As of late, there has been more of a push to specialize in a single sport at a younger age. I often see my young athletes in the clinic urged to pick one sport and perform it year-round, whether it be from the demands of coaches or dreams of parents. Studies have been published on the relationship of early sport specialization and injury risk, burnout rate, and elite sports performance, showing it is actually detrimental to athletes to specialize in one sport as opposed to participating in multiple activities.
Early sport specialization is defined as participation in one sport greater than 8 months of the year, choosing to participate in only one sport, and/or quitting all other sports. Studies show that a specialized youth athlete is 2.25 times more likely to have an overuse injury compared to athletes competing in a variety of sports. This is cited to be due to higher focus on specialized skills for that sport, and spending more hours training that specific skill with repetitive motions including baseball, tennis, gymnastics, dance, and diving. Usually team sports do a better job of athletic diversification, however lately there has been a trend to specialize in one-position earlier, for example baseball pitchers, which also increases injury risk. The cutoff for hours per week spent training for benefiting sports performance versus risk of injury is stated to directly correlate to the age of the athlete. For example, a 12 year-old athlete should not exceed 12 hours of sports-specific training per week, whereas a 16 year-old athlete should not exceed 16 hours of sports-specific training per week.
On the neuromuscular level, it is shown that there is a decrease in overall athleticism with early sport specialization. Emphasis on the same repetitive motions works less muscle groups and develops fewer motor skills. Research shows there are more neural connections and adaptations in the brain with focus on overall balance, agility, and coordination rather than specific motions for a single sport, thus promoting overall increased athleticism. Throughout studies of elite athletes, 88% of D1 athletes across the nation competed in more than one sport throughout their youth. The majority of Olympians also competed in more than one sport throughout their youth.
Increased burnout rate has been shown to be directly related to early sport specialization. The highest factor in youth athletes for participation in sports is friendship. Competing at elite levels can push athletes outside of their peer groups, making them feel isolated and withdrawn. Studies show that the more time an athlete spends training at high levels, along with a decrease in their ability to make decisions about their time and training can lead to early burnout. At the Olympic level, researchers concluded that the earlier an athlete specialized in one sport, the shorter their professional career lasted. The Women’s Tennis Association trialed a “phased-in” plan with youth athletes, limiting the amount of tournaments they could compete in throughout each age group until the age of 18. They saw an average increase in 2 years of professional career lengths with this approach.
Overall, coaches, parents, and sports medicine professionals need to promote sport diversification with youth athletes to reduce injury risk, burnout rate, and improve overall athleticism.
References
Myer GD, Jayanthi N, Difiori JP, et al. Sport Specialization, Part I. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach. 2015;7(5):437-442. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738115598747
Myer GD, Jayanthi N, DiFiori JP, et al. Sports Specialization, Part II. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach. 2015;8(1):65-73. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738115614811
Walters BK, Read CR, Estes AR. The effects of resistance training, overtraining, and early specialization on youth athlete injury and development. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2018;58(9):1339-1348. doi:https://doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.17.07409-6.
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