One day was talking to a parent and she told me, “I have no idea how my child got hurt.  I have read up on making sure my child switches sports regularly cause that is what the research says.  They say make sure you don’t have your child specialize at a young age or they will get hurt.”

I replied, “So what sports does your child play?”

She retorted, “He plays baseball in the fall and spring, swimming in the winter, and tennis during the summer.  Sometimes he does them all at the same time but they are three different sports and I don’t know why his shoulder hurts?”

The parent I spoke with was correct, her child was switching sports but they were all repetitive overhand activities.  The concept of sport specialization is focusing on one sport to maximize performance at a young age, consequently, the participant is more prone to:

1. Injuries common to that sport - playing just football = more chance for broken bones from contact

2. Burn out from too much participation - child feels like the sport is a job and gives up

3. Repetitive injuries - examples would include baseball, swimming, tennis, or golf

In reality, participating in a variety of sports develops a better ATHLETE.  Every sports commentator can be heard saying, “he/she is a tremendous athlete.”  Skills learned in one sport carry over to another, such as flexibility, balance, proprioception, mechanics, timing, reaction, etc. 

Remember, develop the athlete and the sport will take care of itself.  Burning a child out with too much of one thing will never let the true athlete come out and the joy of sport will be lost.