[Darren Bausano is a Senior at Northern Michigan University and is currently enrolled in the Athletic Lab Coach Apprenticseship Program]

LTADEarly sport specialization (ESS) is defined as intense, year round training in a specific sport with the exclusion of other sports (Ferguson & Stern, 2014). ESS does not mean training year round for a certain sport, while participating in other sports, even if the training is geared or specialized to focus on only one sport. The main goal in situations of early sport specialization is to constrict adolescent athletes to training for one sport to give them an advantage while other athletes are involved in multiple sports and are not focused on one. Some questions around ESS are whether it is required to achieve elite status, or if it leads to risk of burnout and sport specific injuries, and at what age is it appropriate to start sport specific training and excluding participation in other sports. In the United States, there has been an increase of about 3% from 1997 to 2008 in organized sport participation among children less than 6 years old. While this does not specifically point to ESS, it increases the number of children who are introduced to athletics at an early age. More specific to ESS, 77.7% of high school athletic directors reported an increase in sport specialization in their schools. Very few athletes ever achieve professional status. Less than 1% of athletes aged 6 to 17 get to this level in basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, and football (Jayanthi et. al, 2013). We all know about NFL quarterbacks who were also drafted into the MLB as pitchers, or we’ve heard about NFL tight ends who were also All-Conference while playing college basketball. Was being heavily involved in both sports good or bad for the skill level of the individual player had they chosen to only played one sport?

As with any hobby, the chances of burnout increase significantly with the amount of time and effort put into one single activity. Starting training at an early age with sport specific training can cause burnout and a decrease in enjoyment of the sport itself if it is done too much. A study of 519 US Tennis Association junior tennis players showed that 70% of the players started specializing at 10 years old, and by 18 years old, 95% of players had begun. Player enjoyment and satisfaction ratings decreased after 14 year old (Jayanthi et. al, 2013). Along with young athlete enjoyment decreasing with sport specialization, young adult sport participation was negatively influenced by ESS, meaning young adults who specialize in a sport in their youth are less likely to participate as an adult (Russel & Limle, 2013).

Another concern with ESS is injury. While injury can occur in any sport and increases with the amount of time spent playing and practicing for any certain sport, overuse injuries occur when an athlete uses the same motion continuously such as a baseball pitcher. This problem becomes worse when the athlete doesn’t do other exercises or activities to complement the overused motions to gain strength in other areas. In a statement from 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics described the risk of high intensity training with sports specialization, specifically young athletes that specialize in only one sport are denied benefits from other physical activity and they also face additional physical, physiological, and psychological demands from intense training and competition (Jayanthi, et. al, 2015).

As a conclusion, Jayanthi states that although some degree of sports specialization is usually needed to achieve elite or professional level status, specialization into one sport should be delayed until late adolescence to maximize its benefits while also decreasing the risks of overuse injuries and burnout.

References:

  • Ferguson, B., Stern, P. (2014). A case of early sports specialization in an adolescent athlete. Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, 58(4), 377-383
  • Jayanthi, N., Pinkham, C., Dugas, L., Patrick, B., LaBella, C. (2013). Sports specialization in young adults. Sports Health, 5(3), 251-257
  • Jayanthi, N., LaBella, C., Fischer, D., Pasulka, J., Dugas, L. (2015). Sports-specialized intensive training and the risk of injury in young athletes. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 43(4), 794-801
  • Russel, W., Limle, A. (2013). The relationship between youth sport specialization and involvement in sports and physical activity in young adulthood. Journal of Sport Behavior, 36(1), 82-98