by joanna

I overheard a football mother say on Monday morning that her son was exhausted and burned out from football. Reminder: Monday was the first day of practices.

But not really. While it was the first official day of practices heading into the season opener, which is a little less than three weeks away, athletes are spending more and more time playing/practicing/conditioning/lifting weights than ever in the summer.

So is that a good thing?

I’m torn on this. I like that athletes get more time with their coaches. I like that there’s instruction, that they’re working out, that they’re bettering themselves at their particular sports.

What concerns me is burnout. There’s nothing better than having that time to spend at the pool or going on a family vacation (that isn’t tied to a sporting event) or going fishing or watching movies all day long.

Then again, I wonder if that burnout comes from students who are easily burned out. In other words, are they not strong enough mentally to handle being pushed, being challenged?

I think it’s a little of both.

And, frankly, I look at kids my boys’ age — under 9 — and there’s so many who are specializing, who are playing/practicing/working out with a trainer year round. I shake my head at that. That’s way too early. It’s way too early to specialize when who knows how a kid will develop? What sport a kid might have a passion for?

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?