High School sports are meant to be fun, a place to build friendships and develop a sense of self.  But high school sports are also competitive and some athletes feel like they have a lot of pressure when they play in a game or practice. Are high school sports becoming too competitive and stressful for students?

Most athletes feel pressure from coaches who have high expectations and athletes are nervous to mess up. Other athletes may feel the pressure from their parents or even other teammates who may be older that give their teammates a hard time.

Reid Pienta, a hockey player at Saint Ignatius talked about how pressure can be overwhelming during the hockey season.

“Balancing school and high school hockey is a lot, and over the past 3 years it was super stressful because we would have practice every day, along with games every weekend, sometimes we would have games on school nights at 9:10 pm in Lake Forest,” said Pienta.

“I feel like there is so much judgment around sports,” Brayden from New Rochelle High School said in a New York Times article. This certain pressure can take away the fun of the game for this athlete. When things like pressure occur, many student athletes decide to give up and quit something they used to be really passionate about. 

Burnout is one of the most significant issues in high school sports that student athletes have to go through. Athletes give up on their sport due to stress, tiredness, or pressure from the people around them that results them to be nervous. 

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “overtraining and burnout can lead to both physical and emotional problems in young athletes.”

Jeff Rogers, the Saint Ignatius Varsity Gold Hockey Coach, said he has seen athletes struggle with pressure like this before. Jeff grew up playing hockey his whole life, playing at Marist High School and Team Illinois AAA Hockey Program. He then continued to play College Hockey for St. Norbert. 

“Some players stop enjoying their sport because they feel stressed or tired all the time of having to do details, both mentally and also physically, ” said Rogers. 

Team culture in high school sports plays a significant role in how competitive and stressful sports can be. When  freshman and sophomores compete with the juniors and seniors or try to move up from JV to the Varsity level, it can be very competitive. 

“Younger players can sometimes feel nervous or pressured when trying to earn their spot. Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes, that is how we learn and grow. We’ve seen this throughout our hockey season where they sometimes feel nervous to build friendships because they are younger than most on the team, ”said Rizzuti, a senior captain on the Saint Ignatius Hockey team says, 

“They also can feel like they aren’t a part of the team culture as most of the athletes who are on Varsity are upperclassmen,” Grayson adds as they may feel left out in situations.

Underclassmen may feel like they have to be perfect to be accepted but  Grayson adds says “messing up can be stressful and us seniors need to always be supportive to them as they are still growing.” 

Spencer Montgomery played hockey his whole life and worked for the Chicago Blackhawks growing up and is now the Head Ignatius Coach for Hockey. 

“Compeitivness can teach athletes teamwork and responsibility,” said Montgomery.

Montgomery, adds that parents can play a huge role in pressure. 

“I get calls from high school parents about feedback on their son, and instead of hearing from them, I would rather hear from the players instead.” 

Montgomery says high school athletes should reach out to coaches to solve problems and the parents need to take a step back as it can create stress for athletes.

“I try to teach my athletes to compete against each other, which helps them improve as not just a hockey player, but also after your hockey career and for your future”, says Montgomery.

Montgomery  played hockey his whole life and worked for the Chicago Blackhawks growing up and is now the Head Ignatius Coach for Hockey. “Competitiveness can teach athletes teamwork and responsibility.” 

Without some pressure, some athletes might not want to push themselves to get better. With pressure, some athletes have physical and emotional stress that can be too much for them.