Sources and Consequences of Athletic Burnout among College Athletes

Authors

  • Daniel Gould Michigan State University
  • Meredith A. Whitley Michigan State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1123/jis.2.1.16

Abstract

It has been shown that it takes 10 years or 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to develop one’s talent in any field, including athletics (Ericsson, 1996). Given the amount of time, sacrifice, and effort needed to become an expert athlete, it is not surprising that researchers have been interested in examining burnout in competitive athletes (see: Cresswell & Eklund, 2006; Goodger, Gorely, Lavalle, & Harwood, 2007; Gould & Dieffenbach, 2002, for detailed reviews). While burnout has been defined in several ways, it can generally be viewed as a physical, social, and emotional withdrawal from a formerly enjoyable activity as a result of chronic stress and motivation concerns that is typically characterized by feelings of emotional exhaustion, reduced accomplishment, and depersonalization/devaluation. In this review, research and theories on burnout in athletes are examined for the purposes of identifying sources of and consequences of burnout in collegiate athletes. Future research directions are identified as well as implications for protecting the health and welfare of student athletes.

Author Biographies

Daniel Gould, Michigan State University

The authors are with the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, Michigan State University, 210 IM Sports Circle, East Lansing, MI, 48824-1049.

Meredith A. Whitley, Michigan State University

The authors are with the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, Michigan State University, 210 IM Sports Circle, East Lansing, MI, 48824-1049.

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Published

2009-06-01

How to Cite

Gould, D., & Whitley, M. A. (2009). Sources and Consequences of Athletic Burnout among College Athletes. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 2(1), 16–30. https://doi.org/10.1123/jis.2.1.16

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2009): Journal of Intercollegiate Sport

Section

Conference Presentations And Responses

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