On Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at the Panathenaic Stadium, the National Olympic Academy organized a training seminar on adolescent violence, with the psychiatrist - psychoanalyst, child psychologist and author Dr. Nikos Sideris, in which trainers, Olympic champions and distinguished athletes of the National Olympic Academy, distinguished athletes - Officers of the Supreme Sports Council of the Armed Forces, as well as students of the specialty of Gymnastics of the Scientific College of Greece participated.
The meeting was part of the training activities of ETHNOA, aiming to inform and empower its staff, as well as to develop effective interventions for the artful and honest use of power, the cultivation of values and the mental and social protection of adolescents.
Dr. Sideris referred to the phenomenon of violence among adolescents, which, as he pointed out, is on the rise compared to previous years and is now extending to even younger ages.
«It is puzzling and disturbing how violence among minors manifests itself. It is now a social normality. They want to feel superior. And with the pack mentality, they feel even more powerful,» he said.
Analyzing the phenomenon in depth, he focused on ways of deconstructing the inelegant or unrestrained display of power and the importance of demarcation.
«The point is not to abolish the force, but to set rules and limits on how far it is legitimate to use it. In the gradual reduction and control of the phenomenon, discourse, examples and role models that young people have, as well as lived experience, play a key role.».
During his visit, Dr. Sideris also conducted a tour of the emblematic Stadium, completing a substantial and particularly interesting event, which highlighted the role of sport as a field of education, values and social responsibility.
