Kids that burned out, what were common characteristics and how to prevent?

[Anonymous]

Once it stops being fun.

If the teammates become overly competitive/mean, especially on texts.

Not supportive, perhaps discouraging coach.

Lack of growth as a player if stuck in a role/position they didn't want.

Too many injuries.

When they stop wanting to go/practice.

Starts complaining that there's no break/no opportunity/flexibility by the club to do other things/sports

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Once it stops being fun.

If the teammates become overly competitive/mean, especially on texts.

Not supportive, perhaps discouraging coach.

Lack of growth as a player if stuck in a role/position they didn't want.

Too many injuries.

When they stop wanting to go/practice.

Starts complaining that there's no break/no opportunity/flexibility by the club to do other things/sports

And how to address? Be flexible/supportive. Put the kid in charge of what's next. Maybe the level they are at is too much and something less intense is better, especially if they love soccer. At the same time, the frustrating moments could become opportunities to overcome and grow OR maybe it's time for a new sport or hobby. They may return to it at some point when ready. It's their life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Sport burnout, also known as overtraining syndrome, is a condition where an athlete experiences declining performance and fatigue despite training more or continuing to train. It can be caused by a number of factors, including: overtraining, lack of proper recovery, illness, and injury"

Looks like true sports burnout isn't the topic of discussion here

We're a bit more liberal on dcum

[Anonymous]

We know of a kid who used to be the super star of the team. He would train and join all the camps that are available. Everyone knew him and he thrived for the attention, well so does his parents.

This year he was left riding the bench. He lost interest and isn't motivated to play since he is not a starter anymore. Parents made up excuse that he was injured and that was the reason he didn't get playing time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know of a kid who used to be the super star of the team. He would train and join all the camps that are available. Everyone knew him and he thrived for the attention, well so does his parents.

This year he was left riding the bench. He lost interest and isn't motivated to play since he is not a starter anymore. Parents made up excuse that he was injured and that was the reason he didn't get playing time.

Happy you got your chance to take a dig at a little kid?

[Anonymous]

DD grew weary when the Club coach said that you don’t belong on this team if your goal isn’t to play in college. This was 8th grade.

She no longer plays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know of a kid who used to be the super star of the team. He would train and join all the camps that are available. Everyone knew him and he thrived for the attention, well so does his parents.

This year he was left riding the bench. He lost interest and isn't motivated to play since he is not a starter anymore. Parents made up excuse that he was injured and that was the reason he didn't get playing time.

The attributes that make a kid good at soccer (or most anything) change over time. In grade school it’s natural ability and size. Who doesn’t love being the best on a team and getting the attention. In high school and beyond, natural ability is not enough. Training, repetition, deliberate practice, sacrifice become differentiators and only those who enjoy those activities enough will continue to succeed. Unfortunately many parents of the grade school natural ability stars assume the early success was an indicator of the other qualities and have unrealistic expectations and pressures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We know of a kid who used to be the super star of the team. He would train and join all the camps that are available. Everyone knew him and he thrived for the attention, well so does his parents.

This year he was left riding the bench. He lost interest and isn't motivated to play since he is not a starter anymore. Parents made up excuse that he was injured and that was the reason he didn't get playing time.

Loss of interest is highly correlated with negative reinforcement. Such as less playing time, moved off main position, demoted to a lower team or the coaches nitpicking. That is why not being fun anymore is a key reason kids stop playing sports.

Being declared a top player at a young age is a double edged sword. It incentives hard work but doesn't leave much room for advancement and negative feedback will engender a big loss of motivation (aka reinforcing the belief that soccer is merely a starter sport.)

Seems like a problem of declaring kids on top teams way too young and maxing out top teams with too many players. It's a mixed message for kids that are way to young that they are pretending to be competing as a team while they are really competing against their teammates.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone considered taking it a step further and rather than “letting the kid decide” actually not allowing them to do the sport and all the extras full time? Making them take an actual break every year? All of the research would point to this being good for the kids both mentally and physically.

[Anonymous]

parents living through their kids is the number one reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD grew weary when the Club coach said that you don’t belong on this team if your goal isn’t to play in college. This was 8th grade.

She no longer plays.

Burnout how?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:parents living through their kids is the number one reason.

Explain how exactly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD grew weary when the Club coach said that you don’t belong on this team if your goal isn’t to play in college. This was 8th grade.

She no longer plays.

Burnout how?

She was weary. That’s the only way to explain it. She knew she did NOT want to play in college. Weary isn’t something you want to see in a 13-14 year old, so we left that club and tried a smaller, more fun club. That was a good way to end her soccer journey - making it fun again, and guess what, she’s really blossoming in other activities she never would have the time for if still on the soccer crazy train.

Other signs I’ve seen in other kids: no time to get homework done, no time to spend with friends outside of soccer, no time for family vacations or holidays, fake injuries, real overuse injuries.

DD had a teammate tell her she was hoping to tear her acl so she could quit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD grew weary when the Club coach said that you don’t belong on this team if your goal isn’t to play in college. This was 8th grade.

She no longer plays.

Burnout how?

She was weary. That’s the only way to explain it. She knew she did NOT want to play in college. Weary isn’t something you want to see in a 13-14 year old, so we left that club and tried a smaller, more fun club. That was a good way to end her soccer journey - making it fun again, and guess what, she’s really blossoming in other activities she never would have the time for if still on the soccer crazy train.

Other signs I’ve seen in other kids: no time to get homework done, no time to spend with friends outside of soccer, no time for family vacations or holidays, fake injuries, real overuse injuries.

DD had a teammate tell her she was hoping to tear her acl so she could quit.

A lot of what's being said here is about spoiled kids lacking drive and discipline.
Along with snowplow and helicopter parenting

Not sports burnout

Many of these kids aren't even putting that much time and effort into training. They spend more time on phones and computers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD grew weary when the Club coach said that you don’t belong on this team if your goal isn’t to play in college. This was 8th grade.

She no longer plays.

Burnout how?

She was weary. That’s the only way to explain it. She knew she did NOT want to play in college. Weary isn’t something you want to see in a 13-14 year old, so we left that club and tried a smaller, more fun club. That was a good way to end her soccer journey - making it fun again, and guess what, she’s really blossoming in other activities she never would have the time for if still on the soccer crazy train.

Other signs I’ve seen in other kids: no time to get homework done, no time to spend with friends outside of soccer, no time for family vacations or holidays, fake injuries, real overuse injuries.

DD had a teammate tell her she was hoping to tear her acl so she could quit.

PP again. DD would not be as strong as she is today without learning so much through soccer. Even (especially) when to say goodbye. She’s a tough kid with a lot of grit and leadership skills.