Over the summer we shared some tips on how to prevent athlete burn out. These tips may not have rung too true at the time, as many student-athletes do get a break over the summer. Now that you’re deep in the school year and the season, it’s time to check out those old tips and see below for few more.

1. LEARN TO RELAX: Life as an athlete is extremely busy and stressful. Slow down and take at least 15 minutes a day to relax; read a book, listen to some music, or write in a journal. You’ll find that taking a few minutes everyday to recharge your batteries will give you more energy to perform well on a daily basis.

2. FIND A BALANCE: Sports are time consuming and can easily become the single focus in your life. Force yourself to find a balance between sports, school, extracurricular activities, and a social life. This will help prevent you from getting both physically and mentally exhausted.

3. MORAL SUPPORT: You need support and encouragement to succeed in athletics. Make sure you have a parent, coach, or teammate who acknowledges your achievements and dedication to the sport, and who will encourage you to continually improve your game.

Be sure to visit our Education Page for more resources for student-athletes and parents.

What Every Student-Athlete Needs to Know About Social Networking

As we all know by now, social networking sites are considered to be a part of the daily routine of most peoples’ lives. When anything good, bad, exciting, or sad happens, our first thought is to write about it on Facebook, Twitter, or a blog. But before being too hasty and writing anything that may be on our mind, everyone should consider the pros and cons of social networking. For student-athletes, especially, social media sites can either make you or break you when moving forward.

­­­Everything You Say and Do Can Be Seen

Nowadays on social networking sites, there are tons of different privacy settings that you can play with. You can choose to show every little thing on your profile to anyone that stumbles across it, or you can choose to hide everything so only friends can see. But just because you hide everything doesn’t mean that people still can’t see what you are saying and doing. Things that you share with friends, like pictures and comments, can be seen on your friends’ pages if they do not have everything hidden. Also, there are many companies, professional and college teams that admit to making fake profiles and befriending potential prospects so they can get a feel of what you are like off the field. This is why you should always be cautious with what you are putting on the internet, because you never know who may see it.

Learn From Others’ Mistakes

Unfortunately, there have too many times that student-athletes have gotten in trouble for things they had said and done on social networking sites. One example is former University of Texas center, Buck Burnette. After Barack Obama had been elected president, Burnette wrote a status that consisted of racist vocabulary. The next day, Coach Mack Brown released him from the team. Even things you say that may not sound offensive at all can potentially get you in trouble. Ask former San Diego Chargers cornerback, Antonio Cromartie, who made a comment on Twitter about the training camp food, and was then fined for it. These are examples of why you need to be careful about the things you put on your social networking sites. One wrong statement or picture could affect your whole entire career.

Use These Sites For What the Name Comes From: Networking

With the popularity of social networking sites, college recruits are now using them to get in contact with and get a better idea of what a prospect is all about. Social networking profiles are great tools for coaches to find athletes they are interested in and get to know them. It’s also a great way to talk to current athletes that play at schools you are interested in and get their input on the program.

Social networking sites need to be used with caution by student-athletes. Use it for the purposes it was made for: to connect with friends and network. Remember that the internet is available to all the public, so let your social networking sites be a positive representation of you.

To learn more about the internet and your sports career, visit our blog post “Google Yourself Before You Get Googled” HERE.

To get more advanced recruiting tips, strategies and advice visit our website and sign up for our complimentary SportsForce College Recruiting Guide and updates below.

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To get access to more advanced college recruiting tips, strategies and advice visit our website and RESOURCES section.

The SportsForce team, which is comprised of former college and professional athletes and coaches, is relentlessly committed to providing an ongoing education to help you best navigate your journey as a student-athlete, parent or coach to reach your potential.

Article courtesy of SportsForce, home for professional and affordable College Sports Preparation and Recruiting Education, Tools, Tips, Online Profiles, Highlight Videos and Premium Services.

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Working towards a goal or a dream can be incredibly taxing. We understand our clients are working towards the goal of playing their sport in college. Early practices, late practices, double sessions, weight training and more, plus academics, work and a social life are a lot to fit in for the student athlete. Many athletes do an excellent job of creating a balance of the many demands in their life. But sometimes, becoming burnt-out may seem unavoidable. Below you’ll find some tips to avoid the burn out and keep that balance going in your life.

Check In With Yourself

Only you can know if you’re headed for a burnout. Every now and then, do a mental check-in to make sure your head is still in the game and you’re still on the path you want. Are you overtired? Are you stressed out? Is your schedule out of control? Take some time to do inventory of your day to day life and ensure you are happy and still working towards a goal without overworking yourself.

Continue Playing All the Sports You Love

There is much debate on specializing within the world of student athletes. Essentially, there are two schools of thought. Some may argue that only focusing on one sport is the best way to ensure a college roster spot, while others say playing multiple sports looks best to coaches. Many, however, will agree that playing multiple sports helps to avoid the burnout. If you like soccer and baseball, play both if possible. The switch between sports can help to avoid a burnout and shows coaches dedication on another level as well as an ability to balance. To learn more about the importance of multiple sports, click here.

Take a Break

While there is the opportunity to play your sport year round between club teams, camps and high school, it is important to take some time off. Take a few days or even a week to rest your body and mind. When you get back to your sport and training you will feel that much more energized!

Reassess ad Reorganize

Sometimes you don’t just need a break, but you need to shake things up completely. Would getting your workouts in in the morning free up more time for homework at night? Is it really necessary to stay out really late on Friday night to be dragging for Saturday morning practice? Along with checking in with yourself, sometimes you need to reorganize and prioritize things in your training plan. This can range from checking how you are fueling your body to what time makes the most sense for you to squeeze in a weight training session so you still have a social life. See what works for you!

Enjoy

It’s pretty hard to burn out on fun. As long as you are enjoying the journey as a student athlete, keep working hard. Some athletes may never feel burnt out. As long as you’re still enjoying yourself and training the best you can, keep moving towards your goals!

Additional Resources

If you are feeling stressed about the College Sports Preparation process then contact us for advice and sign up for our free guide HERE to learn more about the process and action items to take