A lot of parents push their children into sports at an early age as a way to make friends and burn off some of that excess energy. As kids get older the games become more competitive, and when teens make their way to high school they’re competing not only for local bragging rights but for the chance to earn a college scholarship. Whether it’s the teen or the parents who are pushing for athletic success, a new study revealed the two biggest factors that can derail a budding sports career – Overspecialization and Overtraining.
Those two factors may seem oxymoronic if the end game is to earn a scholarship in a specific sport. One would think the best way to earn a scholarship in basketball is to focus solely on the sport of basketball and to train year-round. The new study suggests that children may benefit from playing different sports throughout the year and by varying their training regimens.
Athlete Study
The study, led by Dr. Joel S. Brenner and the AAP Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, examined the burnout and injury rates in young athletes. Although the accompanying article doesn’t delve much into the specific of the study, researchers were able to draw a number of conclusions:
- They advised that pediatricians and parents should be reminded that the focus of youth sports (before high school) should be to have fun and learn lifelong physical activity skills.
- Playing multiple sports prior to puberty decreases the risk of athlete injury, stress and physical/mental burnout.
- Specializing in one or two sports later in life – your teens – may be a better route to accomplishing athletic goals than specializing prior to your teens, as it increases the chance of lifetime sports involvement, lifetime physical fitness and potentially elite participation.
- Kids who do specialize in one sport should talk with their parents or coaches about their goals, and they should take at least three months off of their specialized sport per year, and one to two days off per week to allow for physical and mental recovery.
- Pre-teen athletes who train intensively should be closely monitored for healthy physical and psychological growth, as well as for proper nutrition.
“If you only play baseball, and get really good at baseball, the same muscles, tendons and ligaments get stressed over and over again,” leading to preventable overuse injuries, said Dr. Avery Faigenbaum, professor at The College of New Jersey, who researches exercise interventions in public schools. “This is preventable if we do a much better job of educating coaches and parents, diversifying sports participation and building that foundation on athleticism.”
