Participation of youths in sports has transitioned from child-driven, recreational activity that is done purely for enjoyment purposes to a structured and professional driven practice designed to enhance the development of specific skills in sports. The focus is placed on attaining skill levels suitable for professional demands. An emphasis on skills development in sports, especially among the young athletes, may have resulted from the recognition and financial rewards professional athletes receive from their achievement in specific sports. Many young athletes aspire to get to the elite level of various types of sports.
Sport specialization in young athletes refers to the participation in a single sport at the expense or exclusion of all other types of sports. This can occur as early as the age of 12. Sporting for young athletes is critical since it enhances self-esteem, work ethic and social skills. Health wise sports assists young individuals to enhance power, adaptability and coordination. However, engaging or specializing in one sport exposes young athletes to overload and repetitive strain of muscles and joints at a high rate. On the other hand, when young athletes participate in multiple sports the amount and nature of stress exerted on muscles and the body, in general, is varied. Different sports like football, soccer, basketball have varying physical demands. As such, the strain placed on the human body is varied (Malina, 2010). This reduces the rate of muscle and joint injury. The rate of injury from extended and intense training sessions is significantly enhanced at a tender age. Fracture injuries and muscles strain are more common during periods of rapid growth and development. These injuries can shorten sporting careers. Most of the athlete who quit specific sports cite injury as the main reason. Sports specialization at a tender age also reduces the ability of the young athletes to cross train and derive the health and the physical benefits from other kinds sports (Malina, 2010).
Specialization in a single sport can also causes burnout and psychological stress. Sports specialization requires intense and long hours of training. The performance demands and expectation are also high. This might put psychological pressure on athletes if the set expectations are not met. Long and intense training sessions can cause burnout. Burnout is emotional and physical exhaustion caused by extreme levels of stress. It occurs when young athletes feel emotionally drained and overwhelmed due to inability to meet high performance expectations. Burnout can cause loss of interest and motivation in a specific sport (Baker et al. 2005). It reduces productivity and enhances resentfulness (Baker et al. 2005). The effects of burnout can spread to other spheres of life like work, social life and school. Burnout causes long-term changes in the body, making it vulnerable to health conditions like flu. Young athletes are often controlled by their parents and coaches to achieve expertise and extrinsic rewards in a specific sport through continuous training and competition. Often time, the young athletes have to sacrifice their psychological development and other activities that are done by young individuals of their age. Specialization promotes the interests of parents and the coaches at the expense of the interests and values of young athletes.
Young athletes who specialize in specific sports a bit too soon in life are at higher risk of developing social problems. Long periods of training and competition isolates young athletes from the peers and family. These athletes may develop altered relationships with their family members. They may also experience slowed behavioral development and escalation of social maladaptive behaviors. Social isolation interferes with the acquisition of critical motor skills (Baker et al. 2009).
As much as early specialization is not good for the healthy development of young athletes, there are benefits the young athletes can derive from it. Early specialization is specifically critical for certain types of sports. These include sports like gymnastics where peak performance only occurs at a tender age. For such sports, it is necessary for participants to develop the required skills and techniques at a very early age. This makes sports specialization for young athletes significantly important. Peak performance is attained at different age groups in different sports. There are types of sports that are early specialization while others can be termed as late specialization (Baker et al. 2005). Sports like skating, women gymnastics and diving as viewed as early specialization sports since the best performing athletes are always young. Other sports like football, rugby and soccer are considered as late specialization since peak performance is often attained in early adulthood or late adolescence (Baker et al. 2005).
Sports specialization for young athletes can enhance the levels of performance and success in a particular sport. Early success in sporting activities improves self-esteem and emotional development. Specialization aids in the attainment of motor skills in particular sports. Athletes often increase their skills in specific sports if they enhance the frequency and duration of training and practice compared to athletes who devote less time and effort in practice. (Capranica & Millard-Stafford, 2011).
Early sports specialization also helps the young athletes to develop mental toughness. Mental toughness plays a huge role in athletic success. It allows athletes to cope with the stressors both inside and outside of sport. Mentally tough athletes perform with an increased rate of consistency and motivation, particularly in high-pressure situations (Gould, 2010). Mental toughness entails factors like believing in oneself, controlling the surrounding environment, staying focused on meeting the set targets, handling both outside and inside pressure while maintaining the capacity to perform at the highest level. It also involves the ability to handle both success and failure. Athletes who specialized early in their careers know how to deal with the stress of losing a match. When athletes compete especially at the highest level of the sport, their talent and sporting ability is almost equal. What sets one athlete apart from the other is mental toughness (Gould, 2010).
The physical and psychological growth of a young athlete is critical to the enjoyment of a physical activity in the future. Pressure to succeed in particular sports has always come along with negative impacts through early specialization. Specialization in specific sports might be useful and necessary in certain situations. However, this should only be done after young athletes have developed certain abilities and emotional maturity. Parents and coaches should be aware of the negative and positive effects of sports specialization in young athletes. The focus of sports for young athletes should be on enhancing physical activity, psychological development and general enjoyment.
References
Baker, J., Cobley, S., & Fraser‐Thomas, J. (2009). What do we know about early sport specialization? Not much!. High ability studies, 20(1), 77-89.
Baker, J., Côté, J., & Deakin, J. (2005). Expertise in ultra-endurance triathletes early sport involvement, training structure, and the theory of deliberate practice. Journal of applied sport psychology, 17(1), 64-78.
Capranica, L., & Millard-Stafford, M. L. (2011). Youth sport specialization: how to manage competition and training?. International journal of sports physiology and performance, 6(4), 572-579.
Gould, D. (2010). Early sport specialization: A psychological perspective. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 81(8), 33-37.
Malina, R. M. (2010). Early sport specialization: roots, effectiveness, risks. Current sports medicine reports, 9(6), 364-371.
