Why do people participate in sports? While some people do it to stay in shape, many do it to fill their time and to participate in a fun activity. Sports are meant to bring people that have a common interest or passion together. They allow people to build their character and develop skills that they wouldn’t be able to anywhere else. They provide people with opportunities to travel and obtain scholarships to help pay for school. However, many athletes also suffer from burnout, especially after multiple years of playing.
Playing sports is one of the first things that some kids learn to do. Over half of the children in the United States have recently participated in a sport, with many of the dedicated athletes spending hundreds of hours on their sport in just a single season. Although school seasons only last a couple of months in the year, many athletes participate in club sports that take up the rest of the year that could be used to rest and recover. Taking breaks between seasons is extremely important because training and playing games can be fun to a certain extent, but even the athletes who love their sport more than anything can be at risk for burnout if they spend too much time around their sport.
Burnout in athletes happens the most when they are overtraining, spending too much time practicing and not enough time resting and recovering. Although this is the most common cause, burnout is also likely to happen when the athlete only focuses on one sport, has a low self-esteem or has high amounts of pressure from parents and coaches. When people are forced to do things, it often takes the joy out of doing them. The athlete may get tired or even bored of doing their sport, which can be detrimental to their performance.
The amount of fun a person has doing their sport can sometimes determine how well they perform. Generally, when someone has a good attitude and is having fun during a game, they do significantly better than when they have a bad attitude and aren’t enjoying what they’re doing. If someone is in a bad mood during a game, it can cause them to get mad at their teammates and play angrily. Making sure that you’re having fun when playing your sport, and taking breaks when you’re not, is one of the key ways to prevent burnout. Also, make sure to include other things in your life and not only focus on your sport, as this allows you to maintain a healthy relationship with your sport and continue to play it happily.
