Adolescent development and stress
Development of self-regulation, identity, and stress processing in adolescence, as well as risks of specialisation and overload in competitive youth sports.
Intended for
Understanding adolescent behaviour and recognising warning signs of overload.
Who does the evidence apply to?
Children and young people in organised sports.
Boundaries
Describes groups, not individuals. Not suitable for diagnosis.
In athlete speak
Feeling things more intensely than before isn't a weakness, it's growth.
Accessible doesn't mean inaccurate: We simplify the language, not the message.
For Parents
What we know
Early high specialisation and heavy workload increase risks for overload and dropout.
What we don't know
Individual stress limits cannot be determined in advance.
What that means in practice
Recovery days, opportunities for other sports, and honest conversations about stress levels.
Sources
- Brenner, J. S., & American Academy of Pediatrics, Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness (2019). Sports Specialization and Intensive Training in Young Athletes. Pediatrics.Medical organisationPopulation: Children and young people in competitive sportsDOI 10.1542/peds.2016-2148
- Reardon, C. L., Hainline, B., Aron, C. M., et al. (2019). Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement. British Journal of Sports Medicine.Professional AssociationsPopulation: Competitive athletes, including youth.DOI 10.1136/bjsports-2019-100715
Content on this method
Little game time
Only playing for short periods over weeks.
Criticism from the coach
Loudly, in front of the team or during a timeout.
Criticism from teammates
Annoyed gesture, loud comment, looking away after a misplaced pass.
Trial training
New sports hall, new names, everyone's looking at you.
Performance Centre / Boarding School
Higher level, new environment, school and training at the same time.
Club change
New team, old role gone.
Injury
Break, rehab, watching from the stands.
What mental training can do – and what it can’t
Honest classification: where research shows stable effects, where it's thin, and where mental training is simply the wrong tool.
These contents are knowledge and training offerings from sport psychology. They do not replace psychotherapy, medical treatment, or professional sport psychological support.