Mental strength for young atheletes

Through what began as a lockdown project, 17-year-old Aryan Joshi hopes to change the way people approach mental health in sport

In the past few years mental health has been slowly getting the importance it deserves. Inspired by this openness and seeing the need for more conversations 12th grader Aryan Joshi has started an initiative called Mental Strength Matters (MSM).

Son of Indian cricketer Sunil Joshi and a cricketer representing Karnataka himself, he is no stranger to pressure.

“When I started playing in the U-14 team, there was a certain expectation from me and it took some time to understand how to cope with that,” he recalls.

He adds that with his mother being a doctor there was an unsaid pressure to also excel in academics. “Thankfully I have been able to manage my time well. It was fascinating to me although how different athletes overcame obstacles such as this and how they approach the maintenance of mental health,” he says.
The lockdown encouraged him to explore this topic as there was no way he could actually practice the sport. “I pitched the idea to my parents and they were more than enthusiastic. I roped in the help of a friend who was good with editing and set to work,” he says.

MSM is a series of interviews with athletes answering how mental strength is important to their game. It features people like Yuvraj Singh, KL Rahul, Mithali Raj and many more.

“It’s been interesting to see how each athlete approaches problems differently. Mayank Agarwal is more calm and turns to yoga, while Mithali Raj powers through the problem, a walk it off strategy,” says Aryan.

While it began as a lockdown initiative he hopes to continue with it now. “Through this I want to bring exposure to the need of sports psychology. While it’s been introduced in the big leagues I feel like it should stat right from the U-16,” he says. He is also hoping that MSM would help start a conversation about the need of a mental health education curriculum in schools, much like how physical education is included.

The videos can be watched on their Facebook, Instagram and YouTube handles - Mental Strength Matters.