Early sports specialization is the phenomenon of a child or teenaged athlete intensively pursuing a single sport or athletic activity year-round, instead of participating in a wide variety of activities. Premature emphasis on a single sport is associated with physical injuries, mental health problems, and psychosocial harm to young athletes.[1] Many young athletes who are pushed to excel in a single sport quit playing prematurely, or are forced to stop because of injuries.[2][3]
Early sports specialization, and the intensive training that accompanies it, is associated with sports injuries, especially overuse injuries,[1][2] and a higher rate of serious or career-ending injury among teenagers and young adults compared to multi-sport athletes.[4] In addition to overtraining, early sports specialization risks burnout and a refusal to continue playing.[2][3] Multi-sport youth athletes also have more fun playing sports, and once the young athlete becomes a teenager, are more likely to enjoy their sports activities and are less likely to quit than those who specialized early.[2][5][6]
Early sports specialization is often motivated by a mistaken belief that starting early will result in better performance as a young adult.[7][8] However, most successful elite athletes did not specialize until at least the middle of adolescence, and some remain multi-sport athletes.[9] Long-term athlete development programs encourage young athletes to develop the ABCs of physical literacy (agility, balance, coordination, and speed) by playing a variety of different sports.[6] Playing a variety of sports before specializing (if wanted) in the late teens increases the likelihood that the youth athlete will experience a lifetime of sports and physical fitness.[6] Early sports specialization is associated with shorter athletic careers.[6] Early sports specialization is part of the increasing dominance of adults in children's leisure activities.[6]
Early sports specialization is opposed by many sports and medical organizations, including the International Olympic Committee and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.[3][10][8]
^ ab"Official Statement in Support of Sport Specialization Recommendations for Adolescent and Young Athletes" (PDF). NATA.org. National Athletic Trainers' Association. October 2019.
^ abcBergeron, Michael F; Mountjoy, Margo; Armstrong, Neil; Chia, Michael; Côté, Jean; Emery, Carolyn A; Faigenbaum, Avery; Hall, Gary; Kriemler, Susi; Léglise, Michel; Malina, Robert M; Pensgaard, Anne Marte; Sanchez, Alex; Soligard, Torbjørn; Sundgot-Borgen, Jorunn (July 2015). "International Olympic Committee consensus statement on youth athletic development". British Journal of Sports Medicine. 49 (13): 843–851. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2015-094962. hdl:1974/14302. ISSN 0306-3674.
^Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Rabin, Roni Caryn (2019-10-17). "Parents Should Limit Sports Participation for Children, Trainers Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
^ abcdeBrenner, Joel S.; Council On Sports Medicine and Fitness of the American Academy of Pediatrics (2016-09-01). "Sports Specialization and Intensive Training in Young Athletes". Pediatrics. 138 (3). doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2148. ISSN 0031-4005.
^Swindell, Hasani W.; Marcille, Melanie L.; Trofa, David P.; Paulino, Franklin E.; Desai, Natasha N.; Lynch, Thomas Sean; Ahmad, Christopher S.; Popkin, Charles A. (January 2019). "An Analysis of Sports Specialization in NCAA Division I Collegiate Athletics". Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 7 (1): 2325967118821179. doi:10.1177/2325967118821179. ISSN 2325-9671. PMC 6350152. PMID 30729145.
^ abCite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Daley, Mary M.; Shoop, Jamie; Christino, Melissa A. (September 2023). "Mental Health in the Specialized Athlete". Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine. 16 (9): 410–418. doi:10.1007/s12178-023-09851-1. ISSN 1935-973X. PMC 10427563. PMID 37326758. Archived from the original on Oct 28, 2023 – via PMC.
^Basen, Ryan (2023-04-12). "Many kids are overdoing it when it comes to sports, and that's dangerous". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on Nov 1, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
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