Keeping Youth Sports Fun to Promote Future Excellence

Raising children in a world heavily influenced by social media, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that your child must be the very best at something. If social media posts are to be believed, little five-year-old Jimmy next door is an elite soccer player and scoring goals is what he was born to do. And, your college roommate’s cousin’s nine-year-old, Jane, must have been taught tumbling skills starting at birth for her to be such an accomplished gymnast at her age. And, to give our kids the opportunity to be the best, like little Jimmy and young Jane, we should start exposing them to as much training as possible and encourage them to focus on excelling in their own sport, right? Maybe not.

An article published in the Journal of Athletic Training looked at currently available evidence and the recommendations of sports medicine organizations to see what long term effects specializing children in a particular youth sport can have, and it seems more likely than not that taking a more casual approach to youth sports could be the best thing you can do for your young athlete. Some key takeaways from this review are that across the board, sports medicine organizations promote sport sampling over specialization due to the evidence that exposing children to a variety of different sports results in better overall athletes who have more success, and more enjoyment of sports over time. Kids who participate in several different activities and sports engage different muscle groups and participate in different types of movement which may protect against overuse injuries. And, a major factor to consider when looking at children who train to become elite athletes early on is mental health. Promoting perfectionism, and setting extreme expectations for children at an early age can lead to excessive psychological stress, loss of motivation, and ultimately burnout.

So, what can your local recreation organization do to help? Take an approach to youth sports that focuses on inclusion, exposure to new skills, positive interactions between coaches, parents and players, and good sportsmanship. What you’re offering to your patrons and communities matters, and emphasizing diverse options for being active and participating in sports can have a long-term positive impact on the community you serve.

To explore how Sportsman Software can help you serve your community by offering diverse opportunities for participating in rec sports, connect with us [here].

For more details on the Health Consequences of Youth Sport Specialization, you can read the full article [here]