According to a 2024 New York University review, 45% of youth athletes quit due to psychological burnout. The National Athletic Trainer’s Association defines athletic burnout as the stress athletes experience due to continuous, strenuous training, which leads to physical and mental exhaustion that is difficult to overcome. After many years of continuously playing the same sport, many students report that they frequently start experiencing feelings of burnout. Remy Catanzaro, sophomore, has experienced burnout herself while participating in cheer.
“For me, [burnout] means that I’m no longer feeling excited to participate in my sport and feeling like [my sport] doesn’t meet the needs [of my mental health],” Catanzaro said.
Students may find it difficult to overcome their struggles with burnout, especially during busy and tough times in their season. Terri Johlie, the Lake Zurich Varsity Poms coach of 16 years, has seen many girls experience burnout and has worked to help them overcome it.

“Yes, [a lot of girls on Poms experience burnout]. Especially as we get to the competition part of the season, it sometimes becomes evident that some girls have a harder time coming four times a week to practices and then practicing on Saturdays. Keeping that kind of stamina up in terms of just the requirement on top of everything else they’re doing can be a lot,” Johlie said.
According to Johlie, burnout is primarily caused by frequent practices that result in over-exhaustion, both physically and mentally, as expectations rise during competition seasons.
“I would say one of the main things that happens is that girls are just dancing so much and it takes a toll on their bodies, and they feel like the idea of what they want to do has shifted. But, maybe at home, there’s still an expectation that they should continue doing this. I think [that can be] pressure to continue with it because that’s been the expectation all along,” Johlie said.
According to Johlie, among the many issues that may lead to burnout among athletes, it becomes apparent when a dancer is struggling with both practices and performance.
“I can see it sometimes in people when I watch them during practice, seeing them wear it on their sleeve, so to speak, in terms of just being able to kind of see it in their struggles to keep the energy level up and to perform when we’re practicing. For some, I think sometimes what happens is that it becomes like they’re forcing themselves to do that, and that becomes evident when they’re trying to perform and they struggle to turn it on and be the performer,” Johlie said.
As Johlie observes her dancers falling into a state of burnout, she naturally looks for the source of it, whether that be the aformentioned physical exhaustion or just mental strain. In Catanzaro’s case, her issues with her cheer journey stemmed from her lack of motivation and the pressure that the environment fostered.
“[Outside of school], I feel like you can experience a lot with new people that aren’t from your school,” Catanzaro said. “[Inside of school], I wouldn’t put all of my effort into what I was supposed to do on the sidelines at games.”
As Johlie notices symptoms of burnout in her dancers such as these, she tries her best to support them, whether that means having a meaningful conversation about dealing with the causes and outcomes of burnout or giving them a break.
“Over the years, I’ve talked with many girls about how to manage what they’re feeling. Sometimes it’s just having conversations about what their emotions, especially when that comes to be like junior and senior year, helping girls kind of figure out ways to work through that and figure out what else is causing maybe stress in their life,” Johlie said. “In some cases, it’s been helping students or team members recognize how they might need breaks more often because they just struggle to get through the whole practice.”
Olivia Slawny, freshman softball player, has felt burnt out in her sport and utilizes tactics to reduce and prevent future feelings of burnout.
“[I felt] like I didn’t want to go to my games and I didn’t want to go to practice and I just felt like it was boring, and just not what I wanted to do,” Slawny said. “[My advice would be to] take a break if you need it. If you feel like you want to quit before you actually quit your sport, wait a couple months. Just wait a little because the burnout might end and if it doesn’t end, then you should quit if you want to.”

As stated by Johlie, many coaches notice the effects of burnout in athletes and help them right away. However, signs of burnout may be harder to recognize for some people in comparison to others. For this reason, Johlie suggests reaching out for help from one’s coaches and guardians.
“I think having conversations with coaches or parents, figuring out why they’re feeling like that and maybe it’s because everything they’re doing is revolved around this sport, and outside of it they’re doing a lot of dance classes too, maybe cutting back in some areas, or trying to have just more balance in life, so that it’s not taking away from other aspects of their life,” Johlie said.
After recognizing that her feelings of burnout were not going to pass on her own, Slawny did just that—and advocating for herself ended up getting her the support she needed.
“[My parents have told me] to take time if I need it and to realize that I’ve put a lot of time and effort into my sport, and they would support me if I wanted to quit or something like that, but that’s never gotten that bad,” Slawny said. “I don’t see myself quitting my sport anytime soon and I’d like to continue it unless something happens.”
However, an athlete might choose not to reach out for help, and as a result, they may notice the problem growing bigger and more severe. This may cause them to have a change in heart about the hobbies they used to love.
“Out of all of my years of coaching, I’ve only had two girls quit right after our first competition. We’ve had other girls cluster, girls that were maybe not as into it, that made some bad choices. When they came back onto the team, they really didn’t want to continue with it, because they were not going to have the same opportunities and their hearts really weren’t into it. There were probably three girls that chose to quit, but that was also a result of the concept of choices they had made that kind of led up to that,” Johlie said.
Although athletic burnout is a struggle for many high school athletes, there are many ways to prevent and control it that do not involve quitting a sport that they love. Whether it is through talking to a trusted adult, or taking a break to recuperate, there are many ways for athletes to overcome burnout and continue a happy sports season.