High school athletes face tremendous pressure that can have significant impacts on both their physical and mental well being. Many students struggle with high expectations from their coaches, parents, peers, and mostly, themselves.
MHS Media conducted a poll of 164 Marist students and 42.1% said they have experienced burnout or fatigue some time in their athletic career.
“Cheer is constant hard work and always 100% effort so I feel burnout a lot but you have to fake it until you make it,” said Mia Duszynski, cheerleader on the 2024 state winning team.
Just in the last two years Marist has brought home five team state championships, one individual state championship, and one state runner up. Marist is notorious for having outstanding sports teams and athletes, and is often at the top of the IHSA (Illinois High School Association) sports rankings.
The pressure to succeed is even more intense at a high-performing school, like Marist.
“I feel like when people see you succeed once they expect you to succeed constantly,” said Elsie Koch, varsity tennis player and three-time state qualifier.
Burnout is caused by chronic stress of continued demands in a sport or activity without the opportunity for physical and mental rest and recovery. This is very common in athletes in high school and college due to their demanding schedules.
“I experience burnout in softball, with my seasons going from March till October, I tend to feel overwhelmed. All the traveling and stress about performance, the game can take a lot out of me physically, but I do it because I love it,” said Gabi Novickas, senior one-time state champion softball player and two-time runner up.
Students view Marist’s school culture as having an equal amount of healthy and unhealthy pressure.
“The pressure is definitely higher after winning the state because everyone around us knows we won and they assume we have the ability to win again this year,” said Abbie Osborne, who won state for cheerleading in 2024.
In the same poll, 40.2% of students said they feel a lot of pressure to succeed at Marist as an athlete.
During the hectic sports season, athletes have many options to turn to for guidance: coaches, teammates, counselors, and parents can help athletes get through stress that comes with sports.
“When I get stressed out during the season I know I can always rely on my coaches and teammates to help me through hard times,” said Abby McClorey, three-time state qualifier.
In a research study done by the National Library of Medicine, “approximately 91% of [student atheletes] experienced some level of stress due to sports. Interestingly, about a third claimed stress positively affected performance. Fear of failure and self pressure were the most common causes of stress.”
“From all my years of playing softball I have learned that you will fail more times than you will succeed,” said Novickas.
Social media’s influence has also played a major role. High school athletes often post offers they are receiving from colleges and universities.
Social media commitment announcements have been at the forefront of students’ need to succeed. Students are seeing their peers and fellow teammates commit to universities and may question their own futures. Comparing oneself to peers on social media can lead to low self esteem and doubts, but there are advantages as well.
“When I see someone’s commitment it shows me how hard they worked and it motivates me to work harder because if I put in the hard work I know one day I’ll hopefully commit,” said junior Tessa Dowling, who was on the state championship volleyball team.
