Prevalence of Nonfunctional Overreaching/Overtraining in Young English Athletes

Abstract

Approximately one-third of young athletes have experienced NFOR/OT, making this an issue for parents and coaches to recognize. OT is not solely a training load-related problem with both physical and psychosocial factors identified as important contributors.

Long-Term Athletic Development, Part 2

“…Specifically, 29% of 376 young athletes competing at club to international level from 19 different sports reported experiencing overtraining or nonfunctional overreaching at least once (68). Although Matos et al (68) indicated that overtraining or nonfunctional overreaching were not solely a result of physical training load, it is likely that a long-term development plan that fails to allow sufficient time for recovery, adaptation, and natural growth processes will increase the likelihood of negative health outcomes for youth (23). When considering the overall workload of the child or adolescent, it is imperative that practitioners value the quality of practice and competition, as opposed to the quantity of training or competition time.…”

“…Combined, these factors can theoretically lead to excessive workload accumulation and youth experiencing nonfunctional overreaching (6), overtraining syndrome (74), or burnout (61). Data on youth from the United Kingdom have shown that a relatively high proportion of young athletes have reported experiencing overtraining or nonfunctional overreaching (68). Specifically, 29% of 376 young athletes competing at club to international level from 19 different sports reported experiencing overtraining or nonfunctional overreaching at least once (68).…”

“…Such an approach should also help ensure the holistic development of youth (97). Interestingly, Matos et al (68) reported that level of competition was significantly correlated with the incidence of nonfunctional overreaching or overtraining; and therefore, practitioners working with youth must ensure that long-term athletic development is driven by process (athletecentered) as opposed to outcomes (results-oriented), especially at the younger ages of competition. The need for a comprehensive approach that is considerate of all demands to long-term athletic development is emphasized for youth who participate in multiple sports.…”

“…Whether these recommendations are being implemented is unknown, but the continued reporting of consistent levels of staleness, burnout, and overtraining in youth sports suggest that more needs to be done to protect youth athletes (50,68,104). Part of the problem is the difficulty of identifying initial symptoms of overtraining in youths.…”

“…In addition to performance decrements, the most prevalent physical symptoms association with nonfunctional VOLUME 00 | NUMBER 00 | MONTH 2015 | 7 the TM LTAD for all Youth overreaching and overtraining in youth sports include loss of appetite, predisposition to injury, frequent tiredness, inability to cope with training loads, frequent respiratory infections, heavy muscles, and sleep problems (68). Although the most prevalent psychological symptoms include apathy, feeling intimidated by opponents, bad mood, often feeling sad, lack of confidence in the future and in competition (68). Coaches should educate youth athletes and their parents to be aware of such symptoms, build a good rapport with their athletes to help identify potential symptoms, have robust monitoring systems in place to allow early detection of overtraining, and have appropriate strategies to deal with suspected cases of overtraining.…”