Dr. Keino Miller is the director of Counseling and Sport Psychology at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has been the director at UNLV for two years and started in the Summer 2024. PHOTO SUBMITTED.
Youth athletes are getting driven into the ground and burnt out and overspecialized.
Keino Miller, director of Counseling and Sport Psychology at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said Black male athletes are“ absolutely” susceptible to increased stress compared to“ white counterparts.”
“ You still have to deal with racialized stress outside of sport, which are part of our community, part of our society right now( and) are still there,” Miller said.
It starts out as early as youth sports, Steinfeldt said, when parents who mean well take Little League too seriously.
He said some parents encourage their children to commit to one sport too early, with the idea of creating a sense of specialization, instead of allowing their child to try multiple activities.
“ What we’ re seeing is an over-specialization dynamic and an over-professionalization dynamic of: you have to focus on one sport and play that one sport year-round. That creates a lot of pressure, potential burnout( and) also a lot of overuse injuries, right?” Steinfeldt said.
Adolescent athletes who have been playing one sport since they were young sometimes have trouble telling their parents they want to stop because they spend significant amounts of money on club-team fees, Steinfeldt said.
He said many parents push their children to perform well in sports with the end goal of college scholarships or professional careers, when realistically, very few high school athletes will go on to participate in college-level sports or play professionally.
“ So, it becomes this sort of fool’ s errand,” Steinfeldt said.“ Youth athletes are getting driven into the ground and burnt out and overspecialized.”
That’ s where mental wellness issues can arise on the front end of a young man’ s athletic career. On the back end, when they stop playing, Steinfeldt said, athletes can experience a sense of a lost identity— especially when, for their whole lives, they’ ve been known for what sport they played.
The transitional period from when an athlete stops playing and begins integrating into the workforce, or choosing a different life path, can be dangerous. When that transition is abrupt, like when an athlete is injured, it can be even harder.
Steinfeldt said that integrating sports on a recreational level can help athletes maintain a sense of identity when they stop playing competitively, but that steps need to be taken to support athletes while they are still active, too.
Andrew Grantz is a“ mental performance” coach local to Southern Indiana. Terms like“ mental performance,”“ mindset,” and“ mental fitness” are more common in men’ s sports because the phrasing“ mental health” feels loaded to some.
Grantz said he uses the wording“ mental fitness” because, with mental health, people can perceive it as meaning you can only be“ healthy or unhealthy.” He said the boys he works with respond better to seeing the brain as something you can train to get stronger, like a muscle.
He said he uses mental drills to help the boys focus on constructive thoughts. His program, Andrew Grantz Mindset Solutions, prepares athletes to cope with difficult realities like losses and failures.
PAGE NO. 26 NEWS AND TRIBUNE SPORTS MAGAZINE JULY / AUG 2026