As a result, Norway has underwhelmed on the international stage in
early specialization sports like gymnastics, which ask that children train in one sport well before adolescence to advance to elite competition.
That is, we might consider women's gymnastics, figure skating, and diving to be
early specialization sports because the best athletes are often very young.
We can debate the psychological costs / benefits of participating in
early specialization sports, but I'd like to side - step that issue for the moment.
Not exact matches
Across
sports and researchers, the consensus seems to be that
early specialization programs increase dropout (Côté et al., 2009; Wall & Côté, 2007), poorer health, and more frequent injuries.
Among
sports characterized as late
specialization, there are two proposed developmental pathways to elite sport development: Early Specialization and Early Diversification (Côté, Lidor, & Ha
specialization, there are two proposed developmental pathways to elite
sport development:
Early Specialization and Early Diversification (Côté, Lidor, & Ha
Specialization and
Early Diversification (Côté, Lidor, & Hackfort, 2009).
A variety of factors are responsible, ranging from
early sport specialization to poor mechanics and overtraining.
A 2013 Aspen Institute research paper puts it this way [3](albeit in the context of
early sports specialization as opposed to the early versus late bloomer dichotomy): «Early critical incidents such as making a specific team could also lead to an increased self - esteem and intrinsic motivation as the athlete continues in the s
early sports specialization as opposed to the
early versus late bloomer dichotomy): «Early critical incidents such as making a specific team could also lead to an increased self - esteem and intrinsic motivation as the athlete continues in the s
early versus late bloomer dichotomy): «
Early critical incidents such as making a specific team could also lead to an increased self - esteem and intrinsic motivation as the athlete continues in the s
Early critical incidents such as making a specific team could also lead to an increased self - esteem and intrinsic motivation as the athlete continues in the
sport.
Encourage them to play different
sports and avoid
early specialization.
One of the principal reasons
early specialization in a single
sport and playing on a highly - competitive travel or select team at a young age is a bad idea is that it can interfere with healthy child development:
The study also recognized, however, that the fact that those who specialize
early may experience a more rapid improvement in performance provides some support for those who argue in favor of
early specialization, at least in the case of
sports, such as figure skating and gymnastics, in which athletic careers are shorter and attaining peak performance at a younger age may be advantageous.
Early specialization and intense participation on select teams, say child psychologists, may interfere with normal identity development, increasing the risk that a child will develop what psychologists call a one - dimensional self - concept in which she sees herself solely as an athlete instead of
sports being just a part of who she is.
The rise of overuse injuries in youth
sports is often a result of
early sport specialization.
«Our study, which is the largest study to date examining the topic of single
sports specialization, provides a foundation for understanding current trends in
specialization in youth
sports,» said researcher, Patrick S. Buckley, MD of the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. «Our results noted that current high school athletes specialized, on average, two years
earlier than current collegiate and professional athletes.
«People and parents who buy into the 10,000 - hour rule can push
early specialization in a
sport, leading to physical or mental burnout before it's clear that a child even has a penchant for that
sport,» Macnamara said.
«Kids playing the same
sport year - round have no off - season, and this type of
early specialization leads to more stresses and more overuse injuries than you normally would see.»
Only 22 percent of professional athletes said they want their own child to specialize in a single
sport during childhood or adolescence, and only 62 percent believe
early sports specialization aids in performance.
Postpone
early specialization as long as possible — and continue to encourage
sports sampling throughout development.