Youth Sports: The Pressure On Child Athletes

Youth Sports are supposed to be a place of enjoyment, whether it is dance, rugby or motocross; however, for many young athletes, it can also be a place of pressure to win and never to make mistakes.

(Image credit to the Youth Sports Foundation)

The  Physical Risk and Impact

When young athletes feel like they're ‘underperforming’, they may end up pushing their bodies too far. This could be through overtraining, underresting and playing through injuries. Pushing their bodies too far at a young age could lead to lifelong damage as their muscles and bones are still growing and not fully developed.For example a Football player might hide a torn muscle or strain So they don't get benched. Feeling as if they told someone they wouldn't be allowed to train and would ‘ fall behind’. By Prioritising  a spot on a team  and  game time over their health they could be risking problems that could stop them from playing for the rest of their lives.

(Image credit to Getty Images)

The Coaching Parental Pressure

Coaches and parents play a huge part in young athletes' lives and their relationship with their sport. This could be supportive, helping the athlete build confidence; however, too much pressure can have the opposite effect. Parents and coaches can sometimes unintentionally push their kids too hard, focusing heavily on results rather than development. Which can make the athlete feel useless unless they perform to a certain ‘standard’. This adds a huge mental weight to  a player as they will care more about winning for their parents and coaches over making themselves proud, with their skill improvement.

(Image credit to CNN Health)

The Impact Of Social Media 

With the rise of social media, this has made another pressure for young athletes. Things such as highlights, ranking and comparing stats. Athletes may feel the need to post their achievements and set unrealistic expectations. Negative comments online can take a huge toll on the athlete's confidence and sense of belonging in a sport 

(Image credit to Getty Images)

The ‘all about the winning’ mentality

A huge issue in youth sport is that winning is everything mentality and forgetting the main point of sport, to have fun. This mindset could heavily affect confidence. Instead of caring about improving and having fun, athletes may become afraid to make mistakes and get it wrong, which can lead to burnout and stress. 

Article Written by Laila D