Brandy Fisher

English 2
April 29, 2019
Final MSE

Stress and Fear of Failure Causing Burnouts in College Athletes

Athletes are told to train hard and perform to the best of their abilities yet the bottom line

is that athletes usually have a lot of things going on in their lives as they have to balance

academics, work, personal life and their athletic careers. Athletes create stress and tension to

their personal health as they struggle to maintain a normal lifestyle while trying to compete for

athletics. College athletes tend to lose passion for the sport because of the pressure being put on

them to be the best. It’s a topic not many people recognize as a problem, they don’t know the

symptoms or have never heard of anyone having a burnout from a sport. An athletic burnout is

when an athlete is physically or emotionally exhausted by stress and demand. Although this topic

isn’t well known it is still important for people to understand as that it is a big issue needing to be

addressed and it could help future athletes and current athletes understand what can cause an

athletic burnout.

Sports is a great way for individuals to gain physical activity among with being exposed

to a competitive nature and self esteem. No matter the age or gender people who do sports a

genuinely more healthier and they are able to build their own character and be able to carry

themselves through many situations. Athletic scholarships aren’t just given to anyone only 2% of

people who play in high school get to compete at a college level that meaning that 150,000

students will receive one a year. A scholarship for sports can range from paying your tuition

completely to just covering half of the cost. Division I schools like San Jose State, Stanford and
many other schools world wide will probably pay athletes to finish an education like a bachelors

or masters. For students sports is a great way to use their brains to train in teamwork, leadership

and social skills because many college students are focused on studying and homework

forgetting about the outside world around them. Those who are athletes in college also have to be

on top of their academics this meaning that many of them will graduate before a regular student.

Many athletes after college plan to do their desired careers that they worked for this meaning that

fewer than 2% of athletes in college go on to be professional athletes. Many athletes who gain an

athletic scholarship must be able to play well at the college and show a good track record in

order to keep it, if they do poorly, the scholarship will be taken away or threatened. Coaches,

parents and fans put a huge demand on an college athlete as well as they expect you to be the

best. They not only want you to succeed in the sport but they also force you to work your hardest

in the sport. Parents can carry a heavy burden on athletes as they can set unrealistic goals and

push their child to the extremes.

Yes, some stress can be great for athletes especially fear of failing as it can push them to

be better. College athletes will encounter a bundle of stress but its how they handle it that can

either make it a positive or negative thing. “Healthy perfectionists’ do not share unhealthy

perfectionism’ dependence on, and sensitivity to, socially-based criticism” (Gotwals. Pg 491).

Meaning that those who are able to handle healthy stress and personal feelings have

self-acceptance and self-worth. Though burnouts in college athletes can happen and it is

something to take seriously. Many athletes can handle it better than others and push through with

no problems at all. A burnout will occur in every athlete as it prepares them to start focusing on

another phase of life. A sport will usually burnout your energy and you will no longer want to
continue as it will be hard for you to keep up and you start to lose the love and your identity to

the sport. In reality every athlete will have an athletic burnout but it will come at different times

and in different ways meaning some will be positive and some will be negative.

College athletic burnout is dangerous and should be taken into consideration as it is

unhealthy and it is causing more people to give up or lose their passion in a sport they once

loved. A burnout can have serious effects on a person's life as well as in the sport. They may

experience, depression, anxiety, fatigue, emotional, higher blood and heart rate, etc. As common

as athletic burnouts are many people never seem to hear about them, they only seem to notice it

in children rather than adults. That may be true but as a college student I know the physical

demand to get assignments done, study for test, going to work, staying up late and then for

athletes you do all of that plus train, compete and hopefully have a personal life at the end of the

day. This puts a huge amount of stress on an individual but when it gets to overwhelming it can

become really bad. “It is estimated between 5% of competitive athletes, in particular collegiate

athletes, experience burnout, or at least one symptoms” (Almodovar, Pg. 6). Between school and

training many athletes will have at least one symptom and knowing how many people are they

may be experiencing more and more as the pressure increases. To those who are still young and

are able to keep up they shouldn’t be experiencing an athletic burnout but when it happens that

means something is mentally and physically going on because it doesn't happen normally.

Student athletes forget their motivation and start to lose their self esteem as they just start to give

up on themselves due to the amount of stress and pressure they put on themselves. Many of the

times athletes will put the high demands on themselves to prove they are the best but will go to

the extremes and destroy their happiness to get what they need.
 Overall, stress and fear cause burnouts in college athletes. It is both unhealthy and unsafe

for an individual to be experiencing a burnout. Keep in mind, I am an athlete so I’m not saying

athletics are bad but sometimes when it can get too overwhelming that's when things can take a

turn for the worst on your mentality, performance and views on the sport completely. We need to

find a common ground for student athletes to be able to enjoy a sport while gaining positive

stress. Athletes are human too and experience more pressure than anyone so we need to provide

support for them and make sure they are happy along the way.
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