The Potential Dangers of Youth Sport Specialization Scott Allenby June 3rd, 2008

1. The Potential Dangers of Youth Sport Specialization • Scott Allenby • June 3rd, 2008

2. Potential Benefits of Youth Sports • Have fun and enjoy sport. • Learn new skills and improve existing skills. • Become physically fit. • Enjoy challenge and excitement of sports participation. • Enjoy social aspects of team and be with friends. • Learning life skills such as cooperation, work ethic, determination, responsibility, and respect. • Improve self-efficacy.

3. Youth sports 40 years ago? • Free from adult interaction - the sandlot. • Kids played for the sake of playing - learning the same lessons they learn today, but from each other rather than from adults. • Very few organized youth sports programs.

4. Youth Sports Today? • Most towns have organized leagues for children as young as 5 years old. • Both school-sponsored and non-school youth sports programs have drastically increased their offerings. • Increased involvement of parents as coaches and spectators has led to increased pressure to win and succeed.

5. Is there anything wrong with this clip? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XcwncDusKc

6. Good or Bad? • Good: Involvement of parents and coaches in young people’s lives through the intentional teaching of positive values, social interactions, and physical skills. • Bad: Over-emphasis on winning, competition and specialization can diminish the potential benefits youth sports have to offer and even lead to “burnout” in athletes.

7. Defining Burnout • A syndrome of physical/emotional exhaustion, sport devaluation, and reduced athletic accomplishment. • A multi-dimensional problem that can have many causes including increased stress, loss of investment, and an over-controlling social structure.

8. Models of Burnout • Silva’s Training Stress Model • Smith’s Cognitive-Affective Model of Stress • Investment Model • Empowerment Model

9. Physiological Symptoms of Burnout • Increased resting and exercise heart rate • Increased resting systolic blood pressure • Increased muscle soreness • Increased presence of biochemical indicators of stress in the blood • Increased sleep loss • Increased cold and respiratory issues • Decreased body weight • Decreased maximal aerobic power • Decreased libido and appetite

10. Psychological Symptoms of Burnout • Increased mood disturbances • Increased perception of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion • Decreased self-esteem • Negative change in the quality of personal interaction with others (cynicism, lack of feeling, impersonal relating) • Negative cumulative reaction to chronic everyday stress as opposed to acute doses of stress

11. Can premature specialization lead to burnout in youth sports? • American Association of Pediatrics:“Children involved in sports should be encouraged to participate in a variety of different activities and develop a wide range of skills” (p. 154). “Those who participate in a variety of sports and specialize only after reaching the age of puberty tend to be more consistent performers, have fewer injuries, and adhere to sports play longer than those who specialize early” (p. 156).* • Journal of American Chiropractic Association:“Young children who have played in structured sport programs tend to have higher levels of pre-competitive anxiety that predisposes them to emotional trauma and injuries. Also, higher levels of pre-competitive anxiety have been linked to low levels of enjoyment. Sport psychologists have determined that a lack of fun and enjoyment is the No. 1 reason children leave organized sport.”* *American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness.(2000). Intensive training and sports specialization in young athletes. Pediatrics, 106 (1), 154-157. Retrieved June 1, 2008 from SPORTDiscus database. *Sport Specialization in Youth: A Literature Review. Journal of the American Chiropractic Association, Apr 2004 by Hecimovich, Mark. Retrieved June 1, 2008 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3841/is_200404/ai_n9389930/pg_6.

12. Even if Burnout Doesn’t Occur... • The perceived benefits of youth sports are not being realized in many situations: • Perceptions of competence and self-esteem (Horn and Harris, 2002; Csikszentmihalyi, Rathunde, and Whalen’s, 1997) • Socialization (Hill, G. M., 1991 February) • Readiness for competition (Cote’ et al, 2002, 2003, 2007)

13. What was your youth sports experience like? • Did you specialize in a sport? • At what age did you specialize? • Would you want your children to specialize?