SOME POINT TO NOTABLE LOSSES DURING THEIR PLAYING CAREERS as the time they learned to deal with adversity, while others may point to victories as teaching them that hard work pays off.
There’s no shortage of lessons for children to learn on athletic playing fields, but parents must learn some lessons as children don their uniforms and compete.
One tough lesson can be when drawing the line in sports participation, advocating student-athlete autonomy while at the same time teaching student athletes how to set limits and help them communicate those limits. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report (AAP), “Additional studies in self-determination have shown that athletes who have a sense of autonomy have lower rates of burnout.”
Healthy limits are set by age according to AAP, suggesting children avoid overtraining and train for only the number of hours per week by age. When adhering to that guideline, a 10-year-old would not train more than 10 hours per week.
Sports burnout symptoms according the AAP, can look like:
•Fatigue
•Depressive symptoms
•Loss of interest or motivation
•Sleep disturbances
•Irritability and anxiety
•Excessive worry and agitation
•Lack of concentration
•Unexplained musculoskeletal complaints
•Weight changes
•Decreased academic performances •Decreased enjoyment of the sport(s) Parents are challenged by how hard it can be to set up rules that govern activities children enjoy, and that includes sports.
Many young athletes love sports so much that they seemingly play all the time, which can lead to burnout. Playing a sport so much that it leads to burnout, also known as overtraining syndrome, can be both physically and mentally exhausting for young athletes.
According to the AAP, “The incidence of overtraining syndrome is not well-defined, although prior reports suggest that the career rate of overtraining syndrome in young athletes by the time they reach adulthood may be as high as 35 percent.
“Clinically defined as a decrease in performance accompanied by persistent fatigue and alterations in mood, the true diagnosis of overtraining syndrome remains one of exclusion, requiring the elimination of other potential causes (anemia, infection, endocrine disorders, mental illness, etc.).”
The AAP chart below shows the risk versus preventative and protective factors for burnout: Risk factors
•Pressure or extrinsic motivation
•Intrinsic motivation
•Perceived stress
•Supportive parental relationship •Prioritizing short-term goals
•Perfectionism
•Overscheduling
•High chronic training loads
•Intrateam conflict Preventive and protective factors
•Higher levels of autonomy, optimism and mental toughness
•Focus on performance outcomes from peers, coaches, or parents •Prioritization of effort and intrinsic goals over extrinsic goals
•Adequate rest and breaks from participation No two athletes are the same, so some who are burned out may exhibit different signs than others.
Rest is the antidote to sports burnout, and the AAP notes that rest should be a vital component of young athletes’ training regimens. The AAP recommends young athletes take two to three months off from training each year, noting that breaks can be taken throughout the year.
More information about burnout and healthy ways to engage in youth sports can be found at healthychildren.org or publicat ions.aap.org. ✲
