class of 2028 President. Outside of school, Brenden likes training for various martial arts or running long distances.

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Amy • Oct 29, 2025 at 8:56 pm

It’s great to see the self-reflection these athletes bring to their sport, and how each has their own way to recharge and keep moving forward. Really enjoyed this article!


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