By Sean Ingle — 2021
Eighteen-year-old US Open winner says upbringing has given her mental strength to succeed.
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CLEAR ALL
How one teen is using her tragic injury to take down the warrior culture in sports.
Be mindful of a young athlete’s psychological well-being.
Evidence suggests that as young people compete more intensely in sports, gains in mental wellness may be replaced by mental health challenges particular to competitive athletics.
Whether pressure is unintentional or by design, kids feel it and it can lead to poor athletic performance and other unintended consequences, including poor stress coping and falling grades.
70% of children drop out of organized sports by age 13, according to research
In the documentary “The Weight of Gold,” Phelps presents a stark picture of the mental wear and tear Olympians endure.
Osaka’s mental health challenges are nothing new in her isolating sport. What is new is the acceptance she’ll face—and the paths back—if she takes a prolonged break.
In the past few weeks, my journey took an unexpected path but one that has taught me so much and helped me grow. I learned a couple of key lessons.
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Through the size of her platform, however, and her decision to choose well-being over pursuit of a Grand Slam title, Osaka offers the promise of bringing mental health awareness—both inside and outside of sports—to an entirely new level.
Athlete burnout is a cognitive-affective syndrome characterized by perceptions of emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced accomplishment, and devaluation of sport.