When you were young, did you parents have you signed up for all the sports teams and extracurricular activities? Or did you just focus on one particular sport? Well, according to experts, specializing in only one sport can be pretty risky for young athletes, and they're giving a warning to parents and coaches.
During a briefing hosted by the National Athletic Trainers' Association, Eric Post, manager of the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, opened up more about the topic.
"Specialization at an early age is not really necessary to play at that elite level," he said. "It actually is associated with worse outcomes in terms of injury and burnout from sport."
Supposedly, young athletes usually believe that specializing in only one sport will help them avoid injury and improve their skills so they can perform at an elite level. But according to experts, that usually isn't the case.
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"I see pretty often, especially in the rowing world, that parents want to get a competitive edge with their kids getting college scholarships," Sophia Vitas, a rower on the U.S. National Women's Rowing Team, said. According to the panel of experts, participating in a variety of sports at a young age can help build athleticism that can prevent injury and, in turn, decrease burnout.
