OPINION

A31

Devotion to single sports hurts kids

Obsession can often lead to injury, but rarelyleadstoscholarshipsorprocareers
Lane Filler
Dr. James Andrews knows more about sports injuries than just about anyone else. He operates clinics in Alabama and Flordia, and is the go-to rebuilder of superstar knees, elbows and shoulders in the nation. He also reconstructs the joints of young athletes. More and more of those kids, he says, are coming in with injuries identical to those the pros suffer. Speaking to the Cleveland Plain Dealer last week, he said the grueling training of youth athletics and the tendency of kids to play one sport year-round is destroying their bodies, often thanks to misguided coaches and parents fantasies of scholarships and contracts. Andrews has seen a five- to sevenfold increase in serious youth sports injuries over the past 10 to 20 years, and blames: Specialization: Andrews recommends a minimum of two months off per year (and preferably three or four) to recover

OPINION

lane.filler@newsday.com

ike a lot of kids, I dreamed of being a professional athlete. I was lucky, in that I had as much talent as a steamed artichoke. While other kids strive, only to find they arent good enough to make the cut in college or the pros, my wake-up call came when I wasnt coordinated enough to don the equipment without the help of parents, coaches, and the concerned citizens who would trickle down from the stands. But I played em all. Most of the kids I knew played multiple sports in the 1970s and 1980s. There were few travel teams, sports academies or yearround specialists. There wasnt as much burnout. We didnt get hurt as often, or as badly. And our parents didnt spend crazy money in search of a goal that was likely impossible to attain.

from a specific sport. Professionalism: Working kids out too long, day after day. Both are destructive to young bodies and cause burnout without, many experts agree, making the kids better. The reason it often doesnt work? We dont get stronger or faster or better while working out. We improve while recovering from workouts, and from

repetitve motions, like batting or hitting a golf ball, that arent in line with what humans have evolved to do naturally. A few months ago, I heard Pat Smith, the Smithtown School Districts director of athletics and physical education, speak truth. The orientation for parents of middleschoolers who want to play a sport next year was a tutorial in manners and the relative triviality of middle-school sports, along with the reality of our kids athletic futures. They arent going pro. They arent getting scholarships. And if you are spending a lot of money on travel teams and clinics in the hope they will get a free ride, you should take that cash and spend it on tutors and math camps, because the scholarship money is in academics. Smith was a wrestler and coach whose kids also played

sports. Hes a serious advocate for youth sports, he just doesnt advocate being too serious about youth sports. Why? Because, Smith says, in the century that the Smithtown School District has been around, only three of its players made it to baseballs major leagues. None made it to the NFL or the NBA. And Smith says that as seductive as college recruiters can be, there are so few athletic scholarships that getting one is like winning a lottery: wonderful if it happens, but not a goal sensible people strive for. Ask yourself: Is your child clearly the best athlete in the league? Whatever the answer, letting him or her work out too much or specialize in one sport is a mistake. Its bad if a kid with no future in athletics is hurt pointlessly. Its worse, in a way, if one with potential is injured. Thats why my Little League coach didnt have any qualms about taking me aside and saying: We need you on base here. Do you think you can get your head in front of the next pitch? Lane Filler is a member of Newsdays editorial board.

ly, not uncommon. Many Long Islanders have no problem throwing our collective economic well-being under the bus to protect their own interests. The stagnation of MacArthur, and the failure of the Town of Hempstead to properly develop the Coliseum and retain the Islanders, are just two examples where our leaders have caved to NIMBYs. MacArthur has been providing airline service since the 1960s. Unless this writer purchased his home 60 years ago, he must recognize that he alone made a decision to buy a home near a commercial airport. When does common sense come into play? Glenn Goldberg Baldwin

these CEOs or their board members would have the guts to do this. Mark L. Shapiro Huntington

Celebrity chef Paula Deen weeps during a Today show appearance about her use of a racial slur many years ago. [Food for thought on Paula Deen, Opinion, June 30]. Im all for political correctness, but when did it spiral out of control? We can thank the media for this circus. In Deens case, the only thing missing is the date, time and location of the public stoning. If that were broadcast, one can only wonder what the ratings might be. Personally, I would love to see top executives and their boards, the ones that made the decision to terminate contracts with Deen, hooked up to a polygraph machine and let Matt Lauer ask these holier-than-thou individuals the same questions he asked Deen. I know that not one of

Deen shouldnt carry all blame

Paula Deen being vilified as a racist just shows how offcourse our society has become

Recently, I traveled to Albany to attend an anti-fracking rally, the Crossroads Rally, as an intern of New York Food and Water Watch. While I listened to the 17 speakers, collected signatures from protesters, and talked to others, I started to feel the magic of a demonstration. There were flamboyant costumes (one woman carried a life-size puppet of Mother Nature), songs about saving the Earth, and chants against Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, which make me laugh a little but also inspired me. I was moved by the energy and the outward display of political unrest of the marchers. Afterward, I was discontent-

LI cares little about fracking

ed to hear that only 35 people traveled from Long Island on a bus arranged through my organization. Although Long Islanders may be geographically disconnected from Albany, generationally disconnected from political activism, and disconnected from the natural environment, we need to get more involved in political activism. We could just sit back and complain about what is wrong with New Yorks laws, but until we do something, our complaints will never be heard, and our problems will never be solved. The governor may not ban fracking because of the rally, but he has heard our voice, and that is what counts. Jacquelyn Nakamura Huntington
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NEWSDAY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013