Coach Mike Locksley on Personal Tragedy and Becoming a Mental Health Advocate

Mike Locksley, head football coach at the University of Maryland, joins this episode of Athletes OnBalance. Coach Locksley has been coaching for more than 30 years, including eight seasons as a full-time head coach. His coaching resume includes positions at major programs like the University of Alabama, University of Florida, and University of Illinois. During the 2017 season, he won a national championship while serving on Coach Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama. Coach Locksley recently led Maryland to its third consecutive winning season. In this episode, he discusses Meiko, his late son who struggled with a mental health disorder and how his family navigated this difficult time together. Coach Locksley also spoke about Maryland’s ongoing work to provide mental health resources to its student athletes, how he pours himself into the development of each student athlete on and off the field, what he learned from working with Coach Saban, and the urgent need to bring more awareness to the mental health crisis facing our society.