There is an increasing trend towards sports specialization at younger and younger ages in America. While the rationale for this has been increased focused training, earlier attainment of the “10,000 hour rule” popularized by Malcolm Gladwell, pursuit of a college scholarship or professional contract, as well as the competitive instincts we experience as parents and coaches to see our kids “be the best.” We see other kids and teams doing it, so we think our child will fall behind if our children don’t specialize as well. Despite this growing trend, there is ample evidence to suggest this specialization does more harm than good, and multiple academic, physician, and governing sport organizations have come out against this practice.
Early Sports Specialization
It is important at the outset of this type of discussion to define working terms such that all discussants can operate within the same framework. To that end, “early” sports specialization is defined by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine [1] according to the following three characteristics:
- Participation in intensive training and/or competition in organized sports greater than 8 months per year (essentially year round)
- Participation in 1 sport to the exclusion of participation in other sports (limited free play overall)
- Involving prepubertal (seventh grade or roughly age 12 years) children
A priori it might seem that early sports specialization would lead to a higher likelihood of long-term elite performance. Although there is evidence to support the idea that “deliberate practice”, that is, practice that is highly effortful and relevant to performance improvement, may be of some benefit in adults [2], there is little evidence to suggest that this type of “deliberate practice” in children increases the likelihood of elite performance later in life. Although there are some early entry sports such as gymnastics, figure skating, diving, etc. in which elite performance might be predicated on early specialized training, this does not appear to be the case for baseball [3].
To the contrary, baseball is one sport where early sports specialization appears to have increased risks. Across all sports, early sports specialization is associated with elevated overuse injury risks, decreased motivation for participation, and increased rates of burnout [1], whereas multisport participation has been suggested to be associated with better long-term performance and an increase in lifetime enjoyment of physical activity [4]. Within baseball specifically, early sport specialization may be associated with a higher risk of serious injury, even into adulthood [3]. Such risk are especially elevated in pitchers in which factors such as increased innings/pitches thrown as well as time spent pitching (e.g. months per year) have been associated with increased risk of elbow and shoulder injuries [5,6].
Keeping up with the Jonses
While for some, the allure of a potential college scholarship or profession contract may be the driving force behind early sports specialization, I would contend this is the minority of parents, at least in baseball. Most parents I have encountered are realistic that the chances for their child to obtain a college scholarship are quite low, and at younger ages (<10) this does not appear to be a significant consideration for most parents. What I observe far more often is that desire to not have their child fall behind. I think most parents would say they want what is best for their child and want to be able to provide every possible chance for their child to be successful in whatever endeavor they pursue. There may be a small minority living vicariously through their child, trying to achieve the athletic goals and accomplishments they were never able to. The problem comes when the parent sees there teammate paying for an individual pitching coach, or going to extra hitting instruction or camps. There is an inherent desire to think “well maybe my son or daughter should also go to a pitching coach so they don’t fall behind.” This desire is strong, and its tough to control.
Coaches have a real opportunity to bring some levity to the situation in this regard. Mike Matheny, former MLB player and current manager of the St. Louis Cardinals wrote an excellent “manifesto” several years ago that all parents and coaches should read. In it he remarked that he observed, “the biggest problem with youth sports has been the parents…I think the concept that I am asking all of you to grab is that this experience is ALL about the boys. If there is anything about it that includes you, we need to make a change of plans.” Coaches have a responsibility to set expectations at a young age, to enforce good habits, and most of all, allow these kids the opportunity to get a broad range of experiences, particularly within athletics. Too often I have heard of or from coaches even at the 8 and 9u levels saying their players are not allowed to miss baseball games or practices for other sports or activities. This type of mindset instills in parents the motivation that they cannot allow even other teammates to participate in more baseball than their child. It creates almost a sense of fear in parents that their child could “miss out” on some experience that might be vital to their development.
So what should we do?
Here is where I should admit my own biases. All of my children play multiple travel sports. They will continue to do this. I am a firm believer that the weight of evidence suggests this will allow them to reach their highest potential in whatever sport they choose. I will not have them play on teams that require devotion to a single sport, nor will I require that of kids I coach. It is reasonable that kids who are constantly missing practices or games for other commitments may face some repercussions, such as a lower spot in the batting order. But they too will have their opportunities. At some point in middle school, around age 12, I think the evidence would say it is reasonable to consider specialization. Even then, I think it is still important to play multiple sports, but perhaps focused on one or two more than any others. This decision should be directed by the child rather than the parent. Parents should function as guardrails directing their kids down the right road, but allowing their children to change lanes when desired while remaining headed in the right direction.
- LaPrade et al. (2016) Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 4(4):2325967116644241
- Ericsson et al. (1993) Psychol Rev. 100:363-406.
- Wilhelm et al. (2017) Orthop J Sports Med. 5(9):2325967117728922
- Bahr (2014) J Sports Med. 48:1265-7
- Fleisig et al. (2011) Am J Sports Med. 39:253-7
- Olsen et al. (2006) Am J Sports Med. 905-912