Timothy Neal

It has been my experience that coaches, parents, pediatricians and family practice physicians are not experienced in caring for athletes, and athletes themselves are not aware of the health risks unique to the triad for female athletes.

Parents, athletes, pediatricians, coaches and certified athletic trainers should be aware of signs and symptoms of eating disorders, including those athletes who display signs and symptoms of anxiety, depression, anger, isolation, and other behaviors that may indicate a mental health disorder.

Concussions are a big issue and deserve to be taken seriously, but in my 35 years practicing as an athletic trainer you had four to five times more athletes requiring mental health care than trying to recover from concussions.

There is no substitute for just getting to know the players, and paying attention when you see their behavior change so that you can just casually ask them how things are going and keep a dialogue going that makes them feel safe talking about whatever might be going on.