Burnout. I recently spoke with a very talented young golfer who started playing at age 5. During 9 holes he told me he had always played golf. Always loved to practice. At an early age his parents started taking him around the country competing in bigger and better tournaments. He was chasing the dream. The dream that was heightened by himself and his parents. The more he practiced the better he became. With this, every tournament became more stressful, every event seemed ever so more important than the last. Last summer one of his dreams came true, he won his first AJGA tournament! “Oh, that was so cool, I had colleges contacting me and club manufactures started sending me stuff” but a few weeks after the dust settled he told me, “not many people know this, not even my teammates or coach, but I have no interest in golf anymore, I’m quitting the game! It’s no longer fun, the win was great but it wasn’t what I thought it would be like. I’ve played and played and I’m sick of it. I have no interest in practicing or playing in tournaments”. With that this young man that shot three rounds in the 60’s just a few short months ago, shot well in the 40’s on the 9, finished up the high school match, shook hands and nonchalantly walked to his car. At first I really couldn’t believe what I just heard and witnessed but after thinking about it for several days I realized there is a serious lesson to be learned here. It is very easy to get on that train and ever so hard to get off. Sports need to be played for the love of the sport and competition. When these things start to fade, it is first very important to understand that it is perfectly normal and healthy to take time off. I hope everyone can sit back and realize that if it’s golf or any other sport that the right “balance” could mean the difference between your daughter or son walking away from something they loved or participating in a game that they grew to love and continue to play.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 03:09:47 +0000
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