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The Staggering Stats on Sports Specialization

I recently read to great articles on sports specialization here:

They are short articles and I encourage everybody to read them.. I know a lot of people scoff at this stuff but you have put yourself in the mind and body of a young developing athlete…

I have made my opinions on young athletes specializing in one sport year round pretty clear… there is a time and a place to pick one sport and go with it but it’s happening way too early and now the research is backing up what I’ve always just sensed to be true.

I’ve always sensed that athletes that don’t play multiple sports are injured more often from overuse. Basically, they are doing the same movements over and over to the point that they breakdown. I’ve also said that they don’t develop overall athleticism and this lowers their ceiling in terms of success in their chosen sport. The third factor is burnout (huge with wrestlers)… they essentially have been training and competing like adults for way too long and they grow to despise the sport they once loved.

I did a whole video on the overall athleticism topic here:

The fact is that colleges are looking for great over all athletes… If you’re great at a skill but cant take that skill to a high level because you lack basic athletic qualities you will be overlooked…

Some quotes from the articles that stand out to me:

-“We should urge kids to avoid hyper specialization and instead sample a variety of sports through at least age 12.”

-“Even controlling for age and the total number of weekly hours in sports, kids in the study who were highly specialized had a 36 percent increased risk of suffering a serious overuse injury. Dr. Jayanthi saw kids with stress fractures in their backs, arms or legs; damage to elbow ligaments; and cracks in the cartilage in their joints.

-“Kids who play multiple “attacking” sports, like basketball or field hockey, transfer learned motor and anticipatory skills — the unconscious ability to read bodies and game situations — to other sports. They take less time to master the sport they ultimately choose”

-“We may prize the story of Tiger Woods, who demonstrated his swing at age 2 for Bob Hope. But the path of the two-time N.B.A. M.V.P. Steve Nash (who grew up playing soccer and didn’t own a basketball until age 13) or the tennis star Roger Federer (whose parents encouraged him to play badminton, basketball and soccer) is actually the norm.”

-“A new study conclusively demonstrates that athletes who specialize in one sport are 70 percent more likely to suffer an injury during the season. They’re also more likely to burn out, to lose any sense of joy in participating, and to quit. All of which is why specializing in one sport is a bad idea.

-“Dr. Neeru Jayanthi of Loyola University found that early specialization in a single sport was the single best predictor of injury, with athletes 70-93% more likely to be injured than players who engage in multiple sports.”

Again what stands out most are the injuries and the fact that they will become better by playing more sports. I always encourage football players to play basketball even if it’s just summer leagues or pick up ball and now research is backing it up!