Matthew Mace

How to Create a Mental Training Program for Athletes

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Improve your athletes’ mental game and develop a competitive edge by implementing a mental training plan.

Michael Phelps once said, “I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it. I think your mind really controls everything.” 

This quote from the Olympic swimmer — and most celebrated Olympian of all time — is a fantastic introduction to mental training and how it can improve confidence and mental strength.

Mental training tools, such as effective goal setting, visualisation, self-talk, and progressive muscle relaxation, can be used to maximise physical and psychological performance.

Some of the very best athletes — Phelps included — used psychological skills training to improve performance. And in this blog post, we’ll explain how you can create a mental skills training program for your athletes to help them stay focused when it matters most.

Please note: I am not a sports psychologist. I am simply relaying the literature in an easy-to-understand way to help you create a mental training program for your athletes.

How do athletes train mentally?

Athletes who follow a mental training program usually focus on one skill or psychological strategy a day. 

For example, during the week, they might practise a mix of skills to improve their mental game, including self-talk, visualisation, goal setting, and activation. 

If an athlete struggles to deal with the intense pressure of competition during a particularly stressful situation (such as a freekick in football), they can visualise this and practise other mental exercises to improve confidence and performance.

While this obviously looks different for every athlete and sport, coaches should create mental training programs to address athlete weaknesses while also honing in on their strengths.

So how do you start?

To begin, coaches should perform a needs assessment with their athletes — this helps identify any potential psychological strengths (and weaknesses), and areas that may be detrimental to performance. 

Ask your athletes to note down both physical and psychological skills they think are needed to perform well in their sport.

An example mental training program for a cyclist

Let’s use the example of a cyclist. They might mention skills such as:

  • Climbing ability
  • Descending ability (and confidence when doing so)
  • Core strength
  • Power output 
  • Cornering
  • Teamwork
  • Getting into an aero position 
  • Good communication with the team

Once you’ve got these noted down, athletes rate (on a scale of 1 to 10) how good they think they are at each skill.

Also, ask your athletes if they have any strengths or weaknesses in their sport. For example, they may say they are good at climbing, but worse at descending.

If they rate their descending ability a 4, for example, then mental skills can be used to improve their confidence and technique on those descents. 

Visualisation can be used to practise choosing the right line, putting the weight over the bike correctly, and braking in advance of the corner. This can help build up confidence without actually being on the bike.

During this needs assessment, it’s important that it’s a collaborative effort between coach and athlete — this makes it more likely that they’ll stick to the program.

For more data, coaches can ask athletes to complete the test of performance questionnaire (TOPS). This will also reveal other psychological strengths and weaknesses in training and competition.

Now with a list of strengths and weaknesses, alongside physical and psychological skills, you can begin collaborating with your athletes to create an effective mental training program.

Decide what mental skills to include in the program

The results from the TOPS questionnaire also show what mental skills the athlete is good at and others which can be improved.

This provides a great foundation for you to combine skills that they have not yet utilised (or are not very good at), and skills that they want to improve in their sport, e.g. descending ability.

Mental skills include [2]:

  • Self-talk
  • Emotional control
  • Goal setting 
  • Imagery (also called visualisation)
  • Activation
  • Relaxation
  • Negative thinking 
  • Attentional control 

If the imagery and self-talk scores were low (i.e. not used before), then we can add these to a mental training program to focus on those weaker areas such as descending, cornering and getting into an aero position.

The athlete will now be improving mental strength and physical training, applying a new skill to their performance.

You can also use mental skills they have previous practice with (and feel confident using) to complement their training and skill learning.

Be sure to ask the athlete what they want to improve and what mental skills they think would benefit their overall performance. Remember: the process should remain collaborative. 

Self-talk 

For self-talk, ask athletes to note down any negative self-talk they experience during training, competition, or when practising a skill.

Let’s say, for example, when approaching a descent, they feel scared, out of control, and as if they’re going to run off the road.

You can implement a script to replace negative thoughts with positive self-talk. 

Below are some examples of how this cyclist would begin using positive self-talk during training, and, eventually, competition. 

Negative self-talkPositive self-talk
I feel scared when descendingI’m confident at descending 
I feel like I’m going to run off the roadI’ll choose my line and stick to it
I’m worried I’ll grab the brakes in the cornerI’ll break in a straight line before the corner

Imagery

Imagery, or visualisation is similar to self-talk. And in our example, you could ask your athlete to imagine themselves descending.

What technique are they adopting? Where do they position themselves on the road? How does it feel leading up to the corner? Do they hit the apex? What about exiting the corner — do they accelerate quickly by putting more power on the pedals?

And while you should visualise the successful performance of the skill, it may also be beneficial to imagine what could go wrong, and other ways it could go. However, to begin with, we recommend mastering successful skill performance before exploring other visualisation outcomes.

Relaxation

And finally, let’s say our cyclist feels intense pressure during competition. If this was the case, it might be useful to practise relaxation techniques. This could include focused deep breathing, positive self-talk, progressive muscle relaxation, and other techniques which are good mental training tools to have in your toolkit. 

No mental training program will be the same

When designing a mental training program for your athletes, it’s important to know that no two plans should or will be the same.

Athletes have unique strengths and weaknesses, some may have experience with mental skills training, and others might be starting from scratch.

But no matter what level an athlete is playing or competing in, mental training can help them improve physical (and mental) performance [1]. 

Coaches can use Rewire to build mental fitness 

As well as creating a mental training plan for your athletes, coaches can use Rewire for teams to further improve mental fitness and mindset recovery.

Athletes get access to evidence-based protocols from neuroscience and sports psychology, and actively practise self-talk, visualisation, guided breathing exercises, and more. 

Coaches can also track athletes’ readiness scores to tailor their physical and mental training for each athlete to maximise performance. 

“If you’re just relying on trying to sharpen your mental game while you’re out training, you might not always have the opportunity or you may wear your body down too much. With Rewire, you have a controlled environment and structure so that you can choose when you want to add mental training to your workouts and you can do it as often as you’d like.” – Laura Kline (Elite Ultra Runner & Endurance Athlete)

Find out how Rewire can improve mental fitness for your athletes.

FAQs

What is a mental skills training program?

A mental skills training program contains psychological exercises such as self-talk and visualisation to improve physical skills, whether that’s a free throw or a cycling descent.

How do you train mental training?

To start, begin practising easy-to-implement skills such as positive self-talk and visualisation. Note down areas of your sport you want to improve and use mental skills to optimise physical and mental performance.

How do athletes become better mentally?

The best athletes are highly resilient. Often, this is a result of mental training exercises such as visualisation, self-talk, and effective goal setting. You can do the same to improve your performance.

References:

  1. Holmes, P.S. and Collins, D.J., 2001. The PETTLEP approach to motor imagery: A functional equivalence model for sport psychologists. Journal of applied sport psychology, 13(1), pp.60-83.
  2. Röthlin, P., Horvath, S., Trösch, S., Holtforth, M.G. and Birrer, D., 2020. Differential and shared effects of psychological skills training and mindfulness training on performance-relevant psychological factors in sport: a randomized controlled trial. BMC psychology, 8, pp.1-13.
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Matthew Mace

How to Improve Mental Health for Athletes

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A guide for athletes and coaches.

Mental health is finally beginning to get the attention it deserves. And that includes the athlete population. With the introduction of sports psychologists and other team members, the industry — as a whole — is moving in the right direction.

We’ve had Gracie Gold speak out about her eating disorder, anxiety, and depression, Michael Phelps openly discuss his battle with depression, and Naomi Osaka speak about her struggles with depression after withdrawing from the 2021 French open tournament.

But there’s still more that needs to be done. And whether you’re a coach or an athlete, there are things you can do — and this article will detail them.

How mental health affects performance 

Poor mental health might lead to various performance blocks, including lapses in focus and concentration, mental blocks, poor recovery and sleep in training and competition, and a higher risk of injuries.

Athletes may also experience physical shaking, tight muscles, and feel more pressure, stress, and anxiety than usual.

Why do athletes struggle with mental health? 

From time to time, we all struggle with mental health. It’s a part of human nature. Athletes are no different — they can suffer from anxiety, depression, eating disorders, OCD, and many other conditions. 

Unlike others, elite athletes are also exposed to public scrutiny — they perform on the world stage, and are no doubt influenced by people’s opinions, comments, and criticism. This also has consequences, perhaps contributing to poor mental health, too.

Risk factors for mental ill health in athletes

Research indicates that athletes experience comparable rates of mental ill-health (e.g. depression, PTSD, and sleep disorders), but are also at risk of athlete-specific risk indicators for ill mental health, such as [4]:

  • Sports injury and concussion
  • Performance failure
  • Overtraining
  • Individual sports are typically higher risk than team sports
  • Negative major life events
  • Low social support
  • Impaired sleep quality

Athletes are perhaps more at risk due to the increased demands, including travel, training demands, coach-athlete relationships, and exposure to unfamiliar training environments. Moreover, elite athletes who are injured or approaching retirement may also experience performance difficulty [5].

Why is there a stigma around mental health in athletes? 

The stigma around talking about mental health — and seeking treatment — is not only prevalent in athletes, but throughout human history [1].

One study found that NCAA Division 1 athletes were more at risk of public stigma than their non-athlete peers [2]. 

But why is this the case?

Athletes want to appear mentally tough and do not want to show weakness. Often, athletes fear that seeking help will result in a loss of playing team, or may even jeopardise their career or contract.

And at the college level, the compounded stress of school and elite sports only makes things worse. Athletes are more likely to encounter burnout, and may struggle with mental health issues. Once again, not speaking up because they risk not being selected for their team or sport.

What can coaches do to help athlete mental health?

Sports coaches play a pivotal role in athlete mental health — they can:

  • Increase education and awareness of mental health
  • Reduce the stigma and promote early help-seeking
  • Focus on overall athlete development (not just physical)

Let’s break these down in more detail.

Increase education and awareness of mental health issues

Coaches can increase education and awareness of mental health by hosting workshops, speaking engagements, and working with sports psychologists.

It’s not just athletes who should know how to recognise the signs of early-onset mental health issues. 

Programs and further information should be offered to the athlete’s family and friends to help recognize potential symptoms and risks, and encourage the athlete to seek help before a particular struggle were to spiral out of control. 

Reduce the stigma and promote early help-seeking 

Many people don’t talk about their mental health. However, athletes, as previously discussed, may be at a greater risk of not speaking out.

So to combat this, coaches and other sports organisations that work closely with the athletes should focus on reducing the stigma through education and awareness. Furthermore, there should be a support system in place for early help-seeking — that includes multiple ways to ask for help [4].

While not in a professional sense, at grassroots level, this could be as simple as athletes maintaining a good relationship with their coaches and knowing they can ask for help, whether in-person after training, or via text, provided this is appropriate (as a very basic example).

Focus on overall athlete development (not just physical)

For years, the focus on the athletes has been physical. And that made sense! 

But these days, coaches and other staff should focus on overall athlete development from a more holistic perspective. That includes sports psychology, mental skills training, education around mental health, and so on.

Check in with your athletes, perhaps add a non-invasive screening method, and focus on more than just the physiology and physical skills training.

How can athletes manage their mental health? 

Although coaches and coaching staff play a pivotal role in the mental health of athletes, ultimately, it comes down to the athlete to implement changes, practice self-care, and better manage their mental health.

So if you’re an athlete, what can you do?

  • Surround yourself with a good support network
  • Set effective (but achievable) goals
  • Talk to someone if needed
  • Reduce overall stress (and talk to someone if the stress gets too much)

Surround yourself with a good support network

Depression and other mental health issues might be a higher risk for athletes who partake in individual sports instead of team sports [6].

If that’s you, it’s even more important to surround yourself with a good support network — these people will become your teammates.

That could be a good coach, a friend, family members, and so on. You want people that you can talk to when needed — and they will listen — and you want people who provide more positive outcomes than negative ones in your life.

Set effective (but achievable) goals

Most athletes know the importance of goal setting, so we won’t dive into the specifics in this blog post. However, it’s essential to use effective goal setting principles for the best results.

Where mental health is concerned, goals should be challenging but achievable. 

Yes, your goals should be difficult, but they shouldn’t be so challenging that you can’t achieve them, only to be upset when you don’t achieve what you set out to achieve.

You can use tried and tested goal setting methods to do so, i.e. short and long-term goals, specific goals, and a feedback system that helps you understand your progress [3].

Related: 6 Tips For Achieving Your Fitness Goals 

Talk to someone if needed

Athletes should always have someone to talk to if needed, even if it’s to discuss something as simple as a training session that didn’t go quite to plan, or to run through their goals for the remainder of the year.

Equally though, coaches (and other staff) should be available to talk to. An open line of communication is essential to protect mental health — and reach out for help if needed.

Reduce overall stress

Athletes experience stress — whether that’s during training, competition, or the day-to-day.

In particular, though, many people forget the additional stressors student-athletes face. A Division 1 athlete, for example, often trains very similar hours to a professional athlete, but also attends classes, and seminars, and has other educational demands.

It’s not just the attendance that’s required, it’s the additional work writing papers, researching, and other tasks — it’s like having two full-time jobs.

If possible, student-athletes should speak to their teachers when needed to explain the situation if they’re struggling to balance the two. And if possible, coaches and teachers should be aware of their demands and provide leniency where possible.

Student athlete mental wellness should be a top priority. 

Reducing stress will lessen the risk of burnout and injury, and should provide better balance in the day-to-day. 

The Mindset Recovery collection on the Rewire app includes sessions dedicated specially to help athletes reduce stress, try our free 4 minute guided stress relief session. 

FAQs

What is the most common mental health issue for athletes?

Anxiety is thought to be one of the most common mental health issues in athletes. Depression, disordered eating, stress, sleeping disorders, and overtraining are also common.

How do athletes take care of their mental health?

Athletes should surround themselves with a good support network, set realistic goals, and reduce overall stress. They can also work with a psychologist or a mental health professional to take better care of their mental health.

Including Rewire Fitness sessions into an athlete’s routine is another way to improve mental health. With just 5-10 minutes of every day use, the average rewire user reports a 70% reduction in stress, 30% increase in focus, and a 30% increase in readiness to perform. Try the app for free today. 

Coaching athletes and looking to help them take care of their mental health? Find out how Rewire can help your team’s wellbeing by booking a consultation with us today. 

References:

  1. Bauman, N.J., 2016. The stigma of mental health in athletes: are mental toughness and mental health seen as contradictory in elite sport?. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(3), pp.135-136. 
  2. Kaier, E., Cromer, L.D., Johnson, M.D., Strunk, K. and Davis, J.L., 2015. Perceptions of mental illness stigma: Comparisons of athletes to nonathlete peers. Journal of College Student Development, 56(7), pp.735-739. 
  3. Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P., 1985. The application of goal setting to sports. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7(3), pp.205-222.
  4. Purcell, R., Gwyther, K. and Rice, S.M., 2019. Mental health in elite athletes: increased awareness requires an early intervention framework to respond to athlete needs. Sports medicine-open, 5(1), p.46.
  5. Rice, S.M., Purcell, R., De Silva, S., Mawren, D., McGorry, P.D. and Parker, A.G., 2016. The mental health of elite athletes: A narrative systematic review. Sports medicine, 46, pp.1333-1353.
  6. Schaal, K., Tafflet, M., Nassif, H., Thibault, V., Pichard, C., Alcotte, M., Guillet, T., El Helou, N., Berthelot, G., Simon, S. and Toussaint, J.F., 2011. Psychological balance in high level athletes: gender-based differences and sport-specific patterns. PloS one, 6(5), p.e19007.
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Matthew Mace

4 Powerful Ways To Prioritise Mental Health In Athletes

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Get the basics right, and you’ll set yourself up for success.

Question: Victoria Pendleton, Gracie Gold, Michael Phelps, Naomi Osaka, Mary Cain, and Tyson Fury… what do these athletes have in common? And we’re not talking about the success they’ve had in their careers.

Answer: Each of these athletes has opened up about their struggles with mental health. 

Mental health in sports has become increasingly talked about in recent years. And with the intense pressure elite athletes face, combined with the scrutiny from the public and press, and not to mention internal and external expectations, it’s a recipe for some dark times.

But the more people talk about mental health, the easier it is to set up the right systems to combat it. 

Here’s how to prioritise mental health as an athlete. 

Key takeaways:

  1. Prioritise rest, sleep, and recovery
  2. Find a team or coach that supports you
  3. Surround yourself with the right support team
  4. Know when to take a step back

Prioritise rest, sleep, and recovery

You already know the importance of sleep, especially as an athlete. 

When we sleep, the body recovers. It’s how our muscles repair and adaptations are made — it’s how we improve.

Think of it like this: each day, you write yourself a check for the hard work you put in (training and nutrition). However, the check is only useful if you cash it in. The bank is sleep — you take your checks, cash them in, and reap the benefits.

If you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re not only at an increased risk of injury, but you might be sacrificing your mental health.

For example, Mind mentioned that those who have trouble sleeping might feel more anxious, depressed, or even suicidal. You may also lack the energy to train and compete. And perhaps, you’ll feel lonely and isolated and not want to train with your team.

Prioritise getting quality sleep and rest each night. If you struggle with sleep, you might want to look at your sleep hygiene — that’s those healthy habits that set you up for sleep success.

Good sleep hygiene habits include:

  • Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day
  • Get sunlight exposure as early as you can in the day to set your circadian rhythm
  • Avoid caffeine after 2 pm 
  • Limit screen usage in the hours leading up to sleep

You can also check out the Rewire mindset recovery sessions, designed to promote rest, relaxation, and better sleep.

Find a team or coach that supports you 

As an athlete, you likely have a coach.

For most, it’s peanut butter and jelly — one does not work quite as well without the other.

Whether you’re a long-distance runner, javelin thrower, professional basketball player, or tennis player, a coach guides your training and provides mentorship. 

And while sometimes there isn’t too much choice, if you can choose, try to find a coach that supports you.

Let’s use the Mary Cain example: she was the fastest girl in America until she joined Nike. Until she wasn’t. To cut a long story short, the coaching relationship was far from a match made in heaven.

According to Cain, the coaching team did not listen to her needs. They told her she needed to become thinner, and thinner, to become faster, as mentioned in a video for the New York Times.

Over time, she fell into a system where weight loss was encouraged to an unhealthy extent. Ultimately, this wreaked havoc on her mental health and even led to suicidal thoughts.

While it’s easy to say, “choose your coach wisely,” it can be challenging to do in person. But if you can get a coach that works with you and supports you, then you’ve ticked one of the big boxes.

Surround yourself with the right support team

Your coach is your main mentor, but alongside working with a coach who supports you, try to find other athletes who stand in your corner.

It helps to have a support team behind you. That can include athletes, coaches, coaching staff, and friends and family.

But more importantly, work on surrounding yourself with the right people. 

Talking to other athletes is an excellent place to start. You have a lot in common, likely encounter the same problems, and you understand the intense pressure of sport.

You don’t need to build a supportive team and network overnight, but you should be intentional about it.

Know when to take a step back

Professional Greek Olympic runner, Alexi Pappas, suffered from depression following the Olympic games—she wasn’t ready for what happened after she achieved her dream.

Now a major advocate for mental health, Pappas was told that her depression was a “scratch on her brain.” This helped her visualise her injury, and know that it did affect her but that it could be fixed.

Pappas stands behind this statement and emphasises mental health as a legitimate bodily need. She goes on to say, “…if you’re unable to compete because you’re risking your body, then don’t compete.”

A great example of this is professional tennis player, Naomi Osaka, who withdrew from the French Open back in 2021 for mental health reasons. As athletes, we need to know when to take a step back, and not to feel ashamed about it. It should be as essential as eating, drinking, and breathing — prioritise mental health the best you can.

Related: Naomi Osaka: Mental Health Journey.

Use Rewire to optimise recovery

Keeping tabs on your mental health, checking in with yourself, and optimising recovery can prove challenging. But you can use the daily Rewire readiness platform to track physical, cognitive, and emotional states. 

Based on your holistic readiness score, Rewire’s engine generates tailored recovery sessions designed to address your unique needs such as reducing stress, improving sleep, or achieving a more relaxed state.

The app also integrates with Strava, OURA, and other platforms to provide you with a holistic view of your health, training, and recovery status. 

While it’s impossible for us to know how you’re feeling, prioritising time for yourself each day and assessing your readiness score is a great place to start when it comes to putting your mental health first as an athlete.

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Matthew Mace

6 Ways to Inspire Your Sports Team as a Coach

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Here’s how to motivate and inspire your athletes for training and competition.

No two coaches or coaching styles are the same — but we’re sure all coaches can agree on one thing: the need to inspire and motivate their athletes.

Players who are excited about training, ready for competition, and willing to give it their all are all you can ask for as a coach.

But keeping your athletes interested, motivated, and inspired can prove challenging — it’s no easy feat.

With a gentle nudge in the right direction and a couple of changes to your coaching style, however, you can provide your athletes with the tools and inspiration they need to perform at their best.

In this article, we’ll highlight six powerful ways to inspire your sports team as a coach, from SMART goal-setting to team-building activities. 

Set goals that your team believes in 

All teams need something to work for, a reason to train, compete, and meet twice a week — or however often you train.

Whether your goal is to win the league, strive for a county championship, or qualify for an event, goals are important.

But whatever it is you’re aiming for, you need to get your athletes on board. It’s not enough for you, the coach, to be the only one on board with your goals — they need to be a collective effort.

Ask your athletes what they want to achieve and work on setting goals together.

You can use the SMART goal-setting principles to obtain better results.

  • Specific — what are you striving to achieve?
  • Measurable — how are you going to track your progress?
  • Achievable — be very realistic to prevent disappointment.
  • Relevant — is the goal relevant to the players or just the coach?
  • Timely — set a realistic time frame to remain accountable.

Create the best possible environment for your athletes

Creating the best environment for your athletes goes beyond plastering posters of Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Roger Federer, and Babe Ruth on the locker room walls. Although, a little inspiration here and there can go a long way.

While dribs and drabs of inspiration are recommended, you should also prioritise fun in training. We’re not saying you can never compete and test your athletes, but the more exciting training is, the more invested your athletes will become.

For example, instead of diving head-first into an interval session in the pool, you could warm up with a game of water polo. 

Keep things fun, fresh, and interesting, and your athletes will keep coming back and putting in the hard work. It’s all about finding a balance between hard work, fun, and rewards.

Even if they’re not looking forward to a gruelling set of intervals in the water, the occasional exciting warmup, the friends they make, and your coaching style will work wonders when they need it most.

Related: What Qualities Make A Great Sports Coach?

Be available 

It’s a simple piece of advice, but it’s one that can and will make all the difference.

After a training session or game, hang around for a while — be available if your athletes want to chat. 

Even if it’s not about the sport, it could be about school, work, home life, relationships, or anything else — sometimes, it’s nice to have someone to talk to.

This will also help you build a great relationship — your athletes will be more likely to talk to you when things get tough, if they have a niggle or a pain, or if they have any doubts about their training.

The better your relationship with your athletes, typically, the better the performance of the team. 

Post-training social activities can also be a good way for athletes to get to know each other better.

Treat all players equally

While it’s natural that some coaches will have one “star athlete,” problems begin to occur when the coach prioritises that athlete above all others, sometimes without even noticing it. 

And while that makes sense — if you want to make all players feel welcome, inspired, motivated, and part of the team, then you should treat all players equally.

It doesn’t mean you can’t provide more focus on the next Michael Jordan, but it does mean you should be available to all your athletes. 

Remember, you’re coaching a team of athletes, not one athlete.

Provide positive affirmations to your athletes

“Good job,” “keep it up,” and “you’re doing great” — these are all examples of positive affirmations you can give your athletes.

Feedback can go a long way, both given in training and competition. 

Positive affirmations tell your athletes that they see you and recognise the hard work they are putting in. As an athlete, that provides accountability — you don’t want to let the coach down, especially now they’ve acknowledged you and the work you’re putting in.

You don’t need to overdo it, either. In fact, it’s best to provide positive affirmations and words of encouragement infrequently — once or twice a training session, for example. Ideally, when the athlete needs them most — on the last set of intervals, when they’re flailing around in the pool, or when they’re struggling to shoot a hoop.

Introduce team-building activities

If you want to see some real team-building, sit down and watch Top Gun Maverick. While you don’t need to introduce dogfight football to your team, you can introduce similar team-building activities to build trust, respect, communication, and friendships within your team. 

If you coach a team sport, such as football, basketball, or ice hockey, for example, then these team-building activities are even more important.

But even if you coach an individual sport, team-building activities can help build morale in training.

Coaches can use Rewire to improve team performance 

To be a great coach, you need to be many things. But if you can inspire your athletes, then you’ll see some great results.

Aside from inspiring your athletes, understanding their physical and cognitive domains can help improve performance.

Rewire for Teams provides coaches with a toolkit for better coaching recommendations, providing insights into athlete readiness scores and other holistic viewpoints for improved mindset, better stress management, and other tools to help prepare athletes for training and competition. 

Book a free consultation today to learn more about how Rewire can help your team.

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Matthew Mace

How to Recognise Burnout in Youth Sports

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Here’s how to recognise burnout to prevent a mix of physical and emotional stressors. 

Burnout in youth sports might just be more common than we think — with young athletes wanting to be professional football players, gymnasts, swimmers, runners, and everything in between, it can be difficult to find the line between “hard work” and “overtraining.” 

So, it likely comes as no surprise that it’s very common for young athletes to specialise in one given sport from an early age. Besides, it makes the most sense if they want to turn professional, right? Kind of — more on this below.

Whether that’s gymnastics, swimming, tennis, or running, for example, the physical and emotional costs of specialising in one sport are often quite large. Early sport specialisation requires increased training hours and may expose youth athletes to increased social isolation, including less time with family, increased stress and anxiety, and the big one: burnout.

Yep, burnout — hello again, old friend. 

But understanding burnout in youth sports is not as simple as reducing the time or dedication spent towards one given sport — it’s much more complicated than that. For instance, other factors may result in burnout, including increased school demands, a lack of recovery, success from an early age, low self-esteem, the list goes… These burnout risks are taken from Gustaffson and colleagues — although less is known about burnout and youth sport, we should still take these into consideration.  

So, this blog post will highlight what we do know — we’ll provide a quick burnout definition, we’ll touch on early sport specialisation, how to prevent burnout in youth athletes, and how to recognise the signs of burnout sooner rather than later.

What is burnout in youth sports?

We’ve covered athlete burnout in previous blog posts, but before we discuss how to recognise the signs of burnout — and how to prevent it — we need to provide a quick definition.

Burnout is often described as a lasting experience of physical and emotional exhaustion. 

For example, youth athletes who encounter burnout may feel unmotivated to train and are likely to experience a reduced sense of self-accomplishment. And most notably, the physical and emotional drain may lead to the young athlete quitting and withdrawing from their sport, as suggested by a 2007 study.

Early sport specialisation vs. early sport diversification 

Let’s start with what is thought to be the biggest risk factor for burnout in youth athletes…

Early sport specialisation involves a youth athlete focusing — or as instructed by a coach — on one sport. The two main sports culprits that come to mind are swimming and gymnastics. Although, it can be virtually any sport out there, from tennis to ping pong. 

The main problem, however, is the risk factors that come with specialising in one sport. And yes, you guessed it correctly, burnout is a part of it.

Anyways, risk factors of early sport specialisation may include:

  • Excessive training 
  • Balancing school/work demands becomes difficult and energy draining 
  • Lack of recovery between training sessions
  • Social constraints 

These risk factors are taken from the integrated model of athlete burnout. Other risk factors around various personality, coping, and environmental factors exist, too. But the above factors appear the most relevant for youth sports.

So, this poses the question: should youth athletes specialise from a young age, or should they play a mix of sports (sport diversification)?

Well, this debate has been going on for years. But researchers have provided guidelines to prevent overtraining and burnout. These guidelines are as follows:  

  • Keep workouts interesting — add games and keep it fun.
  • Allow at least 1 to 2 days a week for rest — participation in other activities is allowed.
  • Add longer scheduled breaks from training every 2 to 3 months — focus on other activities or cross-train to prevent a loss of skill and/or conditioning.
  • Teach athletes wellness and how to be in tune with their bodies — this will help reduce overtraining and the risk of injury. The Rewire app has numerous mindset recovery sessions that can help young athletes sleep better, improve focus and concentration, and even enhance recovery. 

A few tips on how to recognise burnout 

Burnout and overtraining go hand in hand. And although the research on youth athlete burnout is not as well publicised, we can take research from the adult population to help recognise common overtraining and burnout signs, as suggested in a study by the National Library of Medicine.  

Overtraining and burnout signs to look out for include:

  • A loss of appetite 
  • Muscle soreness 
  • Difficulty sleeping/sleep disturbances
  • Muscle twitches
  • Decreased motivation
  • A lack of concentration
  • Decreased self-confidence 
  • Common colds, sniffles, and coughs

These are a few of the main signs of overtraining in athletes. Recognising these early and introducing rest, recovery, and a period of less intense training is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of burnout and overtraining syndrome. 

To summarise  

Increasing awareness of the risk factors associated with burnout and overtraining in youth sports is key to preventing burnout. 

Coaches, parents, teachers, and others should have an understanding of what causes burnout to reduce the risk. Also, those in a coaching position should strive to keep workouts fun and interesting, allow a minimum of 1 to 2 days of rest a week, and should schedule longer breaks from training every 2 to 3 months — perhaps during seasonal holidays, to further reduce the risk of burnout.

And finally, the argument against early sport specialisation should not be ignored. 

If a young athlete does not want to specialise in one sport, then they shouldn’t exclusively focus on that one sport. Instead, coaches, parents, and teachers may wish to consider encouraging multiple sport participation. Sport diversification keeps things fun and interesting, and may lead to enhanced skill development. And all the while potentially reducing the risk of burnout.

If you’re interested in reading more about burnout, you can read our blog post on athletic burnout and stress.

If you’re a coach reading this, check out Rewire for Teams – our platform that helps coaches train their athletes more effectively by prioritising mental wellness and preventing burnout. Book a free consultation here. 

References:

Brenner, J.S. and Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, 2007. Overuse injuries, overtraining, and burnout in child and adolescent athletes. Pediatrics, 119(6), pp.1242-1245.

DiFiori, J.P., Benjamin, H.J., Brenner, J.S., Gregory, A., Jayanthi, N., Landry, G.L. and Luke, A., 2014. Overuse injuries and burnout in youth sports: a position statement from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. British journal of sports medicine, 48(4), pp.287-288.

Gustafsson, H., Kenttä, G. and Hassmén, P., 2011. Athlete burnout: An integrated model and future research directions. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 4(1), pp.3-24.

Gustafsson, Henrik. “Burnout in competitive and elite athletes.” PhD diss., Örebro universitetsbibliotek, 2007.
Winsley, R. and Matos, N., 2011. Overtraining and elite young athletes. The elite young athlete, 56, pp.97-105.

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