The Multi-Sport advantage

Multi-Sport is best. FACT.

When kids specialize early in one sport they miss out on developing important skills and many quit sport because they never quite reach their goal (as set by themselves or through parent / peer expectation) or fulfill that dream of being a star in that one specific sport. This is a huge contributing factor in why top athletes and sports experts say the same thing:

LET KIDS PLAY AS MANY SPORTS AS POSSIBLE

…and let the focus be on all kids (not just the “sporty types”) developing skills across a range of sports while having fun and enjoying being active.

All kids benefit from participating in as many different sports and physical activities as possible while they are learning movement and sport skills. Getting experience in many different activities is a good way to develop physical literacy, which provides the foundation for achievement in sport, and also for success in life.

“It seems counter-intuitive” I hear you say.

“How could specialization reduce your chances of success?”

It’s connected to physical literacy and the need to develop a wide range of physical, mental, and emotional skills within sport. When researchers look at top athletes across a range of sports, the majority of them are distinguished by broad athletic ability from playing a variety of sports as children. This kind of broad athleticism doesn’t happen when kids specialize in one sport from an early age.

Research has also found that children who focus on one sport from a young age are far more likely to be inactive adults because they do not have a broad range of skills developed in childhood which can make it easier to pick up a different sport when they lose interest in one, and  they are far less likely to appreciate just wanting to be active because it feels good and is fun.

Is early specialization wrong for all sports?

No.  But research shows very few sports where it helps. 

Sports and activities such as gymnastics, diving, and dancing generally require early specialization. To reach the highest levels of competition, your child needs to start young and spend most of their time practicing only that sport or activity. (But again, you have to factor in the down side of early specialization:  quitting if the pressure gets too much / the dream is not achieved, increased injury risks as a result of repetition etc. and the knock-on effect of that.)

Facts

Children who specialised early in a single sport led to higher rates of adult physical inactivity. Those who commit to one sport at a young age are often the first to quit.

– Ohio State University study

Diversified sports training during early and middle adolescence may be a more effective strategy in ultimately developing elite-level skills.

– American Medical Society for Sports Medicine

Early sport specialization has been identified as damaging for the future physical and mental health of the athlete.

– Consensus Statement American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Early Sport

References: 

https://activeforlife.com/