Burnout in a young athlete is a signal to adjust the load, not a character flaw. It tends to show up in predictable ways, and catching it early is far easier than recovering from it.
- Dread before practice they used to look forward to.
- Performance sliding even as training increases.
- Changes in sleep, mood, or appetite.
- Loss of interest in a sport they once loved.
The responses are unglamorous and they work: build in a real off-season, protect sleep, keep some of it genuinely fun, and talk about it early — before a quiet problem becomes a quitting decision.