Being a champion is as much about mental strength, skill, and agility as it is about physical ability. Months and years of preparation, sacrifice, and determination can unravel if your mind is not on your team. With so much emphasis placed on physical development, coaches often lack the training to prepare athletes for internal battles. The old-school model of breaking athletes down before building them up is not working on today’s youth. Young athletes are rebelling against this old mode of thinking, leading to communication breakdowns, heartache, and resignation on both sides.

In a conversation with Olympic athlete-turned-coach Dan Walsh, he observed, “The best kids on paper are already broken when they get to college.” In Division I rowing, there is a growing concern that the best high school athletes arrive on campus with major injuries, burnout, or emotional fatigue. When Dan was recruiting, he knew that discovering the four-year potential of the athlete was crucial. “We didn’t expect them to be ‘perfect’ on arrival, but parents pressured young athletes to hyperfocus on getting in and without preparing them for the challenges once there.”

This pressure results in many top high school athletes signaling red flags in their freshman year, falling short of the future playmakers initially presumed. Dan notes, “When talking with fellow Division I coaches and the young athletes, the biggest obstacle is realizing that college will be harder than expected. The pressure that parents put on their children to get into college via sports makes the sport more of........

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