With youth sport becoming ever more intense and competitive and with frequent training sessions and matches post covid, your child may be at risk of suffering from athlete burnout. Athlete burnout is defined as emotional and physical exhaustion that often leads to reduced accomplishment and sport devaluation.
Burnout can be extremely damaging and can lead to a complete withdrawal from the sport by the athlete. At TeamFeePay, we believe that taking part in grassroots football should first and foremost be an enjoyable experience for players, this article will provide players and parents with the knowledge needed to identify symptoms and causes of athlete burnout as well as preventative and treatment measures to ensure your child is protecting their mental health and wellbeing as well as enjoying their time on the pitch.
Symptoms:
- Exhaustion/Extreme mental & physical fatigue
- Lack of energy
- Loss of focus
- Reduced interest in sport or team activities
- Lack of trust in coaches
- Change in personality–acting impersonal or distant
- Low sense of accomplishment
- Low self-confidence or self-esteem
- Feelings of depression
- Feelings of anxiety
- Low motivation
Causes of burnout:
- Overtraining
- Focusing on the outcome (i.e. winning)
- Beginning competitive sport at a young age
- Specialising at a young age
- Lack of time with friends outside of sport
- Travel demands
- Less time for school work
- High/unrealistic expectations
- Parental influence
- Authoritarian/demanding coaching techniques
- Athlete’s personality factors (i.e. perfectionism)
Techniques & Treatments
- Set Short term goals – Long term goals are great but can sometimes be overwhelming for young athletes. Setting short term goals and rewards can help when athletes need some extra motivation.
- Relaxation & Time away from the sport – sometimes an athlete may be over trained and simply just needs a break to rest and recover. During this time an athlete could include breathing exercises and mindfulness techniques to reduce anxiety and the effects of burnout.
- Take care of yourself physically – focus on good nutrition, light and fun physical activity and recovering from any previous injuries that have previously caused problems.
- Prioritise Sleep – focus on getting good quality sleep, 8-9 hours a night if possible.
For more information please visit : https://drlindasterling.com/burnout-in-athletes/
