Why do youth athletes specialize?
There are a host of reasons: pressure from coaches, high expectations
from parents, encouragement from college recruiters, or even the
athlete’s own desire to participate in the highest levels of the sport.
In general, there seems to be a growing societal emphasis on
specialization – and not just in youth sports. But as Responsible Sport
Parents and Responsible Coaches, our challenge is to understand the
issues surrounding specialization, and then determine our own personal
“specialization philosophy.”
The Research
Our exploration of the idea of specialization begins with a quick look
at the research out there – and there is a great deal of it! There have
been several studies of talented kids (not only in sports, but also in
music, the arts, etc.), and many of these studies have concluded that
there are ‘stages’ of talent development. In one study of highly
accomplished individuals conducted by Benjamin Bloom, the stages are
identified as:
- The Early Years (called the ‘Romance’ or ‘Romantic’
Phase), where kids develop a love for the activity, feel free to explore
and have fun in the activity, are encouraged by those around them and
ultimately find success in the activity.
- The Middle Years (labeled the ‘Precision’ or ‘Technical’
Phase), where an experienced coach or teacher begins imparting the
skills of the activity and the focus is on mastery and skill
development.
- The Later Years (the ‘Integration’ or ‘Mature’ Phase),
where a master teacher or coach is involved, where a great deal of time
is dedicated to practice, and the focus becomes optimal performance. In
this stage, a significant amount of time is dedicated to the activity.1
What is interesting to note is that for the individuals studied, the
phases occurred over a 15- to 20-year period. Each person moved through
each phase “in a developmental sequence, without skipping phases.”
That’s a critical idea in youth sports – that kids need to have the
early fun stage, followed by the middle skills stage, before ever
getting to the later optimal performance and “dedication” phase.
Another study of elite athletes by Jean Côté (1999) observed three
phases: Sampling (age 6-13), Specializing (13-15) and Investing (15+).
Côté’s study observed that during the Sampling phase, the parents
encouraged kids to play multiple sports and take in a broad set of
experiences, but that by the Specializing phase, both the youth athlete
and the parent had selected the preferred sport, although this choice
did not preclude the child also playing other sports.
2
A study by Dan Gould & Sarah Carson in 2004 noted that many parents
are taking a “professionalized approach” to initial youth sports
involvement and skip Bloom’s Romance Phase by “overemphasizing winning,
rankings, single-sport involvement and downplaying the role of fun.”
3
And finally one last piece of data from some of the research out there. A
study conducted by Lenny Wiersma in 2000 found, not surprisingly, that
98% of athletes will never reach the highest levels of sports. Wiersma
also noted that “from a sociological perspective, early specialization
is thought to isolate the young athlete from peers and interfere with
normal identity development.”
4
On-The-Field Experts
So what do elite athletes and coaches say about specialization? What
was their experience with their parents? What would they recommend?
Over time, many professional athletes and coaches have joined the
Responsible Sports community and have shared their thoughts on the topic
of specialization.
Jessica Mendoza, Olympic Gold Medal winning
softball player 
“No doubt about it, definitely play as
many sports as you can. I was a two-sport athlete in high school
(basketball and softball as well), and I would say a majority of my USA
teammates were two-sport, if not three-sport, athletes as well. My
point is two-fold: other sports can help build and develop other skills
that [an athlete] might not get in softball, but needs; for example,
agility, explosiveness, reaction and quickness. The second point is if
you narrow your options to only one sport all the time, [an athlete] can
burn out. I see that happen more and more often with parents trying to
do softball all the time with their kids. So have her play [other
sports] and softball for as long as she is happy!”
Doug
Wilson, Hall of Fame hockey player and current San Jose Sharks
General Manager
“The best thing that my parents ever did. They made me play
everything. They didn’t make me, they gave me the opportunity to play
everything. And one of the wonderful moments was, I was a pretty good
hockey player, but I wasn’t really good in, maybe, one of the other
sports. They’d make me go play that sport so that I would have the
perspective, from the other kids that might not be really good at
something, but they’re playing it because they love it. And that way,
you can become, I think, a good teammate and a good friend because you
learn through shared experiences. And I always look back, and I did a
lot of, as I say, every sport and every activity. And my parents did it
for a reason. And now, I understand it and truly appreciate it.”
Jim Thompson, Executive Director and founder of
Positive Coaching Alliance
"Staying
with multiple sports longer offers multiple benefits for athletes:
- It decreases burn out because playing one sport year round can
come to seem like a job rather than something they can't wait to do.
- It lessens the chance of repetitive stress injuries as athletes
use different muscles in different sports.
- For eventual specializers, it gives them a better chance to find
a sport that fits them just right.
- And, it increases general athletic skills, such as balance or
agility, that transfer from one sport to another.
NBA star Steve Nash is just one of many elite athletes who say their
involvement with more than one sport (soccer in his case) helped them
excel in the sport they ultimately chose to specialize in."
Alexi Lalas, USA World Cup soccer player
“Sports, and certainly the possibility of one of
their children becoming a professional athlete, was not necessarily
high on the list when [my parents] thought of what they envisioned for
their children. [They believed] if [sports] makes you happy and you’re
enjoying it, do it. But also recognize that there are all these other
things that you might be good at, that you might enjoy. I was heavily
involved in ice hockey. And I tried absolutely everything out there. But
I was also never in a situation where I was pressured by my parents to
play sports. And it’s not that they weren’t proud of me, it’s not that
they didn’t support me in what I was doing, but it wasn’t a situation
where I was doing it for my father or I was doing it for anybody else.
They just recognized that sports could not only help me from a physical
standpoint, but an emotional standpoint, and growing and becoming a
better person. And even though they didn’t have a sports background, per
se, they recognized the value of sports in a young kid in terms of
growing up, not just what it does on the field, but what it does off the
field.”
Tina
Syer, Associate Director of Positive Coaching Alliance and former
Stanford University standout field hockey player
“Only kids
themselves can really determine when the time is right to specialize. I
often tell kids that if they are enjoying a sport but are feeling
pressure from coaches or fellow athletes to give it up and specialize,
that they should stand up for themselves and enlist the support of their
parents for their decision. The research is on their side for why they
should keep playing the sports they love. And on the flip side, when
they are ready to specialize, then go for it. Pursue the sport – or
sports – that make you happy. And just remember to cross-train your
body to avoid injury and try to cross-train your mind to avoid burnout.”
What we found fascinating was that each of these experts had personal
experience with playing multiple sports, but clearly at some point
specialized on the sport in which they achieved notoriety. Their
experience supports the research idea of needing to go through each
phase of sport involvement. And each seems to reinforce the element of
fun and enjoyment in the sport as critical to their long term success.
“What’s your policy?”
What is your personal philosophy on specialization for youth athletes?
At what age do you think it is appropriate? And what can parents do to
support youth athletes in the challenges associated with the pressures
of specialization? How do you manage your kids’ summer activities –
when the pressures of sports camps and sports training programs
intensify – with specialization in mind?
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and share your thoughts with us and fellow Responsible Sports parents
and coaches! Not on Facebook? Email us at team@responsiblesports.com.
1 Bloom, B.S. (Ed.) (1985). Developing talent in young
people. NY: Ballantine.
2 Côté, J. (1999). The influence of the family in the
development of talent in sport. The Sport Psychologist, 13, 395-417.
3 Gould, D, & Carson, S. (2004). Myths surrounding the
role of youth sports in developing Olympic champions. Youth Studies
Australia, 23(1), 19-26.
4 Wiersma, L.D., (2000). Risks and benefits of youth sport
specialization: Perspectives and recommendations. Pediatric Exercise
Science, 12, 13-22.
