Finding the Balance

We have all heard of the problems caused by sport specialization, many were discussed in our previous post The Hype Behind Sport Specialization  .   However there is a new trend occurring with youth sport, the do everything phenomenon.   This seems to be the counter balance to the specialization phenomenon.  What this is creating is a new problem that is erasing the benefits of being a multi-sport athlete.  Young athletes are participating in multiple sports in one season.  The point of children doing multi sport was to give them a wide variety of skills and mental experiences.  What is happening though is children are being shuttled from sport to sport in one day.  Indoor soccer practice to hockey game or tumbling practice to dance practice.  

Situations like increase the child's level of fatigue, increased chance of injury and burnout.  All typical outcomes for sport specialization as well.   We tend to forget about scheduling time for play, sleep and homework for our young athletes.  During a recent seminar a group of young athletes were shocked when told they should be getting between 8-10 hours of sleep a night.  They pointed out that after practice and homework, they are closer to 6-7 hours.  It is important to note that athletes who get less than 8 hours of sleep per night are 1.7 times more likely to suffer an injury.  

The goal of participating in multiple sports was to broaden the young athletes development and was geared towards year round sport.  Multiple sports should be played over multiple seasons.  This allows for our youth athletes to focus on one sport at a time, focus on school and as well as allowing them to have time to be KIDS.  

So if you are finding it exhausting from running from sport to sport, think about this is effecting the kids.  

References

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CKPT6xQWgAQKLy3.png

The Hype Behind Sport Specialization

We recently did a presentation for Ever Active Schools - Shaping the Future conference 

Here is the presentation 

Year Long Sport and Early Specialization

Early sport specialization and year long sport has become a major problem for our young athletes.  There are many reasons and justifications for this by parents, coaches and administrators as there is a perceived success for those who do specialize early.  Some are unaware of the detriment to their athletes bodies and some just choose to ignore what they see and hear.  Athletes can achieve success in their careers even when starting to specialize as late as age of fifteen.  

There are both physical and psychological negatives to the early specialization of young athletes. Overuse injuries and burnout are the most common, which lead to early retirement.  By the age of thirteen 70% of adolescent and child athletes will have dropped out of their given sport or activity.  By encouraging and registering them in a cross spectrum of sports benefits include an increase of joy, talent and the use of the full body.  

By involving your child in sports that involve the full body, you decrease the likely hood of overuse injuries.  Repetitive strain injuries such as Osgood-Schlatter, Sever's disease, Little League Elbow, tendinosis, and stress fractures are all linked to excessive repetitive motions and repetitive training cycles.  Gymnastics, diving and figure skating are the only sports to show some benefit with early specialization due to their use of periodization.  Graded increases in activity, are the most beneficial for the physical and skill development of athletes.  Rest both during the season and off season, is imperative to keeping young athletes engaged and injury free.  

The long term effects of overuse injuries can be seen in the number of baseball players especially pitchers in both the college and professional levels who are suffering ulnar collateral ligament sprains.  The philosophy of no pain, no gain has long been shown detrimental in both coaching and conditioning realms.  By engaging in multiple sports different parts of the body and brain are engaged, making turning the child into a better overall athlete.  People marvel at college athletes who compete and excel in more than one sport.  What we should be doing is using them as an example of how non-specialization actually leads to success.

By allowing our young athletes to engage in more than one sport and delaying specialization we will create not only better athletes but better adults as well.  By reducing overuse injuries and burnout at the younger ages, athletes will continue on being active throughout their adult lives.  That is true success over medals and accolades.

Follow us on Twitter @EliteInjuryMgmt and check out our website at www.eliteinjury.com

Resources used for this post

 Overuse injuries and burnout in youth sports: a position statement from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, DiFiori et al; Br J Sports Med 2014;48:287-288

Any Given Monday: Sports Injuries and How to Prevent Them for Athletes, Parents, and Coaches - Based on My Life in Sports Medicine, Dr. James Andrews 

http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/4422/1/sport_specialization_in_youth.pdf

Balancing the Scales: Sport, School and Life

Being a student athlete is hard work.  The amount of time and dedication it takes to compete at any level can at times leave little room for anything else.  Finding time to schedule in school work, friends and family soon leaves many athletes overwhelmed and unsure of how to deal with all that is on their plate.  The majority of young athletes that excel in their sporting venue also excel in school because of their internal drive to succeed.  It is also what makes them say yes to student council, yearbook and many other school activities.   Creating an environment for the athletes to succeed is job held by many and each of them have specific roles.

As the parent you are the master conductor and scheduler.  You shuttle the kids from school to practices and games and back home again, watching them do homework in the back seat or in the stands while waiting for their siblings to be done.  You see them texting their friends or talking to them after school.  Part of your job as master scheduler is to put time in each day for your children to complete their school work.  Try to give them uninterrupted time and space to complete their homework for the day.  When planning for weekends away, have the children speak to their teachers in advance to get their assignments and reading for that period.  Schedule time each week for them to have friend time, family time and down time. It is very easy for everyone to get caught up in the rat race of classes and sport, even young athletes need time to spend with their friends.  It may be they end up playing street hockey, a pick up game of basketball or doing cartwheels in the basement but it needs to unstructured socialization time with their friends.  Family is important, as you will be who they fall back on when things get tough in life.  Spend at least one night a week together as a family to reconnect, turn off the phones and find out how everyone's week has been.  Each person needs some me time, so let them have it.  This time will be useful as your athletes will discover how they are feeling both physically and mentally when the world slows down around them.

Coaches need to remember that sport is not their athletes full time occupation, school is.  Schedule enough time for your athletes to rest, do school work and have fun.  Athletes who are both mentally and physically fatigued will not be able to focus on the skills expected of them.  You should encourage your athletes to excel at school, as the problem solving and critical thinking skills they gain there will help improve their on field performance.

As an athlete you may feel the pressure to say yes to every request you get.  Learn to say NO and to find a way to schedule time for yourself.  Using a day timer or calendar to organize and write down when assignments, tests and games are will allow you to manage your time wisely.  You don't want to have to worry about doing the ten page essay after family supper on Sunday night.  Talk to your friends, find time to hang out with them away from school or gym.  Your friends and family will help you out when you start feeling like everything is too much, keep them close so they are their for you when it happens.

Usually as a teacher you are probably doubling as teacher during the day and coach at night.  Be understanding of your student athletes when they let you know they will be away, let them know what work they will miss so they don't fall behind. Students who exercise typically do better in class, help them excel at both school and sport.

Everyone involved in student athletes lives needs to pay attention to how much pressure they are putting them under to complete everything asked up them.  We all need to be realistic in our expectations of them and to pay attention to the signs of burn out.  If they are getting burnt out, be there for them and help them adjust as need to so they can live that balanced lifestyle where they gain the full benefits of school, sport, family and friends.

Symptoms of Burn Out
low motivation, decreased energy, concentration problems, loss of desire to play, lack of caring, sleep disturbances, physical and mental exhaustion, lowered self-esteem, negative affect, mood changes, substance abuse, change in values and beliefs, increased anxiety, highs and lows.