The Issues Surrounding Sport Specialization in Youth Sports

Abstract

The number of children participating in organized sports is at an all-time high and continuing to rise. With these numbers increasing so are the number of athletes participating in a single-sport and high intensity training. Research shows that athletes, coaches, and parents have many misconceptions about sport specialization. Results indicated that youth athletes are specializing in hopes to compete at the next level. Athletes that fell into a highly specialized category were more likely to obtain injuries, overuse injuries, burnout, and overall experience sport differently than those that were categorized as low specializing athletes.