The end of the season, the teams are harder to beat and the training is even harder. I’ve worked for the starting spot, as well as the pleasure of finishing most games. Nothing could go wrong- when I find myself laying on a cold table getting an MRI. I have a stress fracture.

The day and age of competitive sports, athletic scholarships, and extremely young athletes brings up different opinions about what age athletes should specialize and narrow the many sports available down to one.
Parents and children alike have hopes and dreams of gifted participants receiving an athletic scholarship to a prestigious school. Kids can join a sport as toddlers starting with programs like Mommy and Me classes at your local gym. Tee-ball and Tiny Tot leagues have sprung up across the nation. Instead of trying out every sport the city has to offer, many children are choosing one and sticking with it- all the way to college. This is bringing up questions about the negative impacts of specializing in sports.

While specializing in a sport can increase the athlete’s ability, it also causes psychological stress and overuse injury. More and more young pitchers are requiring Tommy John surgery, an operation to repair the damaged ligaments in the elbow. These injuries are the result of constant practice and physical exertion. Since 2000, there has been a fivefold increase in the number of serious shoulder and elbow injuries among youth baseball and softball players. Year-round same-sport training gives the body no chance to recover and heal from the overuse during the season. Many experts recommend two to three-month hiatus from a sport to recover from the use of the same muscles repeatedly. They also encourage total strength and full body conditioning instead of just sport-specific training.

A clinical report by the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded there is evidence that “suggests that delaying sport specialization for the majority of sports until after puberty (late adolescence- around 15 or 16 years of age) will minimize the risks and lead to a higher likelihood of athletic success”. in reference to the risks of overuse injury. By the time some athletes have completed puberty, they are often competing in a club sport and have begun to make a name for themselves. Many athletes fear that if they don’t go competitive and specialize, they will get beat out for the starting spot.

A big cause of this problem is awareness. How many people know about overuse injuries? How many athletes know how long of a break they should have between seasons? With the number of injured athletes, not enough. The more educated people are, the better and healthier they will be. Doctors and physical therapists are encouraging athletes to contact them about any pain or possible injury before it gets worse. If lines of communication are opened, injuries can be prevented before they occur. Are months of therapy, unable to play, better than taking some time off to ensure a playing future? That is for all year-round athletes to decide.