Ruining the athlete
Soapbox in place. Stepping onto it.
We should be ashamed of ourselves.
Early specialization among our young sports enthusiasts is bordering on an epidemic. Call it the systematic killing of the great athlete. And we are the culprits.
“We” refers to the adults among us who force children to play one sport, forsaking all others; guilt, coerce or pressure other adults to continue their children in season after season of participation in order to keep the athlete in an organization’s developmental pipeline; spend inordinate amounts of money on children’s sports programs and expect a financial return on the investment.
Systematic and institutional death. Cue the organ.
I’ve averaged more than 100,000 travel miles a year over the past four years, spanning the globe to teach people different and additional methods of training young athletes. I run two programs dedicated to training young athletes. I sit on an advisory board committed to improving youth athletics.
While it might seem like boasting, I simply want you to understand my passion and my background. I always will be pro-child, even when other parents, other coaches and even the children aren’t.
That we ignore the research and information about the dangers of early specialization is the most sickening aspect of the issue. We believe we know more than the child and athletic development specialists.
A study of 1,200 young athletes conducted by Loyola University concluded that early specializing athletes were 70 percent to 93 percent more likely to be injured than athletes who play multiple sports. But we ignore those findings because our children fall among the 7 percent to 30 percent.
Another study, using 735 boys ages 6 to 12, found that those who participated in multiple sports before age 12 were more physically fit and possessed better gross motor coordination than boys who specialized early. But we ignore that too because our boys are the exception. They will be the ones who swing a club or throw a ball for hours each day yet somehow develop amazing musculoskeletal symmetry and efficiency.
The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine reports that since 2000 there has been a fivefold increase in serious elbow and shoulder injuries among youth baseball and softball players. Yeah, we ignore that one too and make Erica throw another 20 innings this weekend. Because, after all, the U-8 championships are at stake.
I’m not naive. I know all about the pressure to make the travel team or the high school team.
(Slight tangent here: Let’s add another group to the great athlete executioners – the coaches or organizations that make parents and children sign contracts forbidding them to play for their high school teams. That’s pathetic. It’s looking out for yourself and your program. It is in no way, shape or form developing a stellar athlete.)
That pressure is real. Competition for roster spots and athletic scholarships is intense. And there will come a time to specialize, but, outside of women’s gymnastics and figure skating, that time is not before the athlete reaches puberty.
Parents and coaches often ask about the right time. They incorrectly cite the “10,000-hour rule” or, in too many coaches’ cases, use it as a tool for keeping a leash on the parents. Anders Ericsson is the researcher linked to the rule, which essentially says elite performers need 10,000 hours of practice in order to become an expert. Some take more time. Some take less.
But parents often focus solely on the 10,000-hour commitment and push to get started – in one sport – as soon as possible, much to the detriment of their children’s health.
Soccer moms and dads: Think sprinting is important in soccer? Why not enroll your children in a track and field program? Think spatial awareness is needed? Well, your athlete can learn that while playing basketball or racquetball.
Track, basketball, and racquetball all contribute to soccer’s 10,000 hours because each helps build soccer skills.
Golf parents: Think power is important? South Korean K.J. Choi didn’t know what golf was before the age of 16. Let’s put that another way: Choi did not touch a golf club before he was 16, yet he’s one of the world’s elite golfers. Before playing golf, he was a competitive power lifter. To say that failed to contribute to his golf is being foolish.
I’m not saying we’re killing children. But we’ve got to stop killing the athlete. The athlete deserves to play and develop. But that rarely will happen as long as we promote and support specialists.
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Bryant is an author and lecturer who holds several national training
certifications. Email him at
movingthefuture@gmail.com.
Boy kicking a soccer ball. White background.
Milo Bryant – Moving the Future
Football
Baseball in the grass