If you do choose 1, you must build general athletic robustness outside of it.
“If a coach does not prioritize the mental health & well-being of youth athletes (this includes time off/away from your sport)..
They’re not in it for kids.
They’re in it for themselves.
There is not an inkling of research that defends the overprescription of specialization.”
-Ray Zingler on X
I am not one of these people who will sit here and say that our kid’s MUST play 4 sports.
I am not even one to say that they must play 2.
Of course, I understand the benefits of multi-sport participation and I commend those who choose to play multiple sports (if they want to) but I also understand that the current landscape makes even the idea of playing a second sport daunting for most.
You’ll have coaches who “encourage” the idea, but for most in today’s world, it’s largely lip service.
Not only have we created the idea that the standard for youth most sports is “year-round”, adults now are also applying political pressure to the ideology.
To take it a step further there are many cases in which kids and their family’s feel forced to choose between one or the other in fear of penalty/repercussions.
I wish I was making that statement up, but I have heard and seen too many stories where the above is not only true, it’s abundantly common in the modern era.
Good ‘ol amateur youth athletics for ya, huh? “We’re in it for the kids!”
Mmhhmm.
Regardless of where you stand on the single sport/multi-sport spectrum here is a truth that cannot be argued:
There is not an inkling of research that defends the overprescription of specialization for youth athletes.
If you’re looking to develop a chess master or mathematician there is some data backing the specialization argument.
But for throwing a 5oz weight at max velocities or participating in any other single sport 12 months a year from 10 years old on up?
You’ll find research, in fact, heaping volumes of it, but none of it will defend the year-round act. It will, however, shed light on the dangers ranging from overuse injuries to chronic mental dysfunction that stems from the abundance.
Our kids need time off. Time away from their sports. Not only for their physical performance’s sake, but for their mental health.
This isn’t my opinion.
It’s physiological fact.
This is why I fight every day to build general athletic qualities in the realm of S&C.
It’s the only way to offset the dangers of specificity.
Sound dramatic?
For kids who are losing their identities every day, it is dramatic.
