Sometimes the life of a youth athlete can look like two practices a week and one game. Other times, it may consume their whole life. For some, the constant games, the never-ending practices, and the endless competition fuels them. For others it can be too much. The jam-packed schedule and potential overtraining could lead to burnout and ultimately end of their sports career.
More: Southeastern PA Little League team heads to Mid-Atlantic Region final Burnout and overtraining sideline some young athletes Burnout and overtraining are different, but both show similar symptoms such as fatigue, mood changes, and a drop in performance, which could make differentiating the two difficult. However, overtraining is much more prevalent than burnout, experts say. According to the study "Overtraining and Elite Young Athletes," overtraining in elite Swedish athletes between 16 and 20 years old was present in 48% of individual athletes and 30% of athletes in team sports. The same study found that burnout only occurred in 11% of individual athletes and 5% in athletes involved in team sports.
Richard J. Winsley, the author of "Overtraining and Elite Young Athletes" and a professor of sport and health sciences education at the University of Exeter, said parents and coaches need to know the signs. "The person who is actively overtrained is still trying to carry on in the sport, so they're turning to the training sessions," Winsley said. "They're trying to get selected to the team, but their performance is not quite so good, and they've still got, importantly, the motivation to do that. Whereas the person who's in the burnout situation has lost the motivation to carry on…" These feelings of burnout and the loss of motivation to keep competing or participating in sports are often associated with a child's self-esteem. Winsley used the term "global self-esteem" to describe how a person overall is feeling. Global self-esteem is made up of a number of different factors, including social life, academic performance, and physical self-esteem, which is often heavily present in young athletes. "Now it's fantastic when it's all going well, you're being picked for the team, you're winning medals," Winsley said. "But what happens when performances don't start to come? What happens with the fear that, OK, it's going well, but what if I don't get picked for the next level?… So you can see that all of a sudden, that protection of self-esteem becomes a source of anxiety and stress in a child." For numerous reasons, identifying burnout in young athletes could be challenging, especially because the amount of time a child spends competing does not always directly correlate with burnout, according to Winsley. For some children, it may be that straightforward, but other factors could come into play. For example, burnout could come from a parent or coach putting pressure on a child, which could create anxiety. These young athletes can feel the love, support and approval of coaches and parents depends on their performance, which can hurt their self-esteem. Joe Luchette, a youth sports coach of eight years and currently coaching baseball with the Plumstead Hawks, recalled an incident where a parent drove their child to burnout. He saw it during his time coaching in Doylestown. The father was pushing his son, who was between eight and nine, into travel baseball and to play up for his age despite already being a multi-sport athlete. By the time the child was 10, he was done with sports entirely.
Instead, parents should provide unconditional love, support and encouragement to their child; whether they hit multiple home runs or strike out at each at-bat, it is integral for their self-esteem and can help prevent burnout, experts and coaches say. Luchette talked about how the car ride home from a game or practice isn't the time for a parent to criticize or coach, but rather to praise effort and tell the child they enjoyed watching them. Breaking the cycle; creating balance before burnout Burnout does happen, and the first step Winsley recommends is for the parents to make sure that it is not a larger pathological problem. After a larger issue has been eliminated, then it is time to examine the child's schedule and lifestyle habits. Sometimes it can be as simple as reducing the amount of involvement a child has in organized sports. Other times it could be as complex as diet, sleep, social life, school load, pressure from parents, and more. Other symptoms could include changes or loss of appetite, disturbances in sleep, and even a persisting upper respiratory tract infection. "The recommendation would be ask that diverse range of questions and try to build up this picture, and then hopefully, it is a little bit clearer about, 'OK, this is the thing we're going to work on,'" said Winsley. Luchette recalled a time where a parent identified burnout and stepped up. The player stepped back from fall baseball after previously participating in both a spring and summer league. While Luchette didn't see it personally, the child's father did and told him that they were going to skip fall season and come back for spring tryouts. "It's definitely something that I think a parent should and could pick up on," said Luchette. While burnout does not occur in the majority of young athletes, keeping an eye out for symptoms and taking the proper precautions. Conversations and listening are the best way to identify burnout, keep them healthy and happy, and help ensure they compete in sports for years to come. This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Sports burnout can bench young athletes. What to know | Exclusive