Specialization In Young Athletes

In today’s society it is not uncommon to see teenagers standing on podiums winning medals and national championships. As more participants appear to be getting younger and committing to sport at higher intensities, there has been a growing concern about specialization in young athletes. Those who are concerned are not suggesting that children should be discourage from playing sports at an early age and advocate that youths should be physically active. These individuals are apprehensive that children are becoming involved in competitive sport at too young an age and engaging in year around high intensity training programs in a single sport before it is in their best interest to do so (Gould, 2010).

The purpose of this paper is to discuss

In joining those teams there are more often than not membership and coaching fees, uniform and equipment costs as well as travel and competition charges (Bodet, Judge & Hoover, 2013). If parents would like their child to specialize they are looking at an ongoing financial commitment that many cannot afford. Often times parents believe that having their children specialize will lead to athletic scholarships, therefore helping paying off some of their expenditures. However, because children from lower income families cannot afford to take part in travel or elite leagues they lose the opportunity to be seen by college and professional scouters (Bodet, Judge & Hoover,

It is inevitable when playing sports that injuries will occur, however there are a number of injuries that occur that can easily be prevented. Overuse injuries are caused by repetitive motions with limited recovery (Bodey, Judge & Hoover, 2013). When athletes specialize, they often become more susceptible to specific overuse injuries because of the quantity and duration of their intense training. With their training schedules tissues do not have time to heal and make a full recovery before being used again. Excessive stress on ligaments and joints can result in long-term, and perhaps permanent, damage in children and adolescents (Baker, Cobley, & Fraser-Thomas, 2009). The risk of injury from intense training and specialization may be affected by age, competitive level, growth rate, and pubertal maturation stage. Injuries are more likely to occur during rapid phases of growth (Jayanthi, Pinkham, Dugas, Patrick,& LaBella, 2012). Most of the growth individuals endure takes place during their childhood and adolescents, therefore they are already more susceptible to