You may have seen the 2018 Buick Enclave commercial with a husband and wife packing their car full of various athletic gear. A father and his son walk up and they begin to have a conversation. The couple mentions how their son is playing practically every sport known to man. While this ad is attempting to appeal to the modern family who’s always on the go, it makes one major mistake. Most kids aren’t playing lacrosse, soccer, basketball, hockey, taekwondo, and football. There’s even another version of the same commercial where they discuss a curling stone!

Sure, the commercial accomplished what it was trying to; prove to people that the new Enclave has ample trunk space. But the notion that kids nowadays are playing multiple sports throughout the year is becoming increasingly more wrong. Over the past decade or so, youth sports have continued to shift from multiple sport child athletes playing in local leagues to athletes adopting a specialization approach. This means that kids are playing only one sport year round and sometimes parents end up shelling out thousands upon thousands of dollars for their child to be part of exclusive teams that travel all over the country for tournaments.

The main reason behind this massive swing towards specialization and national tournaments is the increased importance on athletic scholarships. When a kid demonstrates an affinity for a specific sport, coaches and sometimes the child’s parents begin to convince that kid to focus solely on whatever sport they have the most talent in. If Johnny is an outstanding soccer player, than he’s going to continue to play all year. He won’t have time to try any other sports, because he will be focusing all of his spare time and energy into soccer.

This is specialization. The narrow focus on a single sport has become so pervasive in youth sports that it has become the pinnacle of it. The elite athletes are concentrating on one sport, devoting countless hours, and traveling all over to compete against other elite athletes. Gone are the days of local rec leagues. Multiple sport athletes are dwindling. And this is a serious issue.

Two positives of specialization

The problems of specialization outweigh the benefits, but there are a couple of helpful reasons why specialization can be useful. Firstly, specialization can very easily lead to improvement. There is no debate there. Practicing the same skills for an extended period of time typically yield positive results.

Sports like women’s gymnastics and figure skating almost require kids to specialize at an early age if they hope be in the upper echelon. Athletes in these sports usually reach peak performance at adolescence. A late start means that the athlete has to play catch up. Most sports however, don’t have as small a window for when an athlete is in peak physical condition.

Another check in the pro column for specialization is the possibility of early success. If a kid begins to specialize in a sport more seriously than his/her peers, that kid will most likely achieve earlier on. That success can unlock possibilities to gain access to better coaching, teams, and equipment. But as the old saying goes, “there’s always someone better than you.” The early specialized athlete may rise through the ranks, but at some point, there will be a plateau.

Specialization can lead to stifled physical development

Different sports require the use of different muscle groups. Since children are in a constant state of physical growth, participating in multiple sports can aid in the development of various muscle groups. Sticking to a single sport will still keep an athlete in shape, but the diversity of muscle groups being worked will suffer. This negligence of muscle groups won’t be very detrimental, but it’s something to be aware of.

According to a study conducted by the Journal of Sports Science, boys ages six to twelve developed better fitness and motor skills when playing multiple sports over ones that specialized in one. Participating in more than one sport throughout the year allows kids to encounter other kinds of game situations and use other muscle groups more often. When a child is always playing the same sport, those same muscles are getting constant use and the variety of game situations becomes more consistent.

Multiple sports share muscle groups. A soccer player and a basketball player both require good footwork, but the level of exertion is very different. When thinking about using arms, soccer players may use them to push off an opposing player, just like a basketball player, but the amount of use a basketball player’s arms get compared to a soccer player’s during a game is far from similar.

Too much of a good thing

It’s common sense that if you put in time and spend hours practicing something, you’ll get better at it. Boiled down, that’s the concept of specialization. Remove the distraction of playing other sports, focus exclusively on the one that you’re best at, and the results will follow. But sometimes, too much practice can lead to burning out. Children are extremely passionate about their interests. But they also can lose interest quickly, seemingly overnight. Maybe you’ve seen a variation of the tee shirt motto, “Eat. Sleep. Lacrosse.” Substitute lacrosse with any sport. Yes, it’s just a shirt to show how committed the players are to the team, but that thought process gets tiring. Unless kids are really passionate about playing their sport, frequent practice and competition can cause a disinterest. The sport becomes less fun and because of that, the player becomes less motivated.

Likelihood of injuries

As I previously mentioned, playing a single sport during the year puts stress on the muscle groups being used. Youth sport seasons used to last around four months. Now, many sports have tournaments all year long. Youth athletes that participate in year round competition never get the chance to rest their bodies. The consistent strain being put on the body is a problem for even professional athletes. These are people who have devoted their lives to a sport. They’re physically grown and in phenomenal shape. Young athletes on the other hand are still growing. Their bodies are more prone to injury. Add in the fact that many youth athletes are now competing year round, performing the same actions frequently, and the risk of injury goes up.

Multi-sport supporters

There is a large group of experts in the sport and medical communities, such as rehab professionals, surgeons, and strength and conditioning coaches, that are supporters of multiple sport youth athletes. Many professional coaches and athletes feel the same way. Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens is a firm believer of the benefits of playing multiple sports. Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry has also done an interview on the subject of specialization versus multiple sports.