Both you and I have such busy and overwhelming lifestyles. We can often overlook one of the most important components in our lives, our hardworking and dedicated little leaguers. Often, my Type A personality motivates both myself and my little athlete to maintain competitiveness by participating in travel teams, all year round. Translation, super busy instructors, young athletes and parents frequent stops at fast food restaurants — hmmm, would you like some fries with that? And the not-so-affordable $5 per gallon gas station. Now, I’m sure as a fellow Type A personality you can easily relate to this scenario. You may even be chuckling because it sounds way too familiar, but wait! Have you considered the physical and mental impact such a hectic lifestyle can have on our future Derek Jeter or Jennie Finch? This is serious business. I was cautiously reminded how such an extreme lifestyle can contribute to physical and mental burnout of our little ones after reading Burnout, by Dan Keller.
Keller reminds us all of the realities of physical and mental burnout, especially for our young, very dedicated baseball or softball players. Since you and I know that we care very much for our little studs and studettes, it is vital to pay attention to signs reflected by physical and mental burnout. Physical burnout such as an injury or overwhelming fatigue can often be mitigated by being realistic. For example, if your athlete already practices regularly with their travel team is it wise to have them play with their local youth team when they have a doubleheader during that same weekend? Hmmm, I bet you know the answer to this! I will also bet you 2 tickets to the World Series that you know the effects mental burnout can have on your athlete. Wait! You can’t remember. Oh, well, your World Series tickets will be in the mail. It may take awhile so watch out for them!
While you wait for those coveted World Series tickets also consider this. Mental burnout can actually be worse that physical burnout believe it or not. Keller defines mental burnout as, “an accumulated state where the game of baseball no longer excites a young athlete.” Our little ones may not exhibit this sign right away which concerns me. We should try to prevent the escalation of mental stress by:
As parents we can often be easily distracted by the various aspects in both our lives and in our children’s lives. In addition to physical burnout, we really need to pay attention and attend to our children’s level of mental stress to prevent mental burnout. Ignoring signs could easily delay or even ruin our athlete’s future goals. Keeping our athletes healthy — physically and mentally — will ensure their chances of reaching their potential and goals. Learn more important health tips on how to keep sun protected with JoeShade baseball umbrella. It’s an ideal family companion at little league baseball games, softball, soccer, and lacrosse games. Let’s keep our athletes, family and friends safe from the sun’s UV rays at www.joeshade.com.
