Sports Specialization and Intensive Training in Young Athletes

Abstract

Sports specialization is becoming the norm in youth sports for a variety of reasons. When sports specialization occurs too early, detrimental effects may occur, both physically and psychologically. If the timing is correct and sports specialization is performed under the correct conditions, the athlete may be successful in reaching specific goals. Young athletes who train intensively, whether specialized or not, can also be at risk of adverse effects on the mind and body. The purpose of this clinical report is to assist pediatricians in counseling their young athlete patients and their parents regarding sports specialization and intensive training. This report supports the American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report “Overuse Injuries, Overtraining, and Burnout in Child and Adolescent Athletes.”

The First Decade of Web-Based Sports Injury Surveillance: Descriptive Epidemiology of Injuries in US High School Girls' Softball (2005–2006 Through 2013–2014) and National Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Softball (2004–2005 Through 2013–2014)

“…Additionally, at the collegiate level, practice and training are more likely to occur year-round, though specialization is increasing at the high school level. 18,19 With this yearround practice and training schedule, the overall work load is greater, possibly increasing the risk of overuse injuries and injuries due to fatigue. 20 The proportion of injuries that were due to no contact was larger in college than in high school, though the proportion due to an overuse mechanism was similar in high school and college.…”

The First Decade of Web-Based Sports Injury Surveillance: Descriptive Epidemiology of Injuries in US High School Boys' Baseball (2005–2006 Through 2013–2014) and National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Baseball (2004–2005 Through 2013–2014)

“…In college, practice and training are more likely to occur year round, though specialization is increasing in high school. 20,21 Year-round practice and training may increase overuse injuries and injuries due to fatigue. 22,23 In collegiate men's baseball, 25% of injuries were due to an overuse/chronic mechanism and 44% were due to no contact, as compared with 18% due to overuse/chronic and 31% due to no contact in high school boys' baseball.…”

Short-Term Seasonal Development of Anthropometry, Body Composition, Physical Fitness, and Sport-Specific Performance in Young Olympic Weightlifters

“…However, whether the early involvement in the main sport (i.e., early specialization) will be safe and allow further performance improvements in later stages of long-term athlete development still an open question that needs to be addressed in future long-term studies. However, it has frequently been reported that early specialization may lead to negative consequences at later stages of long-term athlete development (e.g., higher dropouts and risk of injuries) [8][9][10][11][12][13]44]. Accordingly, this pathway was deemed potentially detrimental when adopted at early stages of long-term athlete development.…”

“…In other words, different components of physical fitness should specifically be promoted during the early stages of long-term athlete development while sport-specific skills should be developed during the later stages [10]. In addition, it seems that early specialization is associated with a greater risk of sustaining acute and/or chronic injuries and dropouts [8,[11][12][13] while fewer injuries appear to occur with diversification (i.e., late specialization) [13,14]. There is also research available that suggests an increased likelihood of becoming an elite athlete on an international level when following the diversification pathway [9].…”