Why Youth Athletes Should Play Multiple Sports
Why Youth Athletes Should Play Multiple Sports
Reducing the risk of overuse injuries, encouraging better mental health, and promoting better physical development
In 2017, 88% of the NFL Draft picks played more than one sport in high school (Tracking Football).
In 2013, 88% of NCAA college athletes played more than one sport in childhood (American Medical Society for Sports Medicine).
Participation in youth sports has tripled from 1987 to 2008 (National Council of Youth Sports). That is AWESOME. When I was a young kid, I trained in Taekwondo and participated in recreational league basketball. I specialized early… and I went pretty far with it, too.
But if I could do it all over again, I would not have specialized early. I would have diversified and competed in wrestling during the slow tournament season, or I would have begun strength training earlier than my sophomore year of high school. Why? Let’s dig into it.
Early Sports Specialization
What does it mean?
First, let’s get on the same page.
There is no standardized definition of what the sports and medical industries consider early sports specialization (ESS). However, most experts agree that ESS involves “focusing on intense year round training in a specific sport, with the exclusion of other sports a young age” according to Ferguson and Stern.
What are the hallmarks of ESS?
High volume of sport-specific training, practices, and games
Minimal rest and recovery
Combine all that training, practicing and games together, and there isn’t a lot of time for true rest and quality recovery.Exclusion of other sports
ESS is one of the biggest issues in organized youth sports today. Why? Let’s get into the risks.
The Risks of Early Sport Specialization
Overuse Injury and mental health
It’s no secret that kids are specializing earlier and earlier. The push for specialization usually comes authority figures (sport coaches, parents, etc.) that believe sport-specific, elite skill development is more important than general athletic and physical development.
SPOILER: It’s not.
If you ever have a coach threaten to cut your young kid or reduce their playing time because they want you to focus exclusively on their sport, RUN. RUN FAR AWAY.
There are two primary risks associated with ESS:
Overuse injuries: trauma to the bones, tendons and joints due to the excessive repetition of the same motor patterns
Young athletes that spend more hours than their age playing a single sport are 70% more likely to incur an overuse injury. And young athletes playing a single sport for 8 months out of the year are more likely to incur overuse injury to their hips or knees. These young kid’s bodies are still developing, and their muscles and tendons are stronger than their bones. This makes them more susceptible to these injuries (including those to the growth plate and chronic pain) than their older peers (UCONN Health).Increased stress and burnout
Focusing on one sport can turn into a high-stress, high pressure situation that takes the fun out of sports… and could lead to an athlete wanting to drop out. ESS participation “may have an adverse psychological impact on increased stress to become an elite player which can lead to high rates of attrition, over-emphasis on winning, and inappropriate expectations” (Normand, Wolfe, et al).
You don’t have to specialize to be a successful, elite-level athlete.
I’m going to shout this part louder for people in the back. Research shows that youth athletes do not have to specialize in early, intense training to be a successful, elite level athlete (Ferguson and Stern). The only sport where this wasn’t the case was women’s gymnastics, where peak performance is demanded early before the full onset of puberty.
If your kid is passionate about one sport, and doesn’t want to do anything else, it’s great that they are excited! Still, encourage them to cross-train for better physical, psychological, and emotional development.
The Case for the
Multi-sport Athlete
REDUCING RISK OF INJURY AND IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH
I’ve gone over the risks of ESS. What can young athletes do to avoid the risk of overuse injuries and continue on the path to the elite level? Participate in more than one sport!
Key benefits to being a multi-sport athlete:
Comprehensive Motor Skills Development
Young athletes will learn a wider range of motor skills that could enhance their overall performance (Baker) (Vealey and Chase). This means less time doing the same repetitive movements, and more time strengthening the body differently– reducing the chance of overuse injuries.Better Overall Mental Health
Playing multiple sports helps avoid mental staleness, limits burnout, encourages better social behaviors and builds stronger individual identities (Baker) (American Medical Society for Sports Medicine) (Johnson) (Vealey and Chase). Multi-sport athletes usually experience more comprehensive social and psychological growth (Baker).
Strength and Conditioning mitigates the repetitive, sport-specific training a young athlete endures.
What’s the alternative? Time is a difficult thing to come by, and some sports cost a lot of money to participate in. Strength and Conditioning training could be your answer.
Strength and Conditioning (S&C) mitigates the repetitive, sport-specific training a young athlete endures by following the training guidelines of long-term athletic development (LTAD) model from the NSCA (Faegenbaum, Kramer, et. al.). Strength and Conditioning helps young athletes build better body armor, become more well-rounded, and develop more diverse motor skills.
Conclusion
When young athletes specialize in one sport early, they run a higher risk of overuse injury, and they miss out on more comprehensive motor skill development. They miss out on different opportunities for emotional and psychological development, and the added pressure of a one-sport-only mindset can lead to mental staleness and burnout.
Coaches and parents need to advocate for participation in more than one sport, and age-appropriate Strength and Conditioning training can safely assist in young athlete’s athletic development.
Ready to reach the next level of your sport? Sign up for Strength and Conditioning training with Coach J today.
Coach Jeremy “J” Raymer is a certified USA Weightlifting Level 1 coach and certified personal trainer. Prior to founding Raymer Strength, he served four years as an intern and then Assistant Strength Coach at Noblesville High School. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Indiana University in 2015 and his Associates degree in Business Administration from Ivy Tech in 2012. He spent his formative years as an elite Taekwondo athlete, earning 4 National medals, punching tickets to three team trials, and representing the United States on the U24 team.
He calls Noblesville, Indiana his home with his wife, Rachael, and fur baby, Ruby.
References:
Baker, J. (2003, June). Early Specialization in Youth Sport: a requirement for adult expertise? Retrieved October 9, 2019, from http://www.yorku.ca/bakerj/High Ability Studies paper.pdf.
Coyner, K. (2018, February 9). Orthopedics & Sports Medicine. Retrieved October 11, 2019, from https://health.uconn.edu/orthopedics-sports-medicine/2017/08/01/specialization-overuse-injuries-young-athletes/.
DiFiori. (2013, April 18). American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. Retrieved October 10, 2019, from https://www.amssm.org/News-Release-Article.php?NewsID=69.
Faigenbaum, A., Kraemer, W., Blimkie, C., Jeffreys, I., Micheli, L., Nitka, M., & Rowland, T. (2009, August 1). Youth Resistance Training: Updated Position Statement Paper From the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00124278-200908005-00002.
Ferguson, B., & Stern, P. J. (2014, December). A case of early sports specialization in an adolescent athlete. Retrieved October 9, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4262816/.
Johnson, J. H. (2008, April). Overuse Injuries in Young Athletes: Cause and Prevention. Retrieved October 9, 2019, from https://excelsiorgroup.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/overuse-youth-1.pdf.
Normand, J. M., Wolfe, A., & Peak, K. (n.d.). A Review of Early Sport Specialization in Relation to the Development of a Young Athlete. Retrieved October 10, 2019, from http://journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/IJKSS/article/view/3433/2829.
Spilbeler, B. (2017, April 30). 92% of NFL Draft round 1-3 picks were multiple sport athletes in high school. Retrieved October 10, 2019, from https://www.trackingfootball.com/blog/92-nfl-draft-round-1-3-picks-multiple-sport-athletes-high-school/.
Vealey, R., & Chase, M. (n.d.). Best Practice for Youth Sport. Retrieved October 10, 2019, from https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/specialization-in-youth-sport.
Youth Training and Long-Term Athletic Development. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2019, from https://www.nsca.com/about-us/position-statements/youth-training-and-long-term-athletic-development/.