Background: Elite sport participation creates a significant burden on adolescent athletes due to demanding training schedules, high training intensities, and the complexity of puberty. As such, an athletes` ability to effectively balance stress and recovery is essential for their athletic performance and requires appropriate management throughout the competitive season. This research aimed to investigate: (i) the quantity, quality, and timing of sleep; (ii) general and sport-specific nutrition knowledge; (iii) recovery practices; and (iv) the relationships between sleep, nutrition, and recovery practices in elite adolescent athletes. Methods: A total of 51 athletes completed a battery of previously validated and reliable questionnaires which investigated their sleep characteristics, nutrition knowledge, and recovery practices. Results: Statistically significant moderate correlations were observed between their Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) global score, Sleep Difficulty Classification (SDC), and Recovery Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (REST-Q Sport) scales, with small significant correlations observed between the SDC and REST-Q recovery scales. Participants had lower scores in both their sport (36.10 ± 12.13) and total (40.25 ± 11.18) nutrition knowledge compared to their general nutrition knowledge (49.53 ± 16.46). Moderate levels of general (1.50 ± 0.86) and sport-specific (1.57 ± 0.85) stress and high levels of general (3.92 ± 0.74) and sport-specific (3.72 ± 0.96) recovery were demonstrated. Furthermore, 94% reported their sleep quality to be "fairly good" (n = 30) or "very good" (n = 18). Conclusions: These findings highlight the necessity of further investigating the effect of educational strategies on improving sleep, nutrition, and recovery knowledge in athletes to aid recovery and dietary behaviours.
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