Noah Pawlowski is the goalie for the UVic Men’s Varsity Soccer Team. A couple hours before their big game at Thunderfest, he was kind enough to agree to an interview with me to discuss the link between mental health and sports. Noah is in his 4th year at UVic, studying Bio-psych and is entering his 2nd season playing with the Vikes. He spoke about the role of his sport in maintaining his mental health and emphasized how it serves as an outlet for his emotions. “It can be the case that aggression and competitiveness are negative things but sports allow it to be channeled into a really positive thing”, he explained. He talked about how, in order to balance school and sports, he had to sacrifice having much of a social life. What he does have is a great group of guys to rely on and train with. In the end, he isn’t missing much.
His biggest advice for young students looking to get interested in sports was to stay healthy. “If you aren’t healthy, both physically and mentally, you can’t play,” he said. “Although sports will help you with both those things, you have to do more than that.” This was linked to his second piece of advice, to have a healthy diet. Eating right, along with taking the time to go to the gym and work out, was what he called “laying down the foundation for the rest of your life”. He explained that you have to take care of your body while you’re young so that you don’t limit your opportunities when you’re older. He then moved on to offer a tip to first year students looking to get involved in sports at UVic. “The Intramural programmes are awesome here,” he recommended.
The biggest thing I took away from our interview was how much he valued taking care of yourself, and I agree. Always take the time to work on you, be patient and keep taking baby steps. Whether you’re a young student wanting to join a sports team or a soon-to-be graduate trying to stay fit, remember that your physical and mental health are linked and you can never have one without the other.
The views expressed in this blog are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the University of Victoria. I monitor posts and comments to ensure all content complies with the University of Victoria Guidelines on Blogging.