Avoidance of burnout in the young athlete.

CASE SCENARIO The patient is a 12-year-old male whose chief complaint is fatigue. The dad, also his son’s coach, tells you that his son is only tired before baseball practice and just wants to “sit on the bench.” He seems to have boundless energy to play video games with his friends on the weekends and is doing well in school. The patient has been playing baseball since he was 5 years old. He is on a year-round select team and practices are 3 days per week for 90 minutes each. On questioning the patient alone, he tells you that he hates baseball and wants to quit but is afraid his dad will be angry with him.