Dr. Ryan Pittsinger details A&M Athletics' mental health plan during pandemic

Key notes from Dr. Ryan Pittsinger interview

• I'm joining you from the NICU over at Baylor Scott & White. We're about to head home after a week. My wife and the newborn twins are doing great.
   
• There has been a lot going on this month, and it's been a lot to juggle. The nice thing is that our leadership with Ross and the entire university have done a great job of getting ahead of this thing. We've been able to move to telehealth over zoom and over the phone, so we've still had a lot of our team meetings and stuff like that.
   
• Some of the things that have come up are grief and loss. Some players played their last games and didn't even know it. Dealing with those transitions and the unknown is what we're looking at now.
   
• These are all student-athletes, but sports are ingrained in their identity as a human. It doesn't define them, but it is such a big part of who they are and how they operate in the world. When it's gone, it's hard to get over.
   
• For the most part, the student-athletes have handled it well. There has been a lot of care and compassion for one another. They have handled it well with all of these different circumstances.
   
• What separates the successful athletes is their ability to understand that it's not always about wins and losses. If I go out and give every bit of effort that I have, it's going to work out. If I control the controllables, it will shake out. To be at the level that A&M student-athletes are at, they have that ability.
   
• The mental health thing has been pretty constant. We were talking about this back in January with a lot of student-athletes because there were concerns with a few of them back then, even before it was on the radar of everything. Some things have changed, but we're helping them normalize their emotions because it is okay. It sounds odd to give them permission to feel, but very few people actually allow themselves that.
   
• Mikado Hinson is fantastic. We work closely together in a lot of different capacities. We communicate when we need to and are keeping tabs on certain people. He has such a positive demeanor about him that it fosters hope and motivation. It's hard to be doom and gloom when he's around.
   
• The sense of structure is huge. Throughout their athletic careers, they've had structure. Now that is out the window. The structure is a comfort and a sense of security. Helping to come up with a new understanding of structure and a routine has been what we're trying it figure out.
   
• There are a lot of people that are sad that their season is over and that maybe their collegiate careers are over. But there are more significant life concerns that are compiling too. We're working through those things also.
   
• There is no time limit from the NCAA on how much time we can spend with a student-athlete. We're guided by ethics and state laws more because we are considered sports medicine. We meet with the vast majority of the teams weekly. During this time, we're disseminating a lot of information through various channels. We're trying to be proactive.
   
• We did our due diligence on making sure that everything was FERPA and HICA compliant. We also just revamped all of our policies and procedures to make sure we're compliant with telehealth models. We've done some of that before, so the telehealth thing isn't altogether new for us.
   
• Ross Bjork is amazing. He has been such a stable, transparent leader. He's not sugarcoating things or trying to hide or fabricate things. He's been a straight shooter and very compassionate.
   
• All of the head coaches I've been in contact with - and that's all of them - have been compassionate, Jimbo, in particular. He has a head of gold. The coaches have supported our student-athletes and used every resource they have. It's not surprising at all, but it is very heartwarming.
   
• One of the biggest things is taking care of each other. I know it's tough, and being isolated is not easy. I don't know where it's going to lead us, but let's trust the process and try to enjoy it. Look at it as an opportunity as opposed to thinking about what you've lost.