“Sometimes when I’m indoors, I feel weary and tired, but whenever I go out to play soccer/football, I can feel the fresh air breezing in my face,” said seventh-grader Aditi Sudeep.

For many people, soccer is such a beautiful creation and sport. People all around the world play soccer or watch soccer and their favorite soccer players. However, there are also other reasons fans watch or play the game. Many people play the game because of mental health. Many players have suffered from stress and depression over the years. They have gotten better because the game is enjoyable and relieves stress.

“Soccer is a really good sport for helping with mental health,” said RCMS counselor, Mrs. Gina Fajardo. “Any sport or activity is good for mental health if it makes you happy and gives you joy.”     

  Jaydyn Tilley said, “I enjoy spending time with my teammates.”

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Dontrol and Prevention), scientists and doctors have done some studies that have shown that when a person does an activity like soccer or any other exercise, these chemicals called endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine are excel from the brain to fight against the negative emotions. They also stated that “playing soccer and other sports more often can improve the players’ mood day after day.”

The Cons

 However, even if soccer can improve moods for people, it can also cause a few problems with mental health. There have been studies that soccer can also cause depression and anxiety.  Doctors in Italy have gotten results of 40% of depression or either anxiety.

Soccer causes anxiety because of the competitiveness in the games, it causes pressure while playing the game. There are many signs of depression when it comes to the kids playing soccer, they may seem more sad, quiet, or not excited to see the field or their teammates. 

“Any sport can cause depression, stress, and even anxiety because of pressure from teammates and coaches, so soccer can go either way,” said Mrs. Fajardo.

“It doesn’t affect my mental health — if we lose, we lose and we move on,” Malia said.

If you are going to play soccer, you could also be stressed by time, when you play soccer, you have to be committed, you have to put in effort for the game, THE SPORT, that even means using your time, being on time for practice, going to games, that can cause many people to stress with time.

 Seventh grader  Malia Krausa said, ” Soccer makes me feel free.”