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

the whether or not the participation in early specialization is detrimental or beneficial to athletes. This topic is controversial because in some cases early specialization leads to success and has multiple benefits, where as in other cases there is an array of negative effects. The question is do the costs outweigh the benefits? I believe that specialization should not be allowed at such an early age and that diversification should be promoted to youth. There are multiple reasons as to why early specialization can be seen as having negative effects on athletes. The cost, time commitment, lack of social interactions outside of sport, lack of fundamental motor skills, burnout and overuse injuries are all reasons as to why early specialization should not occur.
When specializing in sport children are typically joining elite teams or clubs.

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,

2013).
The hours of intense training are demanding and interfere with normal social relationships, the development of self-concept, and educational opportunities (Weirsma, 2000). Athletes who specialize and dedicate much of their time to training often suffer from social isolation. They lack the opportunities for social growth because of their training constraint and time commitment to the sport. Specialization is similar to having a full time job. The individuals are putting in close to forty hours per week, in addition to weekend competitions and travel time. Having social contact is often limited to the athletes who train together, their coaches and trainers. Social interaction influences our happiness and how our brain processes information and the levels of hormones circulating in our bodies and our physiological response to stress (Ristau, 2011). By placing these children in such intense training regiments you are robbing them of social interaction and growth outside of the sporting world. Their involvement in these programs separate young athletes from peers and interferes with normal identity development (Gould, 2010). As training demands increase, athletes apply further physical and emotional efforts to meet them. When the demands are perceived to be excessive, the athlete no longer finds the sport enjoyable and may withdraw from the activity (Wiersma, 2000)
In opposition there are benefits as to why specialization can have a positive impact on young athletes. Although the parents may be paying more money, the children are receiving better coaching and skill instruction than they would if they were admitting into a house league program (Gould, 2010). Typically coaches of elite clubs and teams have more experience are more knowledge about the skills and strategies needed to become successful. With better coaching children receive enhanced skill acquisition which ultimately leads to success (Gould, 2010). Tiger Woods is a prime example of how early specialization lead to success. Around the age of eight Woods had become extremely proficient at the game. He studied at Stanford University and won a number of amateur U.S. golf titles before turning pro in 1996 at the age of twenty-one (Tiger Woods, 2015). He was the youngest man to win the U.S. masters in 1997, and the next few years brought more successes which included four U.S. PGA titles, three U.S. open wins and three Open Championship wins and three U.S. Masters titles (Tiger Woods, 2015). Tiger won six championships in 2005 and was voted the PGA Tour Player of Year for the seventh time in nine years (Tiger Woods, 2015). His fame and success can be attributed to his dedication and commitment to the sport and specializing at a young age.
Specializing in a sport is a large time commitment that the children will have to make. Although they will be spending a lot of time training and competing they are learning how to manage their time. Time management is a skill that individuals will need for the rest of their lives. The amount of time allotted to sport forces children to utilize the time they are given in order to balance school, sport, and social interactions. When individuals practice good time management, they may become less likely to procrastinate. They understand they have practice during a certain time period therefore they know that they have to make time to complete school work. Having proficient time management skills may lead to higher productivity and may lead to a disciplined life.
Because of the time commitment youth may not have time to socialize with individuals outside of sport, however that does not mean that they are not receiving adequate social interaction within sport. Many individuals get the social interaction they need from their teammates. Their involvement in the programs doesn’t always separate individuals from their peers at school. Children are with their peers at school for approximately six hours a day five times a week. That is plenty of time for individuals to interact and socialize with their peers who are not involved in their sport. Many children may not want to even have relationships with their peers because they seem to have more in common with their teammate or club members. Children are also receiving social interaction with club coaches and trainers. More often than not relationships with coaches can turn into life-long friendships because of their continuous interaction multiple hours a week. If athletes choose not to pursue a professional sporting career, coaches are often times great references to use to pursue another career.
When the decision is made to specialize, an athlete anticipates considerable performance improvements and progression to an elite level and therefore train enthusiastically in pursuit of those goals (Weirsma, 2000). One of the most obvious benefits of specialization is the acquisition, development, and proficiency of motor skills related to success in a given sport (Weirsma, 2000). An athlete who practices a skill more often than other athletes, typically becomes more proficient at that skill. When an individual becomes better at an activity or skill they tend to enjoy doing it more often. As improvement follows, an athlete enjoys mastering skills of the sport and their successes they are achieving (Weirsma, 2000).
Although children who specialize early in a sport may become proficient at a specific handful of skills, most will likely not develop a wide variety of fundamental motor skills (Branta, 2010). These athletes typically only practice the skills necessary for their specific sport, missing the chance to acquire a handful of fundamental motor skills that are important to have when participating in a range of physical activities later in life (Branta, 2010). Children who specialize too early often do not have the proper set of motor skills for when they change positions, or even sports due to their specific levels of biological maturation (Branta, 2010). Talk about diversification.
- During early phases of growth and maturation, diversification may stimulate generic physiological and cognitive adaptations, which lay the groundwork for specialized physical and cognitive capacities necessary for later expertise (Baker & Côté, 2006).
While there are some success stories, early specialization doesn’t always lead to success. Approximately 98% of young athletes will never reach an elite or professional status, and it has not been established that specialization is an accurate predictor of long-term success (Wiersma, 2000). Take Whitney Phelps for example. Many know her as the sister of famous Olympian Michael Phelps however in the 1990’s she was the Phelps people had their eyes on. Whitney was ranked 1st in the U.S. and third in the world for the 200m butterfly (Hyman, 2009), but her dream was short lived. She had developed serious back problems, which she kept to herself because she was determined to make the 1996 Olympics. After the Olympic trials she went to a doctor because of back pain and was diagnosed with two bulging discs, a herniated disc, and two stress fractures (Hyman, 2009). The reason we have not heard of her name as a competitor is because her injuries were too extensive to compete at the same level again. This leads into the topic of overuse injuries.
One of the risks we take as athletes is the risk of acquiring an injury.

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

injury.
Most competitive elite athletes reported injury as the number one reason for quitting their sport (Jayanthi, Pinkham, Dugas, Patrick & LaBella, 2012). They have either acquired too many injuries or a career ending injury, forcing the individual into retirement. An individual’s athletic identity is the extent to which an individual relates to the role of an athlete. The occurrence of injury often results in involuntary drop outs which may largely impact an individual’s athletic identity. Those who identify largely as an athlete In essence, because his or her life focus is primarily sport-related, the occurrence of injury may disrupt that focus and lead to emotional and psychological reactions, which are typically negative. Having a restricted identity may be detrimental in many ways, particularly if the athlete suffers a career-ending injury, is cut from a team, or retires from sport (Weirsman, 2000).
In conclusion, because sport specialization has copious ramifications for youth development and can influence opportunities for later involvement in physical activity, adults who are responsible for the welfare of children and youths should consider it carefully. I believe that intense training in a single sport should be delayed until late adolescence which will help minimize the risk of injury and psychological stress.