ROCHESTER, N.Y. — U.S. gymnast Simone Biles being upfront about her mental health has served as an inspiration for other young adult athletes.

Savannah Berry is a rising junior at the University of Rochester and a player for the school's women's soccer team. She says growing up as an athlete, mental health in the past has been taboo and has been met with being told to push harder.

Berry says seeing athletes like Biles and tennis player Naomi Osaka put their mental health first made her realize she can do the same. She says COVID-19 took a big toll on the mental health of all athletes on top of needing to do well in school and extracurriculars.

She feels that making sure you're okay mentally is an important part of any sport.

"If your physical abilities and mental toughness are not aligned you can definitely experience injuries," said Berry. "You start stressing yourself out about how you're going to perform and then you go into the game or the practice and you're nervous and you're stressed. And then you go into the game maybe not to your best ability and you risk injury and you make decisions that aren't always the best."

Berry says at U of R, athletes work with psychologists to discuss how to be a better team mentally too.

Her coach, Gabriel Kleinert, says he lets his players know they're supported.

"I've had discussions with players about them coming to me or these are the people you should seek out if you start to feel this way," said Kleinert. "And also asking people to look out for each other. I'm there with them at the field and whatever team activities, but when you're off the field having people looking out for them is also really important."