When sports kids are feeling burned out, they aren't as interested in going to practices or games. They don't get as excited about wins, says Andrew Simpson, chief vision officer for Player's Fitness and Performance.

But being burned out is a choice, he says. He helps kids understand their choices and suggests ways to avoid burnout--taking a day or a season off or switching to positions that suit them better, for example.

Perfectionists are most likely to burn out, says Simpson. Parents and coaches can help them by suggesting they avoid negative thinking and focus on what they do well.

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Parents of kids as young as 7 or 8 are asking for Ashley Eckermann's help. Most of them are grappling with fear of failure.

Eckermann, founder of Maximize the Mind Mental Performance Coaching, asks for lots of detail about kids' worries and goals so she can tailor her suggestions to each young athlete's situation. She also avoids using the term "be positive" because she thinks it creates high expectations in kids.

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It's possible to speed up young athletes' thinking and reaction time, says Dr. Ryan D'Arcy, a sports dad, professor and president of NeuroCatch, a medical device startup that evaluates cognitive function.

For example, he recently used red light therapy to speed up a football player's cognitive processing by 70 milliseconds.

Speeding up processing this way can help young athletes perform better and avoid concussions, he says.

He provides sports parents tips for optimizing kids' brain health.

Email Dr. D'Arcy at ryan@healthtechconnex.com

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