As practice is winding down, Coach Hastings motions you over for a private conversation about your child, who shows enough raw athletic ability to excel. Coach tells you your child has great potential but should specialize as soon as possible, eschewing other sports and training year-round, especially if you hope for a college scholarship for your child. Coach Hastings is a technically skilled coach who has had a number of athletes earn college scholarships.
How do you respond?
What considerations inform your decision?
How, if at all, do you discuss this with your child?
Would your response vary depending on the age of your child?
Is there a certain age at which specialization makes the most sense?
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Response by PCA Founder Jim Thompson
The comments on the PCA website about The Specialist are filled with insights, many based on personal experience with specialization. I encourage everyone reading this to check them out because they are well worth it. Thank you to all who took the time to share your thoughts with us all.
As I speak to groups of parents around the U.S., I am more often asked about the pressure they feel to encourage their child to specialize in one sport than any other issue. Often the question is asked in a way that suggests that the parents feel they have no choice but to acquiesce to the pressure, or their child will fall behind.
Here are some thoughts about dealing with the decision to specialize (or not):
1) It’s up to you. There is no one else who can advocate as well as you for what’s best for the child. It is up to parents to resist the pressure to specialize and step up to the responsibility of doing the right thing for their child. If we can’t resist pressure on behalf of our kids, when can we?
2) And your child. Depending on the age of your child, you will want to involve him in this decision. As writers below have noted, a young child may not be in a position to decide this, but even for a younger child, involving her in the discussion has to be a learning experience for her. She can see how you evaluate and discuss the coach’s statement and learn from you a little bit more about how to make good decisions. If the child is older, you absolutely will want to bring him into the conversation, even to the point of allowing him to make the decision after considering all the different aspects, pluses and minuses, etc.
3) Coach Conflict of Interest. Relying on the advice of a coach, no matter how successful or skilled he or she may be is inadequate. Coaches may have a conflict of interest that can skew their perceptions. A coach may want your child to specialize in his/her sport so much that it affects his/her judgment about what’s best for your child.
4) Multiple sports help. If your only goal is to shape your child into a great athlete (which is not a good idea!), you would have your child experience multiple sports. There are many examples of professional athletes who say their success in their ultimately-chosen sport was enhanced by their playing other sports until a pretty advanced age. General sports skills such as balance and game sense can be enhanced for an athlete’s ultimate sport by experience with other sports.
Another reason for exposing your child to multiple sports is because you don’t know which sport will catch his fancy to the point where he wants to stay with it for a lifetime.
5) The age of 12. Dan Gould of Michigan State’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports says the problem isn’t specialization, but PREMATURE specialization. Most athletes who attain an elite level specialize at some point, but it is much later than many coaches and parents believe. The research indicates that for most sports, specialization before the age of 12 is not a good idea.
6) Dangers of specialization. While year-round focus on a single sport may speed up the acquisition of skills, there are dangers that can outweigh that advantage. Chief among these are burnout and repetitive stress injuries. Enjoyment makes it more likely that an athlete will be able to maintain the long-term commitment to a sport (something that is harder than it may seem) that is needed to reach elite status. And there are few activities that don’t get old when you do them all the time. Year-round specialization makes burnout more likely.
Repetitive stress injuries also increase with specialization, which then can undercut motivation. It’s hard to be as excited about a sport when it hurts to play the sport.
7) Child-Driven v. Adult-Driven. I would be much more open to specialization if the child is the one driving the decision. If a child says she wants to focus on a single sport year round, she is less likely to burn out, for example, than if she feels she has to do it to ensure a place on a team. Commitments freely entered into are more likely to be enjoyed than commitments one feels forced into making.
8) Your child’s chances. Tom Farrey in his new book Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children cites the “jockocracy” of professional sports. So many professional athletes are the offspring of former professional athletes. The chances of your child becoming a professional athlete in the absence of physical gifts are not good. Recognize this and don’t put so many eggs in the pro career or college scholarship basket.
9) The good news. Helping your child have fun and learn life lessons from her sports experience is a good strategy whether she makes the pros or not. If an athlete loves playing his sport and has the talent to be a professional athlete, he will find his love of the sport a big asset. If your child doesn’t ultimately have the ability to go pro, at least she will not be deprived of the chance for a lifelong love of sports and physical activity. Focusing your emphasis on your child having a good time with sports and taking away life lessons will benefit him in any event.
-- Jim Thompson, PCA Founder
Posted by David Jacobson at 05/29/2008 05:14:55 PM |
The age of the athlete is important as boys do not mature until mid to late teens and girls early to mid teens. Sport specialization is generally not a good idea as participation in a variety of sports is desirable to prevent burnout and overuse syndromes experienced by athletes who participate in only one sport.
As for considerations: What are the child's motivations for playing the sport and what are the parent's motivation? Sports build self esteem, confidence and hopfully teach many important life lessons. The numbers of athletes that actually obtain a scholarship are quite small. The following link discusses the reality of college scholarships: http://www.minnesotahockey.org/coaches/The%20Truth%20about%20Scholarships.pdf
Therefore we need to seriously question the motives of the coach. Having coached a large number of players who moved on to Division 1 teams with scholarships, the majority were/are multisport athletes. The top athletes in most any sport are good all-around athletes and there is not a need to specialize until they are are ready to move on to college. They can certainly train and prepare in the off season but should not entirely quite other sports.
Discussing this with the child depends on the age of the child and the values that the parent is trying to teach. A parent with goood perspective and a view of what is really important and valuable from sports will be having conversations with the child on a regular basis and this particular discussion will be easy.
Posted by: Hal Tearse ( Email: ) at 5/29/2008 7:30 PM
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The problem is the age at which that conversation occurs nowadays. The coach and the parent see an energetic, intelligent, good natured, yet aggressive kid and they think, wow, this kid is great. And the kid is only 6 years old! They think, yeah, Tiger Woods!
What is unfortunate about this scenario is that they are considering this child a commodity to manage like pork, beans, copper, or coffee. First of all they've really just got to be happy the kid is healthy. Then, they need to take a breath and consider the kid's chances for what they may consider the "big time" are slim to none.
The kid has a far better shot at becoming chief surgeon at Sloan-Kettering and making enough money to be more happy than 90% of America than making "it" to ANY major sports leagues. Secondly, parents are into "choices". How about giving some choices to the kids...first.
Most kids truly don't become focused on anything until about the 6th or 7th grade. Or in other words their age might be 11,12, or 13 years old. They might pander to Uncle Joe's Chargers, Aunt Sally's Padres, or Tio Jose's Chivas, but his/her heart is recalling the exploits of Bjorn Borg or the latest women's beach volleyball champion. In other words children must follow THEIR dreams. Parents and coaches living vicariously through the children they care for may, in fact, be stifling the very creativity they are trying to promote.
Here are some words that should begin to be part of the mental vocabulary of many coaches and parents: nurture, guide, encourage, participate, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen to the children. Believe it or not they will tell you, very willingly, what is in their hearts. Support that. It's that easy!
Posted by: Rounder Coach ( Email: ) at 5/29/2008 9:49 PM
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Unfortunately we see more and more of this every year. Kids change over time, their interests change and their bodies change afer puberty.
When it comes to football, all the great High School coaches just want kids that have an appreciation and love for the game along with some base fundamentals. All the good High School coaches can take it from there, no youngster will have any great advantage over others by specializing in football at an early age.
We even have parents pressing us coaches these days. I'm often asked what the kids should be doing over the summer to prepare themselves for football in August. My response is "nothing", let kids be kids, bike, camp, fish, whatever as long as it is something outdoors.
Specialization often also leads to burnout. How many kids do you know that just stopped playing a sport because they are just burned out on it?
Let kids be kids and over time they will figure out what sport they have the most interest in and how far they want to take it.
Posted by: Dave Cisar ( Email: | Visit ) at 5/30/2008 4:54 AM
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As a bowling coach I have approached parents and athletes on a number of occasions. When I discuss this I sit parents and athletes down together first.
I explain to the athlete that she/he has talent and has a chance to be very good at this sport, but ONLY if the athlete wants to. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the sport, having fun, and not worrying about being very competitive or moving to a higher level.
My goal in doing this is threefold: First, to instill self-confidence in the athlete knowing they have the potential to do something well. Second, it's to warn the parents that IF their child decides to get serious, there is going to be a cost in equipment and tournament fees that is not there now. Finally, to make sure the athlete understands that he/she has the ability but will ONLY receive the coaching that will push them to a higher level if THEY chose to want it. At the end of the conversation I do my best to make the athlete understand I will value this athlete as a person no matter what they decide.
I always do my best to talk to the athlete, except about the money issue, so they know they are the focus of the conversation.
I don't ever remember having this conversation with any athlete before the age of 12 or 13, and at that age it's only if I see a love and passion for the sport that is exceptionally high. I encourage them to bowl in HS competition but am very careful about doing this at a younger age.
If a coach does that to my child, which I believe is a possibility in a sport I do not coach (down the line I hope, she is only 8) and I will be looking for her first, to WANT to do it, and second, to find the right kind of coach if she chooses. It will be her choice to commit to each season.
I personally think anytime before the teen years is WAY too early to have a kid specialize.
I make sure my two younger daughters, as well as my older son and daughter, get a chance to see/participate in any and every sport they want so they know the choices (as well as making sure my young girls get to see other females who are athletes).
My thoughts.
Dug Barker
Posted by: Dug Barker ( Email: ) at 5/30/2008 5:32 AM
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A few years ago I would have said that premature specialization is bad; now that I've seen both sides of this tradeoff I have a different opinion. It's about choice - and some kids clearly thrive with early specialization. They just love what they do - think soccer, basketball and baseball.
Early attempts at year round swimming usually end after a year or so, but who is to say that the experience so gained was "bad"? As long as kids can choose, and then re-evaluate their decisions later I don't see this as bad. Forcing them to do different sports may be the lesser of two evils but it's still forcing them.
That said, I am a strong believer in the benefits of cross-training, for both the body and the mind. But it's just not for everyone. Instead what I see are kids who truly love what they are doing and they want to keep doing it. For every kid I see with over-use injuries and other specialization caused problems, I see another kid who is completely happy and thriving.
While "happiness" should be a major determinant here a little science could help too. For example, which body types and mental makeups lead to the kids who thrive under specialization, and which types predict failure - either of enjoyment or injury.
I loved changing sports in high school, but needed even more cross-training as I did too many "leg" sports (football, basketball and track) without chance for recovery.
Can't emphasize enough that we're not ready for formulaic answers here, and PCA should avoid such at all costs. Instead we should learn from the ongoing experiment around us, and - part of the experiment is letting the kids start to learn to choose.
Posted by: Mark Samuel Tuttle ( Email: ) at 5/30/2008 6:22 AM
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David has done an admirable job of covering this topic. A few reinforcing comments:
1. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend specialization until at least age 12. They cite various problems with overuse injuries, and other factors (see http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/
content/full/pediatrics;106/1/154).
2. Everyone claims to be thinking of the kids first, but this is rarely true. Even parents can fall into this trap; some may not even realize it! My approach has been to listen more closely to opinions from people who do not have a vested interest in the outcome.
The coach who wants more of an athlete's time is going to get more money for year-round training, a better team (maybe), a better record, and (again maybe) another scholarship player. These are all great things for the coach's resume. He stands to benefit in a number of ways.
The American Acedemy of Pediatrics has nothing to gain in taking their stand. In fact, they would have fewer visits due to injuries if their advice was followed.
So, who should you listen to?
Posted by: Merlin Bicking ( Email: | Visit ) at 5/30/2008 7:51 AM
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Specializing should be left entirely to the child, and should NOT be encouraged. To the contrary, there are significant downsides.
Most importantly, overcoaching that accompanies such specialization stultifies what makes most children stand out in the first place--their ability to learn outside the box on their own.
Top performers will always have athletic talents, speed, agility, hand eye coordination that allows them to stand out. How they acquired those qualities has to do very much with their ability to figure things out on their own.
Specialized coaches with their over drilling and over strategizing deprive players of the opportunities they need to continue to develop their abilities to learn and discover. Those abilities are what allow older players to continue to excel.
If you want your child to continue to function as a brilliant athlete, then do not put him or her in the hands of someone who will be telling them what to do and how in every aspect of the things they love.
There is a reason that International players are dominating the NBA stellar teams, i.e. the Lakers, Suns, San Antonio, and, in my opinion, it has everything to do with their superior ability to learn. Coming from cultures in which they were not immersed in AAU basketball from an early age but instead were exposed to the much more diverse passing game of futball, they are simply put, better learners.
Burnout is a symptom of being overcoached and thus having the creative learning process dampened to death by specialized coaches.
Posted by: Richard Cohen ( Email: ) at 5/30/2008 10:33 AM
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Young players today certainly appear to be more skilled than players of 15 years ago. That said, ask any doctor; serious injuries are up as well in kids who play one sport throughout most of the year.
If I asked my 13 yr old, he would skate year round; so asking kids is not always the best way. Parents need to sometimes control the enthusiasm of their kids for that one sport they may love. By doing so the kids will be better for it. Their muscles will be cross trained and the kids will learn a lot more athletically by playing many sports at a young age. If they really have the passion for that one sport they will keep with it at the older ages.
Posted by: Coach FWC ( Email: ) at 5/30/2008 12:07 PM
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As is the case in many coaching and athletic scenarios “it depends” is the phrase that qualifies the answers to many of these questions……
How do I respond depends upon my daughter’s interest and her age and stage of development. If her dream is to commit to a sport, get a college scholarship, and this passion drives her thoughts and actions everyday, then we might consider Coach Hastings’ suggestion. At the same time, I would encourage her to have some breadth and not just depth in her activities, so that she did not risk early burnout.
However, if she shows interest in several different sports / activities I would encourage her to stay involved in these activities as long as possible…knowing that being exposed to a variety of sports experiences leads to more varied growth and development…If she were a junior high school-aged athlete or younger, I would discourage her from specializing at that stage of her life…
…but if it were her dream and she was willing to accept the consequences of giving up other activities to focus only on one …I would remind myself that it is her sporting experience, and I would try to talk to her about the advantages, disadvantages and consequences of giving up all other activities to pursue only one activity…even though I, myself, would prefer that she resist the temptation to specialize…
…and I would seek out the opinions of other knowledgeable coaches in addition to the opinion that Coach Hastings provided…like getting a second opinion from a physician on a medical issue
I believe that most athletes should wait to consider specializing until about their sophomore year in high school…but, as usual “it depends” upon the athlete’s interests, stage of growth and development!!
Posted by: Mike ( Email: ) at 5/31/2008 5:38 AM
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I agree wholeheartedly with coach FWC.'s comments. I have a 10 year old son,who is truly an amazing baseball player(and...baseball is where his greatest interest...at this time lies). However...he is also very highly skilled at both soccer & basketball.
He also enjoys playing those sports (quite a lot) as well. Both soccer & basketball are two sports that (I believe) are great at helping to further develop his: agility, strength, speed, and improvement in overall-athleticism. A higher level of overall-athleticism usually leads to greater overall athletic success (and...a greater enjoyment/appreciation of) a wider variety of sports.
Posted by: Patrick ( Email: ) at 5/31/2008 7:34 AM
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I think any parent shooting for a college scholarship for a 12 or 13 year old is dreaming. Remember that 1% or less actually get college scholrships. I have always felt that if a kid is that good at the sports that they are in they will rise to the top. I have had one child focus all their effort on one sport and another who is a three sport athlete. I personally think the three sport athlete has a better shot at any scholrship money. We shall see.
Posted by: Carl E. Benson ( Email: ) at 6/2/2008 8:45 AM
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If it's before the start of his Junior year in H.S., I say, "Coach, I appreciate your support of our son's talents. However, his Mother and I have discussed this and we're totally against this degree of specialization for any kid his age. Now, if you have some more special training camps or clinics he can get involved in, that's great - we'll look at them. Otherwise, he's a kid and we want him living as a kid - not a professional athlete. Thanks for the offer Coach."
If my son is in his Junior or Senior year of H.S., my comments would be basically the same with the following qualifier added: "Since he's 17, we'll talk with him about how he prioritizes his time, including the option to specialize. But for the most part, his mother and I are against it."
Posted by: David Segal ( Email: ) at 6/2/2008 9:12 PM
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I am glad this question has been raised. My son was pushed at the age of 8 to be a goalie. Initially my son liked playing in the goal, but he also loved playing attack. But by the time he was 9-10, the coaches forced him to specialize.
Once in a while, my son would get to the game and decide he wanted to play on the field this time - at least for half of the game. Sometimes the coach told him the team would forfeit the game if he didn't want to be in the goal. He was pressured by the coach's son who told my son that his father would force him to be in the goal.
There have been other times, when no other child would do it, so my son stepped up - to do it for the team. As time went on, my son accepted that he was always the goalie, that he was good at it and he grew to like it so that he'd want to play a whole game in the goal. By the time he was 13-14, he had emphasized his goalie skills so much his attack skills suffered.
My son also plays soccer - as a defender, middie and sometimes goalie (only when the team goalie doesn't come). We've been told my son should only play lacrosse; that he needs to focus on one sport. He's only 15 years old. Is this really true?
Unfortunately, at the high school level, there were 7 kids trying out for 3 goalie spots on the JV team. The high school then hired one of the 13-14 Rec coaches to be the JV coach. We are new to this community. My son is an unknown. His skills were not as good as the top kids chosen, but better than the 3rd choice selected.
The coach kept the "kid from last year," now a 10th grader and the 2 kids who played goal for his rec team. (That 3rd choice also has a brother on varsity.) The same thing happened in the fall at soccer tryouts - the JV coach was the "Select" coach from the local rec program. He kept the kids from his team who moved up to the HS age level.
I had hoped for better when spring lacrosse tryouts came along, but was disappointed. So, now after all this forced specialization I am facing having to support my son as I watch his dreams slip away - not because he isn't good enough, didn't practice enough - but because he/we didn't/doesn't know the right people.
So what now? How can I help my son keep playing the sport he loves and possibly paly in college? I am not after a scholarship--I know the reality of that. I just want my child to be able to keep playing the sports he loves at a competitive level. My son loves to compete--as a 5 yr old he told me that if it wasn't a game, it wasn't "real lacrosse."
His mind has not changed on that. I would appreciate anyone's advice. I'm just a single mom trying to navigate the world of youth sports for boys--when I'm not "one of the guys." (That's another problem entirely - a potential new discussion topic.)
THANK YOU for helping us!!
Posted by: J. Smith ( Email: ) at 6/7/2008 5:22 PM
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I think the discussion is well covered, and I appreciate reading the comments. Adding some more details to the premise, Coach Hastings is asking you to give up fall soccer to specialize in lacrosse and play for him in the fall lacrosse league...My response to Coach Hastings would be:
"we (the parents) greatly appreciate your feedback, and we are going to seriously consider your advice. It is good timing that you brought this to our attention, as we have been approached by another coach in the fall league who is interested in our son playing for them this fall (as I am sure is the opportunity if your son can play). As parents, we feel very strongly about our child being exposed to a variety of coaching styles, techniques and personalities, etc... so if we do decide to have him specialize... Coach X's team would be who he would play for this fall (Coach Hastings competitor)."
What do you think Coach Hastings would say about that? I think more times than not, Coach Hastings' true motives would be revealed. This doesn't make Hastings a bad guy. I am sure he thinks he is doing the right thing. Coaches are human beings with their own egos and motivations.
Your child playing for Hastings may benefit Hastings in many ways. It might make Hastings look better, his son look better (as your son makes all on the team look better), and it might help him win the fall league championship against coach X. Guess what, it is not your son's job.
If coach Hastings is self actualized, he knows all these things, but thinks it is a win win, because he truly feels your son is better served playing year round. One way to test the coach's resolve is to only accept his advice, if your son plays for his competitor.
PS We all have some Coach Hastings in us. We probably would not be very good coaches, if we didn't put a lot of value in training, practice etc... The problem is we are encouraged to do more year round play, because we feel like our "teams" will not compete come next spring, if we don't.
The hardest thing of all is to say no to "Fall lacrosse", and risk losing an edge on your competitors, as well as maybe losing some players whose parents did decide to specialize. These kids may join coach X in the fall (and stay with him for more championship trophies in the spring). It's tough, but the coach has to draw the line and not add the fall competative team. It is okay to keep your hand in the sport during the off season. Camps, clinics, occasional fun tournaments, etc... But the constant competition, over coaching and pressure, can kill the athlete you are trying to build. Good luck to all.
Posted by: Chris Carroll ( Email: ) at 6/9/2008 12:54 PM
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I don't think kids should limit themselves to one sport at an early age. College coaches like to see well rounded athletes that can compete in more than one sport.
Posted by: Bill ( Email: ) at 6/22/2008 7:44 AM
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Unfortunately, many leagues that have fall and spring seasons (soccer, baseball) force the hands of the parents and players. If you don't play for a team year round, you are designated to a different league, or at a minimum fall into the draft pool, so your child is switching teams every year, making multi-sport seasons the norm.
Personally, I would love a study that showed the progress of kids under 13 that played two sports year round, meaning 1 game in each sport a week, and 1 practice in each sport a week (4 events across 2 teams) as opposed to kids that played one sport in season, and applied all 4 events to the single sport per week.
I personally like the progress they make with 3 practices and 1 game in 1 sport, as opposed to the dillution across two sports. I believe there is too much time between learning events with multi-sport seasons. Plus, how can you fit in individual work when you already have 4 nights, days accounted for in a multi-sport season as compared to a single sport season? What do others believe?
Posted by: Tom Schnell ( Email: ) at 8/19/2008 12:56 AM
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I would encourage parents and coaches who are interested in these and related issues to check out www.ltad.ca.
Sports governing bodies in Canada (and in the UK and other countries) have been undertaking a major program review where they are establishing what are the most appropriate training, competition and recovery paradigms for developing athletes. There are a number of studies/articles in the resources/downloads section that may interest you.
In particular, there are comments and observations on early/late specialization and how it varies by sports - the general rule would be - develop the athlete before the player. The national sports body would have additional info as it applies to the particular sport - google 'long term athlete development or ltad and the specific sport' for additional info.
The parents guide can be found at: http://www.ltad.ca/Groups/LTAD%20Downloads/English/Parents_Guide_ENG.pdf
If you have particular inquiries - send me a note and I can refer you to the expert for your sport.
Posted by: Mike Bowes ( Email: | Visit ) at 10/17/2008 5:10 AM
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