Photo by Ben Hershey on UnSplash
I recently saw a T-shirt on a 5 year old girl with the words “I am an athlete…soccer is my sport”. Whether it’s “Future Olympian”, “All-Star Player”, or even “You can’t spell AWESOME without ME”, these types of slogans emblazed on children’s clothing all represent an evolution of youth sports.
Participation in youth sports can promote development of self-esteem and leadership skills, an understanding of dedication and commitment, and formation of healthy relationships with coaches and teammates. However, the historical notion of what used to be child-driven, recreational free play of sports for enjoyment and basic skill development has changed. For example, children need to be proficient in swimming, if for no other reason than to be water-safe, and learning how to play a game has many social as well as physical benefits. But now, there is encouragement, if not outright pressure, for children to commit to sports specialization at younger and younger ages. Perhaps this focus is driven to a certain extent by society’s high regard for successful athletes, who enjoy household name recognition and substantial financial rewards.
This shift to highly structured, deliberate practice devoted to sports-specific skill development, with an emphasis on winning verses playing, is often adult-driven, with the ultimate goal of achievement at the highest levels, including collegiate scholarships (which have obvious financial advantages for parents). Excessive daily and weekly hours, little to no time-off, and pressure to “be the best” is taking a toll. Physical injury, burnout, lack of socialization, anxiety, depression, decreasing levels of family enjoyment due to prioritization of the sport over family time and events, eating disorders, and cessation of menstruation in girls are some of the adverse effects that accompany the pressure to commit exclusively to a sport at a young age.
My personal concern is year-round training without substantial breaks, which means a solid 2-3 months of “active rest”. I strongly advise the athlete (and coach the parents) that rest from their sport is essential. I encourage physical activity for fun, using movements and skills different from that which their sport demands. I like to tell kids to basically just play with their friends; ride bikes, swim, play tag. It’s the best thing they can do to avoid overuse injuries (which is usually why they show up in the clinic), and to optimize success and a positive attitude when they start the next season. For high-schoolers, the off-season can be spent in part working on strength and conditioning. But it is essential that there is competent supervision and a well-designed program by a professional who can determine issues such as muscle imbalances and inadequate flexibility. This is a great opportunity to improve injury prevention and provide rehabilitation as needed.
Children are by definition immature. Skeletal and physiological growth is happening constantly. Growth spurts can place temporary additional stress to joints and muscles. “Little League elbow” from high pitch counts and inadequate rest days, “Osgood-Schlatter’s disease” from excessive jumping, shin splints and stress fractures from running; all are common diagnoses that we see in young athletes. Growth plates near the ends of young people’s joints are vulnerable to the stress of repeated microtraumas in addition to frank injuries that can have lifelong effects if not managed properly.
In contrast, sport diversification, or multisport participation, is imperative in my opinion for kids to learn and play sports with the goal of having fun while developing skills such as throwing, kicking, catching, and running. This gives them a chance to find out what they like to do, and what sports seem to fit in well with their individual skill-set. There is also a crossover effect from participation in multiple sports. Development of eye-hand coordination from learning how to hit a baseball can translate to racquet sports. Learning how to kick a soccer ball accurately towards a goal while running develops agility and footwork. A growing child reaps developmental benefits of free play including increased creativity and problem solving skills.
Interestingly, for most sports, early diversification is more likely to lead to success. A survey of 376 female Division 1 intercollegiate athletes found that the majority had their first organized sports experiences in other sports. Another study found that the greater the number of activities that the athletes experienced and practiced in their developing years, the less sports-specific practice was necessary to acquire expertise in their sport. This falls in line with the idea of crossover skills. There is also a lower dropout rate for elite-level athletes who did not specialize early in life.
In my 33 years as a practicing PT, I have worked with athletes who felt pressured into a sport for one reason or another, but after an injury, or even COVID-related inability to continue, have discovered completely different sports that they enjoy playing. I also see college athletes who realize, after being benched or overwhelmed by the pressure of academics with team travel, etc., find much greater satisfaction playing and competing on a recreational level on campus.
Bottom line: certainly, sport specialization is essential for someone who decides to pursue an athletic endeavor to an elite level and has the skills to do so. However, children should be exposed to a multitude of sports with a focus on playing and learning. This method provides an environment that may nurture a genuine love for a sport that can reach a high level of skill and success, but more importantly, a well-rounded person who will likely enjoy a variety of sports throughout his or her lifetime.
Some quick stats to consider:
• high school athletes have a 5.3% chance of playing a collegiate sport, and 0.5% will make it to the professional level
• up to 54% of all injuries seen in pediatric sports medicine are related to overuse
• 88% of Division 1 athletes at one US university had participated in 2 to 3 sports as children and nearly 70% delayed sports specialization until the age of 12 or older
• 97% of professional athletes believed being a multi-sport athlete was beneficial to their success
• current college athletes experience depression rates that are twice as high as those of former, graduated college athletes
References:
Myer, Gregory D, Jayanthi, Neeru, DiFiori, John P, Faigenbaum, Avery D, Kiefer, Adam W, Logerstedt, David, Micheli, Lyle J. (2016)
Sports Specialization, Part II: Alternative Solutions to Early Sport Specialization in Youth Athletes, Sports Health: Jan-Feb 2016;8(1):65-73. doi: 10.1177/1941738115614811. Epub 2015 Oct 30. National Library of Medicine -National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26517937/
Caruso, Thomas H (2013) Early Sport Specialization versus Diversification in Youth Athletes, NSCA Coach, Vol 2, Issue 4. https://www.nsca.com/education/articles/nsca-coach/early-sport-specialization-versus-diversification-in-youth-athletes/
Blog Post 11/02/2016, sportsandrecenthusiast. Being the best, but at what cost; The Disadvantages of Early Single Sport Specialization. https://youthdevelopmentthrurecreation.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/being-the-best-but-at-what-cost-the-disadvantages-of-early-single-sport-specialization/
Blog Post 07/17/2019, The PCA (Positive Coaching Alliance) Blog, Impacts of Early Sports Specialization.
About the author:
Carolyn Miclean grew up in the Bay Area and has lived on the peninsula all of her adult life. As a founder member of the Bay Club in Redwood Shores, living and promoting a healthy lifestyle are values she holds personally and professionally. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology at UCLA, and a Masters of Physical Therapy from the University of the Pacific. She brings 20 years of clinical experience treating children, teens and adults with a one-on-one, hands-on approach to patient care. She enjoys working to restore each patient to an optimal level of function and performance, whether it is after an acute injury, a need for post-operative rehabilitation, or to regain an active lifestyle from more complicated issues related to fibromyalgia and hypermobility. Carolyn and her husband are parents of four grown sons. Her interests outside of work include spending time working out at the Bay Club, snow and waterskiing, gardening, and healthy cooking.
