For quite a few years I’ve studied and written about BURNOUT. The amount of athletes who are “burning out” from sports and quitting before age 14 is astounding.
In the past I have gone with the research and agreed, “It is likely the parents and coaches who are to blame”. TODAY, I am going a totally different direction.
I’d rather burn out than rust out.
12-15 years of playing sports competitively and consistently- should that really result in burnout?
Do I need to alter my paradigm a bit and find a happy-medium? Maybe the fact that many kids lack “sport-life balance” is not the only real problem here...
Maybe lack of perseverance and lack of grit is a problem with bigger life ramifications than we realize.
I know a lot of students whose default response when trial and difficulty come a knockin’ is to make excuses, bail out, and quit...or worse, they get bailed out without choosing. Is that you?
***Is it really a bad thing to put a large amount (hard to define what large is) your heart and soul into the pursuit of a goal, even a temporary goal like sports?
***Is it really bad to keep playing when you are sick or injured?
***Is it really a bad thing to keep playing for the coach who is difficult, militant-like, and doesn’t show you respect? What about the coach who “doesn’t really know what he/she is talking about?
Perseverance Refines Your Character
Keep going for the right reasons.
To produce a spirit of endurance in your life.
To develop the insanely powerful and helpful like quality called GRIT.
Athlete, you must be honest with yourself. Are you quitting early because you just really hate being uncomfortable? This could be your daily running tests and conditioning, giving up on your season mentally or physically, or possibly quitting your career.
Parent, are you allowing your Inner Protector to get in the way of crowning your children the Gift of Perseverance?
Some of you know, the pain of watching your child struggle through manageable trials and difficulties now is far more enjoyable than watching them go through the bigger life trials that lie ahead, unprepared and unequipped with the tools of endurance & perseverance that they need.
We cannot always choose their decisions for them, but through our example and our encouragement, we can inspire them to press on instead of giving up.
It can be tricky to find the balance and to discern between:
- Burning out the wrong way for the wrong reasons at the long-term expense of your mental, emotional, and physical health....
And…
- Deciding it may be more valuable to burn out instead of rust out. To finish the race not because of the medal you get around your neck, but rather to receive the crown of perseverance and endurance.
Maybe, just maybe, this has been one helpful tool of discernment for you.
Introspective Question: In my role, what can I do to encourage and inspire a spirit of patience, perseverance, and endurance for my student-athlete(s)?
Dedicated to the success of your athletes,
Coach Andrew
P.S. YOUTH TRUTH UPDATE: The book is currently in the professional formatters hands -- putting it into “book form” from the original word document!
Stay tuned, there are so many bonuses and practical tools that will come with The Youth Truth -- Transformational content for you and your athlete's that I've never shared before.
