Sports Specialization: The Mental and Physical Effects of Early Specialization

 

Sports Specialization: The Mental and Physical Effects of Early Specialization

Are you an athlete or parent/coach wondering if specialization is the right move for you or your athlete? Read on to discover more information about sports specialization, particularly early specialization!

 Introduction:

Sports specialization is becoming more common as youth sports become more competitive at younger ages. Most studies report similar themes regarding specialization, including the average age of specialization, athlete perception of specialization, and psychosocial effects, including burnout and decreased motivation.

    Some important terms, defined: 

1. Sport Specialization: year-round training in a single sport, at the expense of participation in other sports
2. Early Specialization: single sport participation before age 12
3. Sport Sampling: the avoidance of specialization; participation in multiple sports throughout the year
4. Burnout: a combination of mental and physical exhaustion, including reduced feelings of success and interest in sports

The findings, according to research:

Early specialization is not necessary for collegiate participation or success: 

1. NCAA Division I and professional athletes typically specialize between 14 and 15 years old (not considered early specialization)
2. Elite athletes are more likely to specialize later than non-elite athletes
3. Elite athletes are unlikely to allow their own children to specialize early

Year-round sport participation is more important and indicative of future success than early specialization:

1. Athletes report more benefits from year-round participation in their sport than from single sport specialization achieved by excluding other sports
2. Skills transfer between sports, which improves athletic performance in multiple sports

Children who specialize in one sport are more likely to experience negative psychosocial effects:

1. Athletes participating in one sport report higher stress than athletes in multiple sports
2. Many athletes quit due to burnout (as an effect of specialization)
3. High training volumes associated with specialization can lead to social isolation and the development of a ”unidimensional identity”

 

Practical Applications:

For Athletes:

1.   Participate in as many different sports as you can when you are young!

2.   Avoid specializing in one sport until late in high school. You will develop your overall athleticism and get even better in your favorite sport by playing other sports!

3.   Don’t be afraid to reach out for help if you feel burnt out or are experiencing other mental health symptoms! Your parents and coaches are here to help you!

 

For Parents/Coaches:

1.  Encourage your athletes to participate in multiple sports throughout the year. This develops different muscle groups and helps decrease overuse injuries, as well as increases the diversity of psychosocial experiences necessary for their positive development.

2.  Encourage athletes to reach out for help if they need it! Make sure you are kind and understanding of their situation!

3.  Understand training volume recommendations for peak mental wellbeing (14 hours per week) to help your athletes remain mentally healthy.

4.  Help your athletes determine if specialization is right for them.

 In Summary:

Research supports that early sports specialization is unnecessary for participation/success in collegiate/professional athletics. In fact, most collegiate and professional athletes do not specialize early, allowing them to develop a variety of transferrable skills and their overall athleticism. Sport sampling also provides an excellent psychosocial background for future competition and overall mental wellbeing, due to the diversity of social situations and environments available. Most studies recommend that athletes avoid early specialization in favor of later specialization or sports sampling.

 Additional Resources:

1. Are you or someone you know at risk for burnout? Take this quiz to find out: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/burnout-test 
2. Review some more pros and cons of specialization here: https://www.nsr-inc.com/scouting-news/multi-sport-athletes-vs-single-sport-athletes/

About the Author:

 

 

Jenn Rennich is a senior at Westfield State majoring in Movement Science with a concentration in Sports Medicine, in addition to a minor in Psychology. Jenn is a four-year member of both the women’s soccer and basketball teams here at WSU, and is planning to attend graduate school for Physical Therapy following graduation to continue her involvement in athletics and movement. Jenn can be contacted at j.l.rennich@gmail.com.

 

References:

Brenner, J. S., LaBotz, M., Sugimoto, D., & Stracciolini, A. (2019). The psychosocial implications of sport specialization in              pediatric athletes. Journal of athletic training, 54(10), 1021-1029.

Buckley, P. S., Bishop, M., Kane, P., Ciccotti, M. C., Selverian, S., Exume, D., & Ciccotti, M. G. (2017). Early single-sport specialization: a survey of 3090 high school, collegiate, and professional athletes. Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 5(7), 2325967117703944.

Pantuosco-Hensch, L. (2010). Perceptions of collegiate student-athletes about their youth sport specialization or diversification process. Journal of Coaching Education, 3(3), 83-116.

Post, E. G., Thein-Nissenbaum, J. M., Stiffler, M. R., Brooks, M. A., Bell, D. R., Sanfilippo, J. L., & McGuine, T. A. (2017). High school sport specialization patterns of current Division I athletes. Sports Health, 9(2), 148-153.

Rugg, C. M., Coughlan, M. J., Li, J. N., Hame, S. L., & Feeley, B. T. (2021). Early sport specialization among former National Collegiate Athletic Association Athletes: trends, scholarship attainment, injury, and attrition. The American journal of sports medicine, 49(4), 1049-1058.

Waldron, S., DeFreese, J. D., Pietrosimone, B., Register-Mihalik, J., & Barczak, N. (2019). Exploring early sport specialization: Associations with psychosocial outcomes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 14(2), 182-202.