If you have ever been the best at something, practiced at something night and day, or have done something for a very long time, you have been burnt out at one point or another. The first time I ever experienced such a feeling was in high school with softball. Now don’t get me wrong I LIVED for it, night and day my world revolved around practice and training and games. It came to a point where I had gotten so good, for so long, that the pressure of performing took the fun out of it for me.
To give you a glimpse into what sort of training I did it consisted of this.
- Hitting lessons 2-3 times a week. Started in 5th grade consistently through high school.
- Had a NHL hockey player training me twice a week in the 8th grade.
- Middle/ High school practice 5 days a week. 2-3 hours a day.
- Little league games/ All stars through 6th grade, same time as travel ball for two years.
- Travel ball starting in 5th grade Tournaments, which could be between 3-8 games a day, almost every weekend with practice on the weekends we did not go play somewhere.
- Speed and conditioning training at TNL in highschool, twice a week.
- Summer ball for highschool/ travel ball teams.
They say you can’t be an expert at something before doing it for 10,000. Well I am positive I surpassed that mark many many times. The practice and individual lessons paid off tremendiously, but I got to the point where I did not wanna practice because it felt like a chore or job, as opposed to fun. i also missed the time in high school when you are suppose to be with your friends. No telling how many football games or dances I missed because I was out of town playing ball. I do think softball taught me so many great life lessons ( we shall discuss at a later time), and kept me out of some potential trouble, so overall I still am so thankful I did it so much. It also kept me very close with my family since we spent almost every waking moment together.
I have great memories with various teams and teammates, but I am glad I stopped when I did. I think now I miss playing at have turned into a NARP ( non-athletic regular person), but if i would have continued into college I would have hated the sport all together.
If you are getting burnt out of something, try taking a break from it. explore new hobbies or go on a trip somewhere. need to get in touch with why you enjoy “it” in the first place. If you do not get some distance from whatever is burning you out, you may end up resenting it, in the long run. And if you’re a parent who is pushing your kids like I was pushed, you might have kids who experience the same thing. They may be the best athletes, but you may find they are playing to please you as opposed to playing for fun.
–XOXO Kiley
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