Early Specialization: What it is and how to avoid it

Early specialization is exactly like it sounds: specializing in 1 sport too early. At some point, yes, athletes will likely have to specialize in one sport if they’d like to develop into an elite-level player, however, for most, that shouldn’t occur until they go to college. As youth sports have become more and more competitive, kids have been put under immense pressure to win. This pressure has forced them to forego multiple sports in favor of year-round training. At first glance, this sounds like a great way to master the sport, more practice time should equate to a better player, but in reality, early specialization leads to mental fatigue, burnout, and overuse injuries, not to mention kids failing to develop physically, socially, and mentally as they should.

This mindset of relentless commitment to a sport stems from our societal pressure to win, and is fueled by youth sport coaches who rely on one sport for year-round income. 30 years ago, coaches coached multiple sports and shifted seasons with the players. In the fall they coached soccer, winter basketball, spring baseball, etc., however, as the youth sport coaches have begun to specialize, so too has the pressure they’ve put on players to commit to one sport year-round.

The easiest way to avoid early specialization is to adopt this old-mindset: when the seasons change, so does the sport. When it gets cold, it’s time to shift to a winter sport. When the snow melts, it’s time to get back outside and switch to a spring sport, and so forth and so on. Don’t fall into the trap that youth sport coaches want you to: year-round training is not going to make your child better at their sport. It’s going to leave them mentally exhausted, prone to injury, and physically inept.

If you’d like to join a program that combats early specialization, give our Little Athlete Academy a try. Our holistic approach trains kids like kids and develops the physical literacy and athleticism they may be missing out on by playing one sport year-round. Even if you are a multi-sport athlete, our academy will enhance your athleticism and help you succeed in your sporting endeavors.