Staying active as a kid is very important for overall growth and development. Especially as kids’ activity levels are decreasing with the increased prevalence of technology. As a parent, it can be difficult to decide how many sports to play, and when it becomes too much/too little. In youth sports, there is also a greater push to specialise in one specific sport to make it to the professional level. However, less than 1% of young athletes will reach the highest level of their sport (Jayanthi et al., 2019).

What is sport specialisation?

Sports specialisation can be defined as choosing one sport and quitting your other sports to focus on one/complete year-long training. You do need some level of sport specialization as you get older to develop sport-specific skills, but this should not be until after puberty/late adolescence. By specialising in one sport too soon there is a greater risk of general injuries, overuse injuries, and burnout. The saying that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master in a skill does not apply to youth sports (Jayanthi et al., 2013 and 2019 & Children’s Hospital St. Louis).

Benefits of multiple sports

Kids should continue to play multiple sports for as long as they can. Kids that played multiple sports were shown to have better motor skills, improved overall athletic abilities, increased motivation and engagement, and better decision-making, pattern recognition, and creativity. Playing multiple sports also enables healthier development for bones, joints, and muscles. It has also been noted that less specific practice was needed to master skills in your favorite/primary sport (Children’s Hospital St. Louis).

Overall Recommendation

The US National Athletic Trainer’s Association published a great resource on sports specialisation in youth that provided general guidelines on how much activity kids should be doing. They came up with these 6 recommendations:

Delay specialization in a single sport for as long as possible.
Play on one team outside of school at a time.
Children should not play a single sport for more than 8 months out of the year.
Children should not participate in more hours per week than their age.
Kids should get two days of rest per week from organized sports/competitions.
Kids need rest and recovery time from organized sports. Free play is just as important.

Here at Ballsbridge Physiotherapy in Dublin 4 we can provide specific advice regarding your Child’s activities and sports, help them through any aches or pains that may appear, and provide specific individualized feedback and treatment. Do not hesitate to reach out with any questions. Call/Email or book online today!

References and Resources:

Journal of Athletic Training: Health Consequences of Youth Sport Specialization (Jayanthi et al., 2019)

NATA Youth Sport Specialization Recommendations (Sitzer, 2019)

Sports Specialization in Young Athletes (Jayanthi et al., 2013)

Children’s Hospital St. Louis: Youth Specialization: The Drawbacks of Playing One Sport

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