This
weekend, more than ever, I realized that although it might have been a
disadvantage in the short run for me to start specializing in tennis earlier
than most of the girls I am competing against did, in the long run, it may
serve its benefits. I recently switched coaches and got a lot more serious
about my tennis, (I was before but not like I am now) and am seeing huge
improvements in my game. However, as I look around at the girls I am competing
against, I don’t see the same improvements. I see either plateaus or even
decreases in performance.
At first, I thought it was a
discipline or motivation issue, but then after looking into it some, I realized
that specializing in one sport at a young age and overtraining causes athletes,
not just tennis players, to suffer from “burnout,” or overtraining syndrome. I
came across an article that answered my question of why a lot of girls that I
used to consistently lose to would never be able to beat me now. That answer is
“burnout.” According to the article, it’s very easy for an athlete to decrease
performance in a sport if they had specialized early in the sport and/or had
excessively trained for that particular sport. Athletes are not machines; they
will eventually get tired of training, and if they are pushed too hard, they
will break and interest lever will drop. Therefore, it’s almost a given that
performance will drop as well.
To me, I think that it’s amazing
how much sports have changed since my parents were kids. My dad explained to me
that back when he was growing up, there was much more emphasis on growth and
enjoyment in a sport rather the excelling at it, and rarely would somebody
specialize in one sport before highschool. What I really wonder though, is what
caused sports to change so much? Why are the expectations now so high for young
athletes to perform at a high level?
I totally know exactly what a "burnout" is. I've seen it multiple times being a rower and hockey player. For example, I see the same scenario play out in rowing year after year, a girl will try out for the team and show incredible potential. She excels her first year and maybe her second, but as the third year rolls around the summer, fall, winter, and spring training starts to get old. Her scores will plateau and never reach the height that the coaches thought they would. It's so hard to stay motivated when you're under so much pressure. Each year the athletes get better and better and so colleges have higher expectations for high school students each year.
ReplyDeleteI see this happen a lot, especially at New Trier where athletes are often pushed to their limits. I played lacrosse for years, and like Anna says, "had specialized early in the sport." I believe I first picked up a lacrosse stick when I was in fourth grade, and showed potential. My coaches in seventh/eighth grade told me I should definitely try out for the team in high school and with a little bit of practice could be a starter. So I practiced a lot, and eventually "burned out". I could feel the lack of interest and physical ability that I once had due to the fact that I simply overdid it.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that there is a difference between "burning out" as in getting tired of a sport and "burning out" as in losing interest in a sport altogether. At New Trier and other competitive high schools, it is not uncommon for students to feel the obligation to stretch beyond the regular limits in order to excel at a particular sport due to the looming desire to be a college prospect or a scholarship candidate. And when, as Natalie writes about, the pressure gets too high, some people's minds just can't focus on their game as much.