Modern pressures make it harder for young people to stay in sport
Times of Malta is holding an event for students aged 12 to 14
Sport is losing ground to the pressures of modern youth life, with school, social demands and personal struggles making it harder for young people to stay committed, SportMalta CEO Mark Cutajar has warned.
Although no data is currently available to measure the scale of the problem, SportMalta is working with MCAST to explore why some young people stop taking part in sport.
Cutajar said sport remained essential because of its wide-ranging benefits.
“Parents and guardians should understand this and encourage and support young athletes to reach their goals,” he said.
He was speaking ahead of Motivate, an event being organised by Times of Malta for students aged 12 to 14, on April 29 at the SportMalta complex in Cospicua.
More than 300 students from state, Church and independent schools are expected to attend. The event will focus on mental health, confidence, motivation, perseverance and the importance of good nutrition.
Athlete Gerald Grech, who has been competing since the age of 15, said success in sport depended on consistency and patience.
Sport teaches young people things no classroom can – resilience, self-belief and how to come back stronger
“You have to show up and put in the hours. There are no shortcuts,” he said.
Motivation often came from taking action rather than waiting to feel inspired.
Speaking about balancing education and sport, Grech said setting clear goals was key.
Elaine Genovese, technical director of the Malta Tennis and Padel Federation, said young athletes often struggled to manage demanding training schedules alongside school, family life and friends.
She said this was especially difficult in tennis, where players may train for three to four hours a day.
“At this stage in life, there are also many distractions, particularly from school and friends, which can seem more enjoyable or less stressful,” she said.
“When tennis starts to feel like pressure rather than something they love, it can lead to frustration and eventually dropping out.”
Genovese said young athletes needed a balanced lifestyle, with sport forming part of their overall development rather than becoming their only focus.
A different mindset
Former athlete and entrepeneur Xandru Grech believes young people now approach sport differently from previous generations.
He said sport had once been closely linked to fun and entertainment, but that the digital world had changed the way young people interacted and who they looked up to.
“Nowadays, it’s a different world,” he said.
He said many young people appeared more focused on results and more fearful of failure.
Xandru Grech“The old mindset of ‘no pain, no gain’ made sense to us, but today’s generation often looks for quicker, more immediate rewards,” he said.
Grech said there was a need to bring outdoor sport back into young people’s lives and rethink attitudes towards competition.
Mark Mamo, director at GasanMamo Insurance, which is backing the event, said sport helped teach qualities that extended far beyond the field of play.
“Sport teaches young people things no classroom can – resilience, self-belief and how to come back stronger,” he said. “These qualities matter in mental health, in relationships, in life.”