As my athletic pursuits ended in my mid-20s, I still wanted to be as close to sports as possible.
Pursuing a career as a licensed mental health professional allowed me to work with athletes from the professional level all the way down. What fascinated me the most with athletes, was the intersection between mental fitness and performance.
For quite some time, the physical attributes that athletes brought to their respective sports was the focus. Michael Phelps' unique wingspan or Michael Jordan's superior athleticism were often considered distinct advantages over their opponents. But over the past decade and a half, a concerted emphasis has been placed on the mental element of athletics -- before, during and after competition.
At the collegiate and professional levels, the powers that be finally realized that the healthier athletes are mentally, the more likely they will perform at an optimal level.
Your favorite sports team or athletes probably have a team of mental health professionals they work with, such as licensed mental health therapists, sports psychologists and even psychiatrists.
Importance of community
Since my adolescent son recently started swimming competitively, I have been closely following the sport more than ever before. The more I observe, the more I admire swimmers and the grueling training they endure to excel.
The Las Vegas Swim Club, one of several swim clubs based in Southern Nevada, offers a competitive swimming program based on age and ability.
But LVSC is more than just a competitive swimming club. It is a community that focuses on the mental wellness and development of each individual swimmer.
"The LVSC coaches are here to help build the swimmer and the person. And not one without the other. It goes so far beyond the sport itself," head coach Peter Mavro says.
The club's most decorated swimmer, Max Carlsen, qualified for the 2024 Olympic trials in Indianapolis. He was one of the top swimmers in the 2025 class and will be swimming on a full-ride scholarship at North Carolina State University starting this fall.
"The thing I like most about swimming is the community and friends," Carlsen said. "Swim meets are also my favorite part because it brings together so many people, which is the original reason I started to swim."
Alana Dawidian has six children -- all swimmers -- including three current and three former members of LVSC. The connections kids make within the club swimming environment are vital, she said.
"LVSC is unique from other swim clubs because it is a family," Dawidian said. "The coaches get to know the kids and teach them skills both in and out of the pool. They care about them not just as swimmers, but as people. They work with the swimmers to achieve their individual goals, whether that is getting a best time in the breaststroke or qualifying for Olympic trials."
Mental health benefits
According to research conducted over the past 10 years, swimming provides an array of mental health benefits, including increased self-esteem, improved mood regulation, memory enhancement, increased cognitive clarity and attention.
Other research has shown a connection between swimming and a decrease in depression and anxiety symptoms, which are two of the most diagnosed mental health conditions.
"I have been swimming since the age of 7, and I can confidently say that the mental health challenges I may have faced in life would have been much more challenging to overcome if I did not have the support that I had through swimming," Carlsen said.
Dawidian has seen firsthand the benefits of swimming in her children's mental health.
"One of my sons is hyperactive, and becoming a distance swimmer has allowed him to focus better and keep moving in a productive way," she said. "Additionally, one of my daughters has struggled with severe anxiety, to the point where she could not even put her face in the water. Through the support of her coaches and teammates, she was able to accomplish small goals that helped her work through her anxiety, which gave her the confidence that she could work through hard things."
Life is filled with challenges, and often it is how we navigate those challenges that leads to a more resilient mindset.
"When you are challenged and stuck, when you fail or fall, when you do not get what you want, that is where you can use sport to truly gain tools to be successful in life, to evaluate and learn from how you handled yourself and how you treated those around you," Mavro said.
For additional information, visit lasvegasswimclub.com.