The Importance of Mindfulness & Meditation

Ever since head coach Michael Locksley was hired as Maryland football’s head coach in December of 2018, he has heavily emphasized the importance of mental health within his program. During this year’s fall camp, that commitment has been illustrated through the implementation of recovery days with a specific emphasis on mindfulness and meditation.

According to Dr. Kristi Hall, Maryland’s Director of Sports Psychology, mindfulness is a way for student-athletes to be in a present state where they are consciously aware of their immediate surroundings. 

“Mindfulness is being focused on the here and now,” Hall said. “It benefits athletes by teaching them to not get too caught up if they mess up in the game. It helps them stay in the moment, not get stuck in the past, and also not look too far ahead at the end of the game. It helps them be present and stay focused on the task they have going on right now.”

Hall leads the mindfulness and meditation sessions for the team. During these sessions, she works hand-in-hand with different players to establish a focus on breathing in order for the players to help themselves stay calm and present. The goal is for this to apply not just during football, but to also allow the players to continue to stay in the moment in school and in their personal lives. Mindfulness is also key to helping with better sleep, an essential part of recovery but something that many athletes struggle with, according to Hall.

“Mindfulness helps you reduce your stress in a way where you’re not thinking about all of the external pressures, you’re just focused on where you are now and on being in the moment,” said Daniel Owens, a redshirt freshman defensive lineman. “It helps me be present at practice, in our meetings, really anywhere.”

“It really helps us focus on bettering ourselves on the field, in the classroom and just overall as people,” added Kyle Long, a redshirt sophomore offensive lineman.

Hall started to implement these techniques within the program in September of last season. One of the players who embraced the mindfulness techniques the most was standout cornerback and 2023 NFL Draft pick Jakorian Bennett. Bennett and Hall worked hard on his mindfulness techniques and breath work so that he could employ them by himself on the sidelines of games when he needed to reset his thoughts.

This year, Hall has started implementing these sessions during fall camp, taking advantage of the unique time where the student-athletes only have to worry about practice and workouts. 

“If they start doing it now during camp, then when they get hit with the regular season with games and schoolwork and everything all at once, it’s already part of their regular program,” Hall said.

Owens, who said he struggled with trying to balance everything mentally during his redshirt year last season, has already seen the benefits start to come to fruition during camp. 

“Last year, I was just thinking about everything way too much,” he said. “Working with Dr. Hall and practicing mindfulness really helped me zone in on what I needed to. I became a better football player because I wasn’t focused on anything else except reacting to what the offensive line was doing.”

Hall is present at the end of every weight room workout the players do, offering her availability to do individual sessions with any player who expresses interest. Additionally, the fall camp schedule has designated days as “recovery days” where the players are fully off and able to take the time to let both their bodies and minds recuperate. Once again, Hall is available during these days for mindfulness and meditation sessions for any players who are interested.

“You need those recovery days,” Hall said. “It’s irrational to think you have to go super hard in everything you do 100% of the time. When you have that mentality, you get burned out quickly and easily and it can lead to injury or sometimes not wanting to play the sport any longer.

“It’s kinda like we’re practicing and it’s just like practicing anything else,” Hall added. “You would look at Coach Locks with two heads if he was like, ‘We’re not going to practice any plays or anything before our biggest game.’ Nobody does that. It’s just as important to be disciplined about this and to make it part of their structure and program, just like practice.”

All of the mindfulness and meditation sessions are voluntary, but Hall has been pleased by the number of student-athletes who have elected to not only attend, but embrace it and share their experiences with one another. 

“A lot of our athletes have performance anxiety, so just having the guys identify that there’s nothing wrong with me and that my teammate next to me has probably experienced this as well, it’s been really helpful to have that safe space for our athletes,” Hall said. 

“It helps everyone on the team because it’s a safe haven for all of us,” Long added. “We have this open door policy where we can talk about any of our problems, try to get them solved, and reduce your stress around them.”

Hall credits much of that to the culture created by Locksley that emphasizes mental health support—something that holds a lot of weight not just at Maryland, but in the sector overall.

“To have a team that has a large influence supporting an initiative like this is really beneficial to mental health work overall,” Hall said. “We really appreciate that they’re so open to it because there is such a large stigma around mental health. They’re helping to break that.”