Former Team GB Water Polo academy player Alice Shields claims authorities must do more to protect young prospects mental health, not just in water polo, but sport as a whole.
Alice was selected by the South-West water polo under-17 squad at just 12 years old and then represented Team GB’s under-19 squad, however the pressure of doing so well at such a young age takes its toll.
“I was diagnosed with PTSD after an incident at water polo, making being a part of the sport difficult, especially as I was often away from home in London and Manchester.
“I’d be travelling a lot and the training days are quite intense, so the pressure of that and the trauma within the sport are a lot to handle.”
A new study found almost 10% of young athletes suffer from either depression or anxiety, and 55% suffer psychological issues when they are released by their teams*. Alice’s case was slightly different when she was released by Team GB.
“I was then released by the team due to my mental health, which in itself is quite ironic.
“The support I had during my time there was adequate, but the practises of the setup meant we were constantly put against each other, which drew away from us feeling like a team.
“It made everyone want to try and be the best which on the surface isn’t bad, but it just turned into a huge competition and pitted everyone against each other.
“I had friendships ruined by this testing.”
Great Britain’s U18 Junior Women are in Barcelona this week on an intensive training camp
— England Water Polo (@ENGWaterPolo) February 15, 2024
Nick Hume and Sue Webb’s squad have been working hard in and out of the pool, with games against UA Horta and CE Mediterrani, and drill sessions at CNAB pic.twitter.com/acijoCY87Y
With it being Movember, and water polo squads being mixed genders until the age of 12, Alice was able to comment on the challenges that male players face.
“Myself and a boy were both dealing with a certain older boy who was giving us a hard time, and I came forward about it because I was given the chance to talk about it.
“There are things in place for us girls to ensure we are being checked on, but the boys didn’t have the same ‘luxuries’ that we did.
“He had no opportunity to talk about it and to me that shows the disparity between the genders, and how it was seen and treated. He later dropped out due to his inability to express his mental health, so if there were better things in place perhaps myself and others would still be in the squad today.”
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*Figures taken from study by Abertay University
