CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With the new school year well underway, fall sports are in high gear. As we have seen right here on the Blitz, stands have been filled parents and fans cheering on their student athletes.
While the pressure placed at such a young age can be a motivator, depending on how and where it's perceived, it could also do the opposite.
In this On Your Mind, we introduce you to two Coastal Bend Natives who have made it their mission to help athletes in addressing mental health and wellness.
Celda Borchardt has been working with athletes and teams for the last four years now as a transformational life coach. She shared that her favorite part of it all is getting to witness the transformation.
"A lot of them face fear-limiting beliefs and lack of self-confidence, so watching them from the very beginning of our sessions to the end of the season you can see the growth," Borchardt said while at a practice with the King High School volleyball team.
"It's so important these days - there’s a lot of disconnected teens that don't have the support system, a positive culture, a team, right? So, I come in to try and facilitate that and guide these young ladies by leading with love and bringing the team closer together so that they can support one another."
At this particular practice at King HS, Borchardt got to observe the girls on the court, actively communicating as they worked together to fine-tune their skills, but soon after, it was time to swap the gym for the classroom.
Head volleyball coach, Sherri Cain, led the group to sit down with Borchardt as they worked on mindfulness, meditation and breathing exercises, reminding the group of how important it is to be intentional with everything they do, on and off the court.
"I think when you go to practice and a game with a purpose you will always outperform everyone out in the field or court," Borchardt said. "It’s just being intentional versus very routine and just going through the mundane of practices, but when you can show up with an intention and purpose, you’re showing up differently."
Borchardt also recommends journaling as a tool to help with emotional and mental wellness.
In Denver, Coastal Bend native, Dominque Salinas, is working toward her Doctorate of Psychology in Clinical Psychology.
The King High School alum was a softball star, taking her talents to the collegiate level, where she would go on to play for The University of Mississippi and later, Duke. She also knows all too well the pressures that come with being a student athlete.
She recalls making that jump from high school to college sports and the reality check that came with it.
"Even if you’re the best in the Coastal Bend or in Corpus Christi or South Texas or Texas in general, when you go to to play at the next level, you’re surrounded by athletes who were also the best from their area," Salinas said.
"Just because you think you’re ahead or you’re close to your goal of wanting to play at the next level, there’s somebody else that’s doing the same thing or working harder and you just can’t see them."
It was there at the collegiate level, Salinas would find a passion for mental health awareness. She shared how though she was getting to witness incredible talent, that there were tougher battles that her teammates were battling off the field.
"I saw my teammates, who were All-Americans and had little girls lined up to get their autographs, really going through hard stuff behind the scenes. I remember thinking they were so good, I didn't understand why their world wasn’t perfect and that was my first exposure to mental health and what it could do to athletes."
Salinas shares how she too struggled with the feeling as though she was losing her own identity and experiencing "imposter syndrome," which Psychology Today defines as the struggle of believing as though you are undeserving of achievements and the high esteem in which they are generally held, even if you are well-accomplished.
"I think as an athlete, when I left the Coastal Bend area, you question if you’re supposed to be there. You feel like a freshman in high school all over again with these people who have way more experience than you," Salinas said.
"And I think even now getting into my career, seeing other people that are going on to be mental performance coaches or even further than that, you do question if this young girl from South Texas is supposed to be up here with these other people? But when you see the benefits of the work that you’re doing and you hear back from clients that you’ve been working with or from other people, it does validate that."
Salinas said she became especially inspired to pursue the field after meeting with her sports psychologist at Duke.
Her goal is to become an official sports psychologist and have her own private practice. Currently, she meets with about 10 athletes a week from all different sports as they work to tap into something deeper when it comes to their mental health.
Salinas shared how she grew up with an amazing support system in her family and has some advice for students' biggest fans, A.K.A their parents:
"Sports in general is really hard, having a positive environment is really hard, the world can be very negative, so creating that atmosphere, almost like watering your garden so that they can grow, providing them that environment to thrive is super important."
And with the fall sports season underway, she shared some advice for young Coastal Bend athletes:
"There’s a lot of cool things that can happen in failure and it kinda relates a little bit to imposter syndrome, but failure also exposes areas of growth," Salinas said.
"The road is going to be bumpy. Get in. Strap up. Get ready for the rollercoaster, but that's part of it, and embracing that the bumpy road can always still go up."
Both Borchardt and Salinas work with athletes and teams of all ages and sports and say they especially want to be a resource for those in the Coastal Bend.
If you believe your athlete/team could use their help or mental health coaching, we've included their contact information below.
Salinas can be reached at dominiquesalinas1@gmail.com
Borchardt can be reached at celdaborchardt@gmail.com. More information in the flyer below.
