The adolescent brain isn't simply a smaller adult brain. The prefrontal cortex - the area heavily involved in planning, prioritizing, impulse control and decision-making - is among the last areas of the brain to mature, with brain development continuing into the mid-to-late twenties. At the same time, adolescence brings increased sensitivity to rewards, social experiences, novelty and peer relationships.

That matters in sport. The athlete being asked to manage pressure, relationships, disappointment, social media, school, coaches, teammates and major decisions is simultaneously learning how to manage those things.

They don't simply need expectations. They need adults who help them learn how to navigate them.

Sport can be enormously protective for mental health - but athletes still struggle. Research on youth athletes identifies issues unique or particularly relevant to sport, including performance anxiety, perfectionism, burnout, injury-related mental-health effects and depression associated with overtraining and burnout.

And asking for help isn't always easy. A systematic review and meta-analysis found that only about 22% of athletes experiencing mental-health concerns sought formal help. Researchers identified concerns about confidentiality, selection and team culture among the barriers.

Sometimes the athlete who appears to be doing well is carrying considerably more than we realize. Performance and well-being aren't always the same thing.

Young people are reporting significant levels of pressure outside sport as well. A major WHO study involving more than 279,000 adolescents across 44 countries and regions - including Canada - found declining levels of family and peer support alongside increasing school pressure. Among 15-year-olds, 63% of girls and 43% of boys reported feeling pressured by schoolwork.

Now add competitive sport. Practices. Travel. Selection. Social media. Coaches. Teammates. School. Parents. Expectations. Recruiting. Injuries. Performance.

None of those things is inherently bad. But together, they create a lot for a developing young person to carry.

Today's athletes may be the most digitally connected generation in history. That doesn't necessarily mean they feel deeply connected. Research into adolescent social interaction has found meaningful relationships between young people's social-interaction skills and their well-being, with adolescents in one study rating both their skills and the importance of interaction higher in person than on social media.

Digital communication can be valuable. But young people still need opportunities to develop the skills that happen face-to-face: reading the room, having difficult conversations, resolving conflict, listening, apologizing, disagreeing respectfully, showing empathy, speaking well of others, asking for help.

Those aren't just life skills. They're team skills.

The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 1 in 6 people globally experiences loneliness - but adolescents report the highest rate of any age group. Approximately 21% of 13-17-year-olds report loneliness. And competitive athletes aren't automatically protected from it.

A young athlete can have 500 contacts in their phone, 20 teammates in the dressing room, thousands of followers online - and still feel incredibly alone.

Think about the athlete who moves away from home at 15. New billet family. New school. New teammates. New coach. New expectations. Everyone sees the opportunity. Someone also needs to see the person experiencing it.

Research increasingly describes adolescence not merely as a period of vulnerability, but as a remarkable window for learning, adaptation, identity formation and social development. The adolescent brain's plasticity makes these years particularly important for learning from relationships and experiences.

That means the pressures surrounding young athletes are only half the story. There may be no better time to intentionally invest in them - to help them develop resilience, teach them how to navigate conflict, give them language for what they're experiencing, help them separate identity from performance, create meaningful relationships with trusted adults, help them learn how to win well, lose well, lead well and treat people well.

And ultimately, to help them discover who they are becoming through the experience of sport.