Overtraining In Sports

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There are many problems in the world today, some big and some small, some that can be solved easily and others that take time, but most problems created in the world are due to human nature. As President Harry Truman said: “Selfishness and greed, individual or national, cause most of our troubles” (Harry). If people are able to focus on important issues in the world and all work together to solving them, then the effect of the issues would not be as big.Problems in the field of athletics are one such problem. There are so many reasons as to why athletes all over the world, especially in America, overtrain themselves; the pressure from coaches and parents, the pressure of being good players to market their team, and the pressure of focusing …show more content…

In fact, as a consequence of overtraining, some of the overtrained athletes start changing their behaviors in such forms as “hazing (especially of rookies), alcohol abuse, risky sexual behaviour, and violence” (Lester). If athletes are constant injured and, as a result, the team’s performance decreases, a deeper look into the coaches methods of proper training may reveal a logical explanation for the injuries and poor …show more content…

The NCAA clearly states that coaches are only allowed to have 20 hours a week to train their athletes. However, a survey conducted by the NCAA asked players from different sports to count their voluntary and required activities. Football players spent an average of 43.3 hours, baseball players spent an average of 42 hours, and women’s basketball spent about 37.5 hours training in the gym, practicing, and playing games (Overtraining). Some athletes feel they are “deprived of a meaningful education,” and two former UNC student-athletes filed a lawsuit against the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (Jacobs). Since then, multiple athletes have spoken out against the failure of the NCAA and universities to enforce the 20 hours rule.
A new rule made by the NCAA prevents student-athletes from having to practice for outrages hours each week came into effect on August 1, 2017. It states that non-athletic activities, such as studying, chilling with friends etc, are allowed from 9 pm to 6 am, schools must also give athletes one day off, and two weeks after the season has ended non-athletic activities are allowed to take place (Berkowitz). Having these rules set in place helps athletes focus more on academic work, as well as prevent them from giving too much and overtraining

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