Specialization: Too Much Focus on One Sport?

Should a child focus on just one sport? Experts in this area agree that playing only one sport from an early age might not be the best for a child for several reasons. 

1. Increased risk of injury. Many studies point to higher numbers and severity of injuries in specialized youth athletes. 
2. Failure to develop other sports skills. Playing multiple sports allows the athlete to gain important physical skills they may not attain with only one sport.
3. Burnout. About 70% of kids drop out of sports by age 13. Often kids who specialize in one sport at an early age are under a lot of pressure to win which can lead to burnout.

Recommendations are to not play:

• In a single sport for more than eight months per year.
• In more organized sports per week than their age (i.e., a 16-year-old athlete should not participate in more than 16 hours of organized sport activity per week).
• In multiple leagues of the same sport at the same time.

Another less discussed topic is physical readiness and preparation. Most youth athletes are never taught basic movement patterns like hopping, skipping, crawling, rolling, and yes, sprinting!

"It is alarming that adolescents aged between 12 and 13 years entering their first year of post-primary physical education do not display proficiency across nine basic movement patterns. This finding indicates that adolescents may have a difficult time in making the successful transition towards more advanced skills within the sport-specific stage." (Ref)

A great place to start all youth athletes is right here: Athlete Physical Assessment of Motor Skill Competence. Coaches and parents will quickly discover how their kids move and be able to correct any issues from the time they start playing sports. We promise this will pay big dividends!

Here is an excellent deep dive into the topic: Early vs Late Specialization: When should children specialize in sport?

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In The News

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Schedule a free 30 minute safety and risk assessment with Dr. Steve Horwitz, CEO and Founder of TeamSafe​®Sports and prepare today!

Click here: calendly.com/drstevenhorwitz

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