Athlete Burnout Research

Introduction

The Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (2012) defines burnout, or overtraining syndrome, as, “a condition in which an athlete experiences fatigue and declining performance in his/her sport despite continuing or increased training. Overtraining can result in mood changes, decreased motivation, frequent injuries and infections.” In a recent study, University of Leeds professor, Andrew Hill (2013) found that one in four (25%) footballers (soccer) suffered from symptoms of burnout at least once in their careers and one percent had symptoms of burnout frequently. One of the main causes of burnout in athletes comes from specialization, where an athlete focuses his or her talents on one sport, usually at the cost of playing other

According to Russell and Limle (2013), research has shown that athletes can perform at a high level without specialization and/or sport-specific practices. Specialization can also inhibit athletic development, motor skills and learning; whereas participation in multiple sports maximizes athletic development. During growth and development, children do not grow or gain motor skills by doing one thing over and over again; development is achieved by doing non-specialized activities. The same can be said for athletic competition, the more an athlete participates in multiple sports and activities that require different movements, along with active rest and time for the body to recuperate, the higher the likelihood that the athlete will excel not only in one sport but potentially several and could hinder the athletes lifelong fitness and

Overuse injuries, such as tendinitis, apophysitis and stress fractures, are the majority of injuries seen in pediatric medicine (as high as 50%); that number is continually increasing as the number of specialized athletes increases (Kaleth & Mikesky, 2010). Though it is true that overuse can happen in adults, overuse injuries are more likely in younger athletes because rapid growth spurts can lead to issues with motor skills and can cause joint inflexibility as the body changes into adulthood. To add, young athletes may not have learned the proper technique to put the body through repetitive motions or are not quite mature enough to recognize the symptoms of strain and poor performance when doing repetitive exercises (Kaleth & Mikesky, 2010). All in all, instead of creating a stronger athlete, specialization and overuse can have the counter effect and create a weaker