The Best Kept Secret In Youth Sports

I get asked all the time “what should my kid be doing to train for their sport?”.  My response consistently has been “play multiple sports”.  This does not mean have your child in three different sports at one time.  The athlete needs time physically and psychologically to rest and recover.  However, I believe it is crucial for athletic development, physical health, and psychologically for kids to be multisport athletes.

From purely a physical standpoint, playing a variety of sports introduces an athlete to a variety of different movement patterns and development of different muscle groups.  They learn to coordinate their bodies and have more diverse movements available to them than an athlete who only plays one sport. 

Playing multiple sports can also serve as a form of injury prevention.  Not only does the athlete become more self-aware with improved proprioceptive and kinesthetic abilities, but they have decreased exposure to repeated stresses.  As a physical therapist, I see countless youth athletes in the clinic with “overuse” injuries.  Being a multisport athlete can help prevent this.

If you look at the data and research specifically related to baseball, the younger an athlete begins pitching, their chances of playing, and more specifically pitching, at the next level decreases.  This means a kid who starts pitching in little league has less chance of pitching in high school and so on.  I have personally worked with multiple professional ball players who did not start pitching until they were professionals.  How did they do this? Because they were GREAT athletes who were well rounded in their athletic background.

Very successful collegiate coaches, such as Urban Meyer, recruit multi-sport athletes.  Being a well-rounded athlete demonstrates the recruit’s potential to further develop their skills and abilities.  Single sport athletes may be maxed out at by the time they get to college. 

So if this is widely known, why is there such a push for kids to specialize in their sport?  Because youth sports have become an industry of their own.  The days of parents volunteering to coach are quickly fading.  Take soccer clubs for instance.  Some of these coaches MAKE A LIVING OFF KIDS PLAYING SOCCER.  I’ve heard it and experienced it “…If your kid plays another sport, their soccer skills will fall behind the rest of the team…”  Of course they don’t want kids to play other sports throughout the year, they would lose months of revenue!!  You are being LIED to! 

When it comes to “training” and “sports performance” I believe playing multiple sports, even playing games outside with their friends, is superior to “training” for their development.  (Understand I am saying this and I make money off of working with athletes.) 

Being a multi-sport athlete is also important for an athlete’s psyche and emotional development.  Many athletes, especially single sport athletes, build their identity on “their sport”.  This creates enormous amounts of pressure and stress to maintain this identity and can lead to performance anxiety.   Ultimately, this can cause a decrease in performance or sport (risk of failure) avoidance all together.  Additionally, the athlete’s social network is based only in one area.  This makes it extremely difficult for an athlete if they become injured.  Research shows they experience disconnect and isolation from their “community” of people. 

The absolute best thing athletes can do is play another sport they enjoy, but are not great at.  This is a great way to develop character while simultaneously refine and improve athletic ability.  Playing a sport they are not “gifted” in challenges athletes to work hard, learn how to fail, be coachable/accept constructive criticism, persevere, and interact within another social network.  Most importantly, it encourages development of self-identity and confidence in who they are, not what they do.  This self-confidence and self-worth is CRUCIAL for not just athletic success, but for life.