Running Head: Possible Solutions for Main Concerns 1

Early Sport Specialization: Possible Solutions for Main Concerns

Aodhan Mooney
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Sport specialization is most commonly introduced into younger athletes, often in the

hopes of attaining a post-secondary education scholarship, and/or professional status in the

selected sport. “Sport Specialization (ESS) can be defined as “intensive year-round training

in a single sport at the exclusions of other sports””[ CITATION Mye15 \l 4105 ]. The highest

form of elite athletics is nationally carded athletes, who get paid to compete and perform,

such as national team members. Early sport specialization contributes to peak performance

levels at an early age, however, some sports require a more mature athlete to attain true

peak performance levels. It is true that some sports do require training at a younger age in

order to be successful, such as gymnastics and figure skating, however this can be attained

without specializing in the sport at a young age, allowing for diversification in sport

participation.

The concept of Early Sport Specialization arises when an athlete exceeds 16 hours of

a certain sport within a week. Sport Specialization has always been around, but the age of

which specialization starts has been getting much younger, “because select or travel

leagues start as young as 7 years of age” [ CITATION Bre16 \l 4105 ]. With such a high

number of hours spent on exercise, the risk of injury is increased due to overuse of muscles

and joints. “Specializing early with intense training can lead to overuse injuries, which can

cause pain and temporary loss of playing time or may lead to early retirement from the

sport.” [ CITATION Bre16 \l 4105 ]. Different sports also attribute to different injuries, a

baseball player is more likely to have an elbow joint injury than a soccer player, which can

affect an individual all through their adult life. The less rest time between sporting events
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also creates a higher risk of injury. Overuse injuries often occur because some argue that

specializing early helps advance physiology of youth, allowing them to handle high intensity

exercise at an earlier age. As someone ages, their muscles and bones grow, which alter

their physiology and in turn, changes the way they should perform certain skills. If a young

child is exposed to high level, almost professional level training, they may not realize their

body changing and perform skills the same way throughout aging, which can create

detrimental effects on muscles and joints. “Rapid growth spurts can lead to motor

coordination issues and joint inflexibility due to imbalances in the growth rates of bone

relative to muscle and other connective tissues. In many instances, young athletes may not

have learned the proper mechanics and technique for some of the repetitively performed

movements in their particular sport.” (Kaleth, 2010).

The argument that early specialization and high intensity training helps strengthen

cardiovascular health can be invalidated as the size of a young child’s heart is much smaller

than that of an adult, and the aerobic capacity of an athlete depends on the size of one’s

heart. Specializing early does not create a chance of a higher endurance rate. Another

argument faced is that weight training to increase muscle mass at an early age creates

stronger athletes earlier. Although athletes’ may be physically stronger, this can create an

emotional distress on an athlete as they may become fixated on a “fit” image and be hard

on themselves if their body doesn’t maintain the “fit” figure. When a person goes through

puberty, their body is destined to change and if they cannot keep up with their training

regimen, or it becomes harder, this has a potential to lead to self-consciousness issues and
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in some cases eating disorders in order to maintain their physique. As athletes age and their

body changes, they may find things that used to be easy, difficult, which can also lead to

frustration and another attribute that may lead to burnout.

Certain injuries can be detrimental to an athlete depending on their primary sport,

such as a basketball player tearing their ACL. In order to return back to any kind of physical

activity, physiotherapy, psychology and lots of rest and recovery needs to occur. If this type

of injury takes place in the peak performance season, one of the many effects on a player

could be a fear of returning to the sport. They may fear returning because their

teammates/opponents have been increasingly getting better, while they have, in a way,

gotten worse because of a lack of practice. A fear of re injury is a psychological effect.

“Psychological readiness to return to sport after an injury does not always correspond with

physical readiness. Fear of reinjury is a frequently cited reason athletes do not return to

sport or reduce their level of physical activity” (Myer, 2015).

In many cases, an athlete that has specialized at an early age, has not been able to

experience and develop in other sports, so an injury could lead them to believe that their

sporting career is over, as they may believe they’re not good enough or able to participate

in other sports. Participating in a variety of sports can also benefit an athlete when they

chose to specialize by crossing over the techniques and skills learnt. “Deliberate play also

helps to develop a range of motor and cognitive experiences that children can ultimately

bring to their primary sport.” (Gold, 2010). In worse case scenarios, an injury can ruin any
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pleasure that comes with physical activity, leading to a lack of physical activity through

adulthood, creating a higher risk of obesity. This is another psychological affect early

specialization can have on an individual.

Focusing on one sport through childhood can create social isolation. Most youth

participate in a variety of sports growing up, where friendships are made and skills are

developed. Specializing early hinders the amount of friendships that could be created as

they are surrounded by the same people for the majority of their time. Spending 16+ hours

a week on a single sport, as well as dealing with school and household duties, creates little

to no spare time for a social life, which is very important for a young adult as it aids in their

identity development. “Another concern with sport specialization at an early age is social

isolation, because involvement in these programs separates young athletes from peers and,

in turn, interferes with normal identity development.” (Gould, 2010).

Youth often chose early specialization to appease to their parents or coaches, who

see potential in the athlete, and this sport may not truly be their desired sport. Early

specialization can put high levels of pressure on an athlete by coaches and parents. Younger

athletes may not know the proper measures to take to deal with the pressure, which is a

key contributor to athletic burnout. If an athlete does not have the right coping

mechanisms for when times get stressful, there is a risk of burnout and emotional

exhaustion. “Specializers reported more diverse peer relationships and higher levels of

emotional exhaustion (a subcomponent of athlete burnout)” (Gould, 2010).

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Although early sport specialization provides a higher possibility to attain an elite

level of sporting, many studies have concluded that the timing of specialization has an

effect on the outcome of the athletic ability. “Reviews of studies of elite athlete

specialization history by Jayanthi et al and Côté et al revealed that, for the majority of

sports, late specialization with early diversification is most likely to lead to elite status.”

[ CITATION Bre16 \l 4105 ]. Early specialization however, can have positive outcomes and

has the potential to develop highly skilled athletes, if it is done appropriately. In order to

avoid issues such as overuse injuries, burnout and early retirement, and ensure an athlete is

mentally ready for the pressure of high level sporting, there are things that need to be

considered and planning done.

In order to avoid athletic burnout and emotional stress, an athlete should be

matured enough to handle and cope with stress. Specialization should not be given as an

option in most sports until puberty, as the changing of a young adult’s body is a scary

process. “By age 16 a young person has developed enough psychologically, physically,

cognitively, motorically, and socially to invest the tremendous amount of effort needed to

take part in highly specialized training in a single sport.” (Gould, 2010). Throughout an

athletes’ youth, they should be given opportunities to participate in a variety of different

sports, in order to figure out which sport they want to pursue as well as to influence the

development of a diversity of skills and self-identity. “Young athletes who specialize too

soon are at risk of physical, emotional, and social problems. Athletes may become socially

isolated from their peers and may have altered relationships with family, overdependence
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on others with a loss of control over their lives, arrested behavioral development, or socially

maladaptive behaviors” (Brenner, 2016).

Athletes, especially the younger athletes who chose to specialize, should be closely

monitored for signs of overuse, injury, physical burnout, and psychological burnout. Mental

burnout occurs when an athlete cannot handle the pressure of a sport placed on them by

coaches, parents, or even themselves, and decides to quit indefinitely. If signs of a mental

burnout occur, a short prophylactic break, or a break to prevent an athlete from becoming

too overwhelmed causing them to find no joy in the sport anymore, should take place. “…

mental burnout is prevented through “prophylactic” breaks in training.” (Brenner, 2016). If

an athlete decides to specialize in a sport and becomes more competitive and more

successful through time, they should start sports psychology as soon as any signs of stress

arise. Having coping mechanisms and systems of dealing with issues before signs arise helps

make coping with stress and insecurities a lot easier, for both the athlete and their support

system.

In order to lessen the risk of overuse injuries, it is imperative that and athlete has a

sufficient period of rest. Not a complete absence from physical activity, but workouts that

focus in more skill- based trainings. Swimmers have a time period called “taper”, where

they still have 8-10 trainings a week, however these trainings mainly focus on skills such as

dives, turns, and finishes, with a few short bursts of speed that ensure the swimmer remain

participating in their sport, but giving their muscle sufficient rest to lessen the risk of
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injuries.

The effects and outcomes of early sport Specialization is a conversation held by many

sporting professionals; from coaches and athletes, to psychologists and physiologists. Early

specialization is one of the most beneficial way to attain an elite sporting level in some sports,

and the idea of when is too early is a fluctuating age depending on which sport and which

gender the athlete is. Early sport specialization is a relatively new topic of research and there

are very opposite views on if it is beneficial to an athlete. Maturity, motives and age all have a

large impact on whether an athlete is ready to specialize, and research will continue to evolve

other the years.

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References:

Brenner, J. (2016). Sports Specialization and Intensive Training in Young

Athletes. PEDIATRICS, 138(3), e20162148-e20162148.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-2148

Gould, D. (2010). Early Sport Specialization: A Psychological Perspective. JOPERD: The Journal

Of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 81(8), 33-37.

Kaleth, A. S., & Mikesky, A. E. (2010). Impact of early sport specialization: A physiological

perspective. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 81(8), 29-32,37.

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Livingston, J., Schmidt, C., & Lehman, S. (2016). Competitive club soccer: Parents' assessments

of children's early and later sport specialization. Journal of Sport Behavior, 39(3), 301-

316. Retrieved from https://login.proxy.hil.unb.ca/login?

url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1810036377?accountid=14611

Myer, G. D., Jayanthi, N., Difiori, J. P., Faigenbaum, A. D., Kiefer, A. W., Logerstedt, D., &

Micheli, L. J. (2015). Sport Specialization, Part I: Does Early Sports Specialization Increase

Negative Outcomes and Reduce the Opportunity for Success in Young Athletes? Sports

Health, 7(5), 437–442. http://doi.org/10.1177/1941738115598747

Myer, G. D., Jayanthi, N., DiFiori, J. P., Faigenbaum, A. D., Kiefer, A. W., Logerstedt, D., &

Micheli, L. J. (2016). Sports Specialization, Part II: Alternative Solutions to Early Sport
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Specialization in Youth Athletes. Sports Health, 8(1), 65–73.

http://doi.org/10.1177/1941738115614811