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Clarksburg Sports Association is a multi-sport organization that embraces
the findings and recommendations of those shared by the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness. "Young athletes who specialize in just one sport may be denied
the benefits of varied activity while facing additional physical, physiologic, and psychologic demands from intense
training and competition"
Click HERE to read the entire report.
What Professionals are Saying About Early Specialization of Youth in Sports....
"Threats to educational athletics include marketing of elite sport orientation" - Daniel Gould Ph.D Michigan
State University
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics
committee, children should be encouraged to participate in a variety of different activities and develop
a wide range of skills. Increasing numbers of children specialize in a sport at an early age, train all year long and/or compete
on an "elite" level. Intense training can lead to short- and long-term health consequences. Physicians who recognize the risks
involved can play a key role in monitoring the health of these athletes and help reduce risks associated with high-level sports
participation. - American Academy of
Pediatrics
"En route to the college
scholarship, or any other desired outcome that specialization is supposed to achieve, lie many physical, psychological and
emotional pitfalls. Physically, specializing too early may deprive youth athletes
the chance to fully develop their fundamental motor skills, such as hopping, skipping, jumping and running, Gould said. Also,
children are subject to overuse injuries, especially epiphyseal (aka growth-plate) trauma, he said. An increase in doctors
treating conditions such as stress fractures may be coming from kids doing too much too soon. Running excessive mileage or
throwing curve balls can put stress on growth plates. There’s not always a pitch count for youth baseball. Psychologically, early specialization may lead to burnout, which Gould defines as 'formerly enjoyable activities
becoming no longer enjoyable due to chronic stress.' Of course, the psychological problem of burnout may manifest physically,
as well, because children who quit sports may exercise less, or not at all."
"When early specialization
indicates a parent’s overall overemphasis on outcome, 'kids feel like they have to win to be worthy,' Gould said. “Early
sports specialization is a big part of the overall pressure – the professionalization – of youth sports. If you
push and push and push you get a lot of baggage where a kid is only as good as his last performance. Emotionally, the dangers include long-term damage to the parent-child relationship, Gould said. Parents
may get disappointed if kids are no longer interested in the sport they chose, especially if parents have spent a lot of money
for the kids to participate. Another problem is
that parents must be careful not to get sucked into equating their worth as parents to their children’s performance
in sports. When that happens, you start making questionable decisions in the name of your kid.” - Daniel Gould
Ph.D Michigan State
University
Thanks
to the growing number of young people participating in sports at an early age, training year-round, and competing at specialized
or elite levels, the incidence of overuse injuries has risen in the past decade. The
“more is better” philosophy may work for some, but is has also caused the demise of many young bodies. Repetitive
activity strengthens bones and joints, but too much repetitive activity can overstress bones and joints, leading to injury.
Thus, swimming for two club teams, or playing on three baseball teams may be detrimental in the long run. Don’t forget
that private throwing lessons or personal training sessions also count to the cumulative stress placed on the body. Factor
all activities into the equation when determining limits for your young athlete. - CHRIS G. KOUTURES, MD PEDIATRICIAN
SPORTS MEDICINE PHYSICIAN
“Youth sports offer children wonderful benefits,
including fitness and character development. But we are concerned that issues, such as early sports specialization, poor sportsmanship
and over-invested parents seeking sports scholarships, are threatening to undermine the positive experience of youth sports.”
- Ron Stratten, CTSA chair and vice-president of education
services at the National
Collegiate Athletic Association
Other concerns voiced in response to specialization include the fact that athletic performance at one age in
childhood does not accurately predict performance at a later age. Thus, one might not specialize in the sport they have the
ultimate potential, seeing that 98% of athletes who specialize will never reach the highest levels of the sport (Wiersma,
2000). From a sociological perspective, early specialization is thought to isolate the young athlete from peers and interfere
with normal identity development. Finally, early specialization is thought to be related to an increase in burnout or withdrawal
from sport as a result of chronic stress (Wiersma, 2000).
Preliminary evidence does indicate that while early specialization has some distinct advantages, it may have
negative physical, psychological, and social effects on a child. For this reason, groups such as the American
Academy of Pediatrics (2000) urge caution when it comes to early sport
specialization. They also stress the importance of making efforts to provide young athletes, their parents, and coaches with
knowledge and recommendations that will help them avoid the pitfalls of early specialization. - Institute for the study of youth sports
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