Sports Psychology for 17-21+ Year Olds: Building Confidence, Resilience & Independence

How do you spot signs of burnout or stress?

Spotting burnout or stress in young adult athletes often comes down to noticing changes in behaviour, mood, or performance.  Warning signs can include constant fatigue, loss of enjoyment in their sport, irritability, difficulty concentrating, disrupted sleep, or frequent injuries and illnesses.  Parents may also see their child becoming withdrawn, unmotivated, or overly anxious before training and competitions.

At Inspiring Sporting Excellence, our team of practitioners focus on helping young adults and their parents recognise these signs early, develop resilience to overcome such challenges, and put healthy coping strategies in place so they can maintain a better balance to their lives, going on to improve confidence, performances and long-term enjoyment in their chosen sport.

How do you measure progress (confidence, enjoyment, performance)?

For parents or young adults who like to see clear evidence of progress, we combine both observation and data. Alongside regular conversations, we can use psychometric testing and performance profiling to provide measurable scores around areas like confidence, resilience, focus, and enjoyment. These can be repeated at agreed stages, allowing you and your child to track improvements over time in a way that feels structured and tangible.

This means you don’t just hear that your child is “feeling better”,  you can see clear, chartable progress that shows how their mindset, confidence, and performance are developing step by step.

How many sessions are typically needed?

It’s important to be realistic. In sports psychology, we don’t believe in “quick fixes.” Just like strength training in the gym, developing the mind takes consistent effort and practice.

For example, for an 18-year-old athlete, we usually recommend a minimum of four hours of sessions to make meaningful and lasting changes in areas such as confidence and resilience. Some young adults see noticeable benefits quite quickly, while others continue for longer to build on their progress and strengthen their mental skills over time.

Our aim is to give young athletes practical tools they can use independently, so the benefits extend well beyond our sessions.

Do you work with young athletes for long periods of time (eg. 2-3 years)?

Yes. For serious athletes aged 17–21+, long-term support can be incredibly valuable.  Over time, we become someone a young person can trust, someone who can challenge their thinking in a safe way, and someone impartial, removed from the pressures of their immediate sporting environment.  Many young athletes also find that a strong rapport develops, and we often become a supportive friend they can rely on.

This ongoing relationship allows us to track progress, adjust strategies as challenges evolve, and help young athletes develop mental skills like confidence, resilience, and focus that are sustainable, transferable to competitions, and beneficial for life beyond sport too.