{"id":612159,"date":"2025-05-21T06:56:04","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T13:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=612159"},"modified":"2025-05-21T06:56:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T13:56:04","slug":"grant-house-has-prioritized-mental-health-during-settlement-saga-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/grant-house-has-prioritized-mental-health-during-settlement-saga-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Grant House Has Prioritized Mental Health During Settlement Saga (VIDEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Grant House Has Prioritized Mental Health During Settlement Saga<\/strong><\/p>\n

His name has become associated with the ongoing transformation in college sports that you might forget Grant House<\/strong> is still an active swimmer, extending his career beyond his successful years at Arizona State and into his late 20s. As he trained for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials and continues to aim for national-level competition in 2025, his ongoing lawsuit against the NCAA<\/a> hovered over his day-to-day existence and created external pressures far different from what his national team brethren experienced.<\/p>\n

As lawyers negotiated the House settlement<\/a>, the eponymous swimmer was frequently left in the dark. House recalled occasions when he would wake up to hundreds of text messages and dozens of calls regarding a key update. After days of multiple workouts and time spent working as a strength and performance coach, he would be caught off guard as calls came in from friends and partners asking for his thoughts on changes he had no idea were coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just that constant, constant breakdown that really reinforced making sure I took the time to have my mental health in check,\u201d House said. \u201cJust never informed of those events that are coming up, and I feel like I should and I deserve to as lead plaintiff.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Grant House — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

Those challenges prompted House to prioritize mental health each day, continuing a trend of elite athletes aiming to crush the stigma long associated with seeking help. For House, it was the burden of balancing such diverse priorities, including his bourgeoning career as a strength and performance coach, that prompted his mental health awakening.<\/p>\n

Now, House regularly speaks with three different mental health professionals who take on different roles: \u201cOne’s just athletic performance, one\u2019s the life coach and one\u2019s for mental, emotional regulation,\u201d he said. His regular routine for processing his thoughts includes journaling and also recording voice memos of his own thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust hearing how your tone is says a lot. That’s something that felt really weird, listening to a voice memo of myself, but I could really tell a lot about my energy in that,\u201d House said. \u201cHaving a process of reading and journaling and writing down notes, that\u2019s what really helped me get through, managing the pressure, managing the mental health and structuring my day when there\u2019s so much going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ironically, another of his coping mechanisms was the same enterprise that led him on the path to changing college sports forever: swimming. Even while working through a grueling training program under the mentorship of Sun Devils<\/a> head coach Herbie Behm<\/strong>, those practices have provided a welcome mental respite from the legal endeavor sapping his mental juices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think swimming provided compartmentalization. There\u2019s moments when you\u2019re just in the pool, your head is in the water, you\u2019re pursuing your goal. It was almost a therapeutic release,\u201d House said. \u201cWhen swimming, you have to be completely present in that. I can\u2019t go coach when I\u2019m in the water. I can\u2019t have a call when I\u2019m in the water. I can\u2019t do any of these things when I\u2019m soaking wet and working the hardest I can and focusing on details.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think in a very unique way, it helps me hyper-focus and ideally tune everything else out because in that hour, two-hour timeframe, physically I can\u2019t do anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

House\u2019s particular balancing act is a unique one, but his situation bears striking similarities to other top athletes and even young professionals outside of sports in their respective fields. Trying to build careers while maintaining different interests and activities is a reality that cuts across diverse groups, and handling too much can be draining if not addressed until too late.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of athletes don’t get help until they’re really broken. One thing I want to do is normalize asking for support when you\u2019re still whole,\u201d House said. \u201cThere was a very big moment in my life where I was like, \u2018I don’t know how to process all this on my own.\u2019 And I think there needs to be professionals that can help me organize these thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n