{"id":25926,"date":"2019-08-15T10:51:06","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T16:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=25926"},"modified":"2023-06-23T10:49:04","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T16:49:04","slug":"should-kids-specialize-in-one-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/should-kids-specialize-in-one-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Specializing in one sport may hurt your young athlete"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Jessica Ennis, for UCHealth<\/p>\n

Organized youth sports are becoming increasingly competitive and often very young athletes have begun to focus their energies on a single sport. Your young soccer star may have a true passion for the game, but there\u2019s no guarantee she\u2019ll end up the next Megan Rapinoe. And, she may be exposed to additional risks by specializing too early.<\/p>\n

Dr. David Bubis, <\/a>who practices at the UCHealth Primary Care \u2013 Lone Tree<\/a>, sees many primary care sports medicine patients. He says he often has to explain to parents why it\u2019s important to expose children to a wide variety of sports throughout their youth.<\/p>\n

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Dr. David Bubis says that having your child specialize in only one sport may not be best for your child. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOne of the things parents ask me is how will their kid get a college scholarship if they\u2019re not participating in or practicing one sport,\u201d Dr. Bubis says. \u201cI tell them that there\u2019s a lot of different data to support that early sports specialization could be harmful and there\u2019s no evidence that it\u2019s beneficial in becoming an elite athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest concern with early specialization is the greater risk for overuse injuries, especially if your athlete hasn\u2019t gone through puberty, because their muscles and tendons are still developing.<\/p>\n

Participating in multiple sports allows athletes to develop different neuromuscular patterns and increase their adaptive skills. Essentially by moving and falling differently when playing a variety of sports can be a preventative for injury in your chosen sport.<\/p>\n

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Dr. David Bubis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s also mounting evidence showing kids who specialize too early often drop out of sports all together either due to burnout or because they feel isolated from friends who don\u2019t participate in their sport. According to the National Council of Youth Sports<\/a>, 60 million kids 6-18 participate in some form of youth sports, with up to 70 percent discontinuing by age 13.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much pressure in sports culture these days, which has changed from the neighborhood practices or pick-up games to more organized sports,\u201d Dr. Bubis says. \u201cSome youth leagues are starting with players as young as 7. Young kids should be focused on developing a lifelong love of sports, physical activity, and just having fun.”<\/p>\n

Deliberate practice just doesn\u2019t seem to transfer to becoming an elite athlete, especially before the age of 12. In fact, delaying specialization to late adolescence may help your athlete achieve their goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know you can reach elite status both ways \u2013 and there\u2019s lots of examples of that \u2013 but we also know by early specialization can lead to reduced physical health, reduced enjoyment and shorter sports careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Bubis offers the following tips to help your young athlete maintain a healthy balance and prevent sports injuries:<\/p>\n