Parents' Understanding of the Impact on Sport Specialization

Abstract

The purpose of this synthesis project was to review the literature on parents’ understanding of the impact on sport specialization. An extensive literature review was completed in order to properly examine all the information available regarding the parent’s role when it comes to their child’s participation in sport and whether or not they are specializing in a specific sport. This review was done so by examining 16 peer reviewed articles on multiple web data bases. The research concluded that there should be a high emphasis on the child’s motor development at an early age (Goodway and Robinson, 2015). An athlete’s body should be allowed to grow naturally throughout their sport participation. It was also concluded as the child competes in sport, there should be a focus on having fun. Extended pressure from parents causes amotivation in their child (Sanchez-Miguel, Leo, Sanchez-Oliva, Amado, & Garcia-Calvo, 2013). This result could cause a drop in participation levels among youth athletes. It is critical to inform parents on the potential risk factors of early sport specialization. Further research must be conducted on this topic to help develop more information and data to aid with parent understanding.