Young Athletes and Performers: Wellbeing and Performance

Keep the young person’s voice at the centre

A young person may value an activity deeply and still need help to question a schedule, coaching approach or opportunity. Ask what they enjoy, what they want to work towards and what feels difficult. Revisit these questions because goals can change.

Useful questions include:

• What parts of training, rehearsal or performing give you energy?
• What parts leave you worried, exhausted or uncomfortable?
• Do you feel able to ask questions, take a break or say that something hurts?
• What would you like adults to understand about the pressure you feel?
• If you could change one part of the week, what would it be?

Listen before moving into advice. A child should not have to prove distress before adults review the environment.

Signs that the total load may no longer fit

No single sign proves burnout, a mental health condition or an unsafe program. Look for a pattern, a change from the young person’s usual functioning and effects across sport or performance, school, relationships and health.

Signs that warrant a closer look can include:

• persistent fatigue, disrupted sleep or difficulty recovering between sessions
• recurrent pain, illness or injury, or pressure to continue despite symptoms
• loss of enjoyment, dread before participation or wanting to stop but feeling unable to
• increasing irritability, withdrawal, tearfulness, anxiety or harsh self-criticism
• a sustained fall in concentration, school participation or ordinary self-care
• feeling that personal worth depends on selection, ranking, appearance or applause
• rigid eating, body dissatisfaction, rapid changes in eating or weight, or relentless extra exercise
• avoiding honest feedback because of fear of punishment, humiliation, deselection or losing a role.

These changes can have several causes. Medical conditions, injury, inadequate nutrition, sleep difficulty, anxiety, depression, bullying, family stress and school pressure can overlap. Reduced performance is a signal to understand, not evidence of poor commitment.

Safety is an adult responsibility

Ambition does not remove a child’s right to safety, privacy, respectful communication and age-appropriate boundaries. Parents should understand the organisation’s policies for supervision, physical contact, changing spaces, travel, accommodation, photography, digital communication, complaints and reporting concerns.

Sport Integrity Australia states that children and young people should be safe, supported and protected from harm in sport. For paid performance work in NSW, employers must follow current Office of the Children’s Guardian requirements. Rules differ across jurisdictions and settings, so families should check the requirements that apply to the activity.

Notice power differences. A young person may find it difficult to question a coach, teacher, director, agent or selector who controls access to valued opportunities. Adults should respond to discomfort or disclosure calmly, document concerns and use the appropriate safeguarding or regulatory pathway. Performance goals never justify degrading language, body shaming, secrecy, coercion, unsafe touch, retaliation or pressure to hide injury.

A practical framework for parents

1. Map the whole week

List training, rehearsals, performances, competitions, travel, school, homework, paid work and commuting. Add the less visible load, such as preparation, recovery, social media obligations and worrying about the next result. Our guide to overscheduling in children provides a broader family review.

There is no universal correct number of activities or hours. Review whether the young person has enough opportunity for sleep, meals, learning, relationships, unstructured time and recovery. A short diary of energy, mood, sleep, pain and enjoyment can help identify patterns without turning wellbeing into another performance score.

2. Coordinate the adults

Young people can receive conflicting instructions from coaches, teachers, schools, medical professionals and family members. With the young person’s involvement, clarify who is responsible for training load, injury decisions, school adjustments and communication. Share essential information while respecting privacy.

Parents can ask how workload is increased, how rest is planned, what happens after injury or illness and how the program responds when a young person raises a concern. A responsible environment should be able to discuss these questions without treating them as a lack of commitment.

3. Protect recovery and physical health

Training and rehearsal create stress that requires recovery. Sleep, adequate food, hydration, rest and appropriate medical care are part of development, not rewards that have to be earned. Load should be adjusted when a young person is unwell, injured or not recovering as expected.

Persistent pain, fainting, dizziness, repeated illness, bone stress injury, marked fatigue or significant changes in eating, weight or menstrual or hormonal functioning require medical assessment. The Australian Institute of Sport advises early recognition of disordered eating in athletes and a multidisciplinary response. Avoid giving nutrition, weight-loss or return-to-participation advice beyond your role.

4. Prepare for pressure, not perfect calm

Some activation before a competition, audition or performance is expected. The goal is not to remove every uncomfortable feeling. Help the young person recognise their response and practise a routine they can use under pressure.

• Focus on one or two controllable actions rather than the final result.
• Use a predictable warm-up and preparation routine.
• Practise slower breathing or grounding before the event, not only during a crisis.
• Choose brief, credible self-talk such as “One step at a time” or “I can return to the plan”.
• Plan what support is wanted immediately before and after the event.

Performance anxiety becomes more concerning when it is intense, persistent, causes significant avoidance or affects life beyond the performance setting. Our guide to negative self-talk in sport offers related strategies.

5. Review setbacks without attacking identity

After a difficult result, allow time for emotion and recovery before analysing performance. Ask what was within the young person’s control, what was learned and what support or adjustment is needed. Specific feedback about a skill or decision is more useful than global labels about talent, toughness or character.

Setbacks can provide information, but they are not automatically beneficial. Injury, exclusion, public criticism or a major disappointment may require practical support and time. Avoid insisting that the young person immediately find a positive lesson.

6. Keep identity broader than achievement

Help the young person maintain relationships, interests and roles that do not depend on performance. This does not dilute ambition. It can provide perspective and continuity when a season, role or pathway changes.

Watch for perfectionism that turns high standards into rigid rules, fear of mistakes or self-worth based entirely on outcomes. Praise preparation, communication, problem-solving, teamwork and recovery choices as well as visible success.

7. Reassess consent and fit

A decision to participate is not permanent consent to every demand. Check whether the young person still wants the goal, understands the proposed commitment and can express limits without punishment. Children with disability may need reasonable adjustments, accessible communication or different recovery planning. Inclusion should not mean ignoring individual needs or reducing the young person’s say.

When to seek further support

Speak with a GP, sports physician, paediatrician or relevant allied health professional when there are physical symptoms, recurrent injury, concerns about nutrition or uncertainty about safe participation. Seek psychological support when anxiety, low mood, perfectionism, identity concerns, conflict or the impact of setbacks is persistent or interfering with daily life.

Prompt assessment is important when a young person:

• talks about self-harm, suicide or not wanting to live
• has panic, severe distress or rapidly declining functioning
• shows signs of an eating disorder, significant restriction or compulsive exercise
• is being pressured to train, rehearse or perform through illness or injury
• reports bullying, abuse, unsafe contact, exploitation or retaliation
• uses alcohol, drugs or unverified supplements to cope or alter performance.

If there is immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000) or attend the nearest hospital emergency department. Children and young people aged 5 to 25 can contact Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. Safeguarding concerns should also be reported through the organisation and the appropriate child protection, police or regulatory pathway.

How Quirky Kid can help

A Quirky Kid psychologist can help a young person and family understand performance pressure, anxiety, perfectionism, emotional regulation, motivation, identity and responses to injury or setbacks. Support may include working with parents and, with appropriate consent, coordinating with school or other professionals.

Psychological support does not replace medical assessment, qualified nutrition care or a safeguarding investigation. The first appointment helps clarify the concern, the young person’s goals and whether Quirky Kid is the right service.

Explore child and family psychology consultations or the Power Up program, which supports young people to develop practical performance psychology skills.

Key points for parents

• Support wellbeing, safety and development alongside performance.
• Keep the young person’s goals and voice central.
• Review the total load rather than one training or rehearsal session in isolation.
• Treat persistent fatigue, pain, distress, food concerns and unsafe behaviour as signals for action.
• Help the young person build an identity and support network that extend beyond results.

This article provides general educational information. It does not diagnose a condition or replace medical, nutrition, psychological, legal or safeguarding advice.