As a Rutgers student-athlete, you are selected to compete at the highest level of competition due to your determination, perseverance, and commitment. Your excellence in sports and academics is a credit to the school and we hope to only continue to grow, enhance, and support the successes you have already accomplished and are yet to reach. 

Student-athletes are no strangers to the intensive grind required for elite performance… it should, therefore, come as no surprise that we encourage the personal development of our athletes to not only be on par with but to surpass our competitors, physically and mentally.

The Psychological Experience of Being an Athlete 

Being a competitive athlete means being physically fit through monitoring and conditioning your body through the right training, nutrition, and healthy habits. Another extremely important factor that adds to physical fitness is mental fitness. Mental fitness goes hand in hand with physical performance and competition. If you aren’t feeling mentally fit, whether it is for a day, a week, or longer, it can throw you off your game. 

Just because it isn’t visible, doesn’t mean it can’t make a difference. In fact, a lack of mental fitness can increase the chance of injury (Godlewski, 2015), tiredness, and burnout. Because of this, it is just as important to practice good mental fitness - this means knowing when you need help, knowing how to prevent mental illness and how to keep up good mental fitness. 

By being proactive about all aspects of your health, you will be enhancing your quality of training and performance as a fierce competitor and as a competitive team.