Q: I want my kids to enjoy playing organized sports, but am worried about competition burnout at an early age. How can this be avoided?

A: Traditional models of sports-related motivation loss, or burnout, suggest that it results from "an increase in stress-induced costs" and involves psychological, emotional and sometimes physical withdrawal. In such cases, burnout occurs primarily because athletes experience either too much pressure or too few challenges. These can be addressed by helping the athlete reduce pressure or find new challenges. Parents should work with their child to set goals, assess progress and maintain a positive attitude.

Teaching young athletes to manage stress, maintain focus and concentration while learning new physical and social skills can make sports a forum for personal growth. After interviewing coaches and athletes, recognized expert Jay Coakley of the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, suggests that burnout can also be caused by two additional factors: constrained expectations that lead to the athlete developing a unidimensional self conception; and power relations within sports that restrict young athletes' control over their own fates in and out of their sports.

In terms of who is affected by burnout, Coakley, who has written many texts on the sociology of sport, maintains that the problem appears more acute among young, top level athletes in individual sports. It also seems more prevalent among athletes from middle and upper-middle income families.

Coping strategies involve changing relations between athletes, coaches and others involved in sports to empower athletes to apply more control over their sports experience. In addition, it's important to stress that sports is only one facet of an athlete's life, situated within the growing process. Athletes should be encouraged to develop connections outside the world of sports and pursue other interests and non-sports-related experiences. They must also be given the opportunity to make their own decisions and to learn to live with the consequences.

Faye Linda Wachs
Assistant professor of behavioral sciences