Introduction
Young athletes are becoming more “specialized” in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage stemming from pressures to perform from coaches and parents. Early specialization can be seen as a means for enhancing preparation to compete in sport. Specifically, a specialized athlete is defined as one who participates in “intensive year-round training in a single sport at the exclusion of other sports.” Participating in one sport may increase maturity within the context of that sport but at what cost to the athlete? In this review, the authors set out to synthesize current evidence to outline the potential negative outcomes related to sports specialization in young athletes and guide alternative strategies that optimize enjoyment and safety of youth sports.
Risks of Sport Specialization
Training for sport must be specific to become better at a given task. An important influence is the dose of training that is administered, or the volume accumulated. High volumes of training are in and of itself a risk factor for injury but when additional factors such as repetitive movements and high mechanical demands of the movement are included into the equation, the risk of injury is increased substantially. Let’s use the example of a pitcher in baseball. This movement is mechanically demanding and requires high torques in the upper extremities to produce fast velocities of the ball where the arm is put into vulnerable ranges of motion that can stress the joints quite significantly. Pitchers are a common position to be specialized from a young age and can generate a large volume of throwing over the span of a year. This is the premise that pitch counts were created to limit the amount of pitches that could be thrown with a provided amount of rest between bouts of throwing. Over an entire season, thousands of pitches will be thrown through the same repetitive motion. If an athlete participates in summer leagues and fall ball, these volumes continue to accumulate without much rest and without much variation. Even more specifically, a study conducted in a sports medicine clinic found a 2.25x greater likelihood of a specialized athlete to sustain a serious overuse injury compared to the non-specialized counterparts. In addition, athletes are more likely to burnout or even drop out of their sport prematurely if they specialize from a young age.
Why do these risks exist?
Athletes must progressively increase training demands to adapt to a higher level of performance. However, rest and recovery are required intermittently to allow for the adaptation process to occur. High volumes of sport specific training and competition climb to dangerous levels through a variety of related factors, one of which is sport specialization as a potential independent risk factor. Participating in the same sport exposes athletes to the same movement demands in a repetitive nature. In order to decrease injury risk, athletes must develop a variety of motor skills to build physical resilience and competency in a variety of tasks. Often times though, the pressure to perform calls for more practice on top of competition schedules that may exceed tolerable volumes for young athletes. This can negatively impact not just physical performance but mental performance as well. The increased pressures and stress of specialization and loss of feelings of control can lead to decreased mental health measures and lead to higher incidences of depression and anxiety. Burnout is tied into physical and psychological overexertion the decreases the enjoyment of the sport. Enjoying the sport is critical in maintaining the motivation to compete and train to get better. However, young athletes’ motivation to participate can be influenced. Peer support and friendship within a sport can sway the decision to participate in a particular sport or not. Injuries can also hinder one’s motivation to compete. Return to play is not solely a physical process but it requires mental readiness to return as well. Sometimes, athletes become fearful of the pain of a recurring or past injury which will inhibit their motivation to continue on with the sport. Worst case scenario, the athlete retires from the sport and limits physical activity. This becomes a larger scale issue with decreased physical activity leading to potential negative health consequences leading into adulthood.
Takeaways
Youth should be given opportunities to participate in unstructured play as they grow and develop to attain variety in their motor skills which will lead to an inherent decreased risk of injury. Participating in a variety of sports throughout the years of development can enhance long term enjoyment and motivation to participate and train while reducing the risk of overuse injury. Diversify movement demands in an athletes’ repertoire and monitor the volume of training and competition to provide the highest likelihood of success in young athletes.
Citation to article:
Myer, G. D., Jayanthi, N., Difiori, J. P., Faigenbaum, A. D., Kiefer, A. W., Logerstedt, D., & Micheli, L. J. (2015). Sport specialization, part I: does early sports specialization increase negative outcomes and reduce the opportunity for success in young athletes?. Sports Health, 7(5), 437-442.