Youth Athletes and Overscheduling

Episode 26

In this episode of the Healthy Youth Sports Podcast, we sit down with Carrie Jaworski, MD, FAAFP, FACSM, president-elect of the American College of Sports Medicine, to explore a growing challenge in youth sports—overscheduling. As young athletes juggle competitive sports, academics, and personal lives, the pressure to perform on all fronts can lead to burnout and negatively impact their well-being.

Dr. Jaworski sheds light on:

  • Signs of overscheduling and its effects on physical, mental, and emotional health.
  • How academic performance can suffer under the weight of packed schedules.
  • The roles parents, coaches, and athletes play—often unintentionally—in creating unsustainable routines.

Dr. Jaworski also shares practical strategies for parents to prevent overscheduling and tips for coaches to find the right balance between practice and competition. She discusses the importance of teaching young athletes to manage their own schedules and advocate for their needs.

Tune in to hear Dr. Jaworski’s insights on how we can foster a healthier youth sports culture that prioritizes balance, wellbeing and long-term enjoyment for our athletes.

Whether you’re a parent, coach, or athlete, this episode offers essential advice for navigating the challenges of today’s demanding sports environment.

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GSSI Pre-Conference

The Physiology of Hydration: More Than Water Alone

This session explores the physiology of hydration through an integrated lens—examining how carbohydrate, sodium, flavor, and fluid interact to influence intake, absorption, retention, and performance. We’ll review current research on fluid balance, osmotic drivers, and palatability, highlighting mechanisms that underpin voluntary intake and thermoregulation. Attendees will gain insight into individualized strategies, including sweat profiling and timing approaches, to optimize euhydration and mitigate performance decrements associated with >2% body-mass loss. Practical applications will be linked to laboratory- and field-based research, ensuring translation from bench to field. This pre-conference equips you with evidence-based tools to support athlete hydration across diverse environments and sporting contexts. 

Divider line green, blue, black
  • Session 1: Sweating the detail: New insights on hydration considerations for athlete performance
    • Lewis James, PhD, Associate Professor in Human Nutrition in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University
  • Session 2: Functional ingredients in fluid replacement beverages for athletes
    • Lindsay Baker, PhD, Director at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute
  • Session 3: The hydration toolkit: Practical approaches to athlete support
    • Floris Wardenaar, PhD, Associate Professor at the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University