Bill Faflick, KSHSAA Executive Director
When students are involved in education-based activities, they are better! We all know the connection with peers, with coaches and sponsors, and to the community support their academic success as well as their physical health and mental wellness. However, can some students take it too far and be doing too much?
Earlier in April, I listened intently to the doctors, athletic trainers, school nurses and school leaders serving on the KSHSAA Sports Medicine Academy as they talked about a significant concern becoming more prevalent in their work with students. That topic is burnout. While the discussion was focused on supporting the many students who experience overuse injury, it also included students who have lost the love of the game. It was reported:
Over 50% of high school athletes report training related injuries which contribute to mental and physical exhaustion which can lead to burnout.
Teenagers who overtrain are also at a higher risk of eating disorders and sleep problems.
36% of high school student-athletes report feeling burned out because they feel pressure to succeed from their coaches and parents.
30-40% of young athletes experience burnout at some point in their sports careers and 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by age 13.
Overtraining and burnout are linked to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
While I support the notion of learning to work hard to achieve at the highest level, many of our students are exhausted. We need to teach our students to work smarter, not necessarily more! As we prepare for summer, which has been transformed from an opportunity for students and coaches to recharge and pursue options not possible during the school year, into a fight for more training and more competition. Is it too much?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends students not spend more than 5 days a week playing or practicing one sport and 2-3 months per year of no organized sports. The KSHSAA SMAC suggested a general rule of thumb for a student is for the maximum hours of training, practice and competition per week to not exceed the age of the student or 16 hours per week (whichever is less).
As you head to summer, I encourage you to lead the discussion on how less can be more. Thank you for supporting the healthy development of students.