In today’s society, many young athletes struggle to escape the constant pressure of reaching an elite level of competition. For some, this means working towards a tempting Division One collegiate scholarship while others are driven by the miniscule possibility of playing at the professional level. More often than not, this results in unnecessary stress and heartbreak. Along with the psychological disadvantages of specializing in only one sport, young athletes are oftentimes the victims of overtraining, overuse injuries, and other negative effects on the growing body. Sports specialization is not beneficial to children before high school and poses multiple potential risks to the mind and body.
As sports sign-ups sneak up every year, many parents find themselves wondering, how many sports should my young child be playing? Sports specialization is defined as “intense, year round training in a single sport with the exclusion of other sports” (Jayanthi). This concept of devoting one’s career to a single sport from a very young age in order to reach higher physical success in the long run has always been around, but recently has been drawing an increasing amount of attention. The media places great emphasis on athletics as a whole, leaving both children and adults to envy athletic figures who appear to be superior to themselves. As a result, parents and coaches subconsciously force their children to, simply put, become better. This is not fair to the wellbeing of a child.
In many cases, coaches are the most powerful influence when deciding to specialize. Tension may rise between a coach and child if a coach implies that such child is not fully committed to their team. If a coach threatens to give up their spot on the roster, this child will believe that their only choice is to play year-round. Shouldn’t parents be capable of guiding their children towards the correct decision? Oftentimes, they don’t have the power or tools to do so. Due to a lack of education and communication from the coach’s end, they are led to “assume this path is necessary for continued success” (Jayanthi). Promising and time consuming club programs play a tremendous role in specialization, leading parents to believe that “if my child does not specialize early she will be left out, not make the travel or high school team, and have no chance of playing in college.” (O’Sullivan).
After giving in to the concept of specialization, it doesn’t take long for the financial burdens to strike families. Thousands of dollars are devoted to a single team, and oftentimes sacrifices must be made. Parents may be forced into picking up more hours at work or possibly even another job, which leads to increased tension throughout the household. While these issues should be kept within the adults of a family, parents take their stress out on their children without even realizing it. They may pick at their child’s wrongdoings and question if they are seriously interested in the activity, leaving a child with feelings of confusion and vulnerability.
According to Champion Physical Therapy and Performance, “with increased skill comes increased success in the sport.” To many, the obvious answer to this claim is to specialize. There is a common misconception that athletes who receive Division One scholarship or play in professional leagues have devoted every waking moment of their lives to their specific sport. However, an article published in Sports Health journal states that “only about 17% of athletes were “highly specialized” when they were in 9th grade, with about 41% “highly specialized” by 12th” (Mirsha). This reveals that many US adults have been poorly educated and that early diversification is more likely to produce successful athletes.
These statistics also support the idea that specialization is necessary as athletes reach the end of high school. When a child is approaching college, they are fully capable of making their own decisions and are motivated enough to improve skills on their own, which could involve choosing to specialize eventually. According to Thomas Caruso, “if there is no motivation to learn, then learning is not likely to take place.” Parents must accept the fact that children may take many years of diversification before stumbling upon their passion and drive to succeed. Caruso also stated that “specialization should not be considered until a child is fully developed mentally, physically, and socially.”
40 million children participate in youth sports, and a striking 70% quit by the age of 13 (O’Sullivan). Many of these cases are a result of burnout, which can be defined as “physical and emotional exhaustion from the psychological and physiological demands of the athlete’s sport” (Caruso). Pressures stemming from coaches and parents can form a feeling of resentment towards physical activity in a young child. Some may decide to quit before even leaving elementary school, while others may deal with overtraining and a lack of motivation for years. Kami Craig, U.S.A. Water Polo team member, stated that “playing a number of sports growing up is something that I found to be an outlet, something fun” and it led to “balance in my life that I was really looking for.”
In addition to the psychological stress inflicted on young children due to sports specialization, there are negative effects on the human body as well. Specialization has led to an increased number of major surgeries and career-ending injuries, because “specialized athletes who play or train for their sport year-round put more stress on a concentrated group of muscles, ligaments, and bones related to their sport” (Bogage). Pediatricians around the country agree that high level competition usually requires training regimens that are too extreme even for adults, let alone young and growing children. When athletes are training for more than sixteen hours per week, their risk of injury increases tremendously (Jayanthi). While some injuries are minor, they can easily become recurring and a child may be forced to give up athletics altogether.
A child’s body is constantly growing and developing. When they continually practice repetitive motions at a sports practice, their growth cartilage becomes vulnerable as microtraumas occur repeatedly (Caruso). For example, Osgood-Schlatter disease is a common cause of knee pain and causes a painful lump below the kneecap. Although this condition resolves on its own, it is usually not until a child’s bones have stopped growing. Pain levels get worse with physical activity, which leaves a child out of commission for up to many months, and the number one risk factor is overuse through running and jumping (Gavin). Sever’s disease is quite similar, but instead affects the heel. This painful bone disorder is a result of inflammation of the growth plate within the heel, and again, stress to this plate often comes from excessive physical activity on hard surfaces (O’Brien). Little League elbow is another common overuse injury that is associated with throwing, and is a result of repetitive stress to elbow growth plates.
Specialization can also affect musculoskeletal growth.