I have grown up all my life playing different sports. These include tennis, volleyball, basketball, and softball. As I got older, I knew certain girls would quit, but I didn’t think most of them would just to focus on another sport. This year on my high school girls basketball team we didn’t even have ten girls in grades nine through twelve returning to play. Ending our year with a losing record not even getting ten wins, this happened while earlier in the school year our volleyball team won a state championship. Only one starter from that team played basketball while over three others quit. This trend can even be seen in elementary students quitting as well. We obviously have athletes if we can win state, so why isn’t it translating to other sports such as basketball? Majority of this results from the increase in sports specialization and club sports, making athletes pick between their high school and club teams often leading to high school teams losing crucial players. Although sports specialization brings many benefits, people tend to overlook the many downsides.  

Many people know what sports specialization is, just not what it’s called. The proper definition is said in the article “Sports Specialization, Part 1,” written by Gregory Myer, Neeru Jayanthi, John Difiori, Avery Faigenbaum, Adam Kiefer, David Logerstedt, and Lyle Micheli, in September of 2015, states that “Sports specialization is defined as year-round training (greater than 8 months per year), choosing a single main sport, and/or quitting all other sports to focus on 1 sport.” The decision to start an athlete's specialization can be seen at young ages, such as elementary school and will probably continue to get younger. Specialization brings a grueling schedule with little recovery time, but can bring lots of opportunities; for instance, advanced training and constant looks from college recruits. Nevertheless, certain downsides and dangers come with it and other, safer routes can lead to success as well. 

We can talk about the actual cost of club teams and personal trainers all we want. That is already high enough to take away the opportunity from many lower and middle-class families. Draining the annual income of these families by as much as 10%. While the cost can differ from sport to sport it can still cost as much as $30,000 to provide kids with equipment and uniforms from the ages eight to eighteen. These statistics were provided on January 24, 2020, by the Online Master of Athletic Administration at Ohio University, in the article “The Finances of Youth Sports in the United States.” Secondly, Families are not only losing money but often their lifestyle, of the athlete, their siblings, parents, and other family as well. Often prioritizing a certain child while their siblings may be left behind due to the overwhelming cost. Having to make the tough decision of which kid gets to compete. Not only do siblings not often get to compete, but they end up being drug to never ending events and competitions. Spending almost every weekend on the sidelines of a court or field; missing out on fun activities and events they would otherwise go to. While not all families experience this, with the cost being so high many do. 

Cost and time may not be an issue for some families, so once they see one child succeed in a sport the rest follow. Often these kids feel the pressure to succeed from a young age, whether it’s from parents, coaches, or even siblings; this can suck the fun out of the sport. This can be observed when these athletes get overly emotional or anxious over simple mistakes that are bound to happen. Parents and coaches may unintentionally push this mentality by pursuing a single sport full time; therefore, hoping for potential success, whether it be a college scholarship or playing professional. The child may see this as intense pressure to succeed. This can be supported by the literature review “Understanding How Organized Youth Sport May Be Harming Individual Players within the Family Unit,” written in 2014, by Corliss Bean, Michelle Fortier, Courtney Post, and Karam Chima. Eventually, the lives of these families shift to constantly revolving around sports; with some parents going to the extremes to give their child a competitive advantage. For example, making the decision to hold their child back a grade to have longer athletic eligibility for high school. While this can create athletic opportunities for their child, it could also lead to potential stress and burnout.

Specializing can often cause burnout at young ages such as high school from continuous stress and pressure. Many doctors agree with this argument even stating “While this has resulted in more highly skilled, sport-mature athletes at a younger age, it is isolating the child and has the potential to lead to increased stress and pressure and an overall feeling that the child lacks control or decision-making power over their lives.” and goes on to talk about psychological burnout in the previously cited paper  “Sports Specialization, Part 1.” Burnout is almost being done with a long day at school, the feeling of I’ve had enough of this and don’t want to do it anymore; leading to them quitting the single sport they’re playing. This is often caused by poor mental well being from the sport they’re specializing in. Some examples that result from this are perfectionism, unrealistic expectations, and excessive stress. This information was provided in the article “Health Consequences of Youth Sport Specialization,” written in October of 2019, by the authors Neeru Jayanthi, Eric Post, Torrance Laury, and Peter Fabricant of the National Library of Medicine.  Depression is also found commonly in these athletes when they’re often put into negative environments. Without a doubt, mental wellbeing shouldn’t be the concern of a young athlete and they should never feel excessive stress or have degrading thoughts over a sport that is supposed to be fun.

Not only is specializing damaging to the mind but it also takes a toll on the body. Especially when athletes play excessive amounts before the age of puberty; consequently, running the risk of overuse injury. This type of injury can often result from specialization and is being noticed by doctors. “Overuse, which accounts for about half of the injuries seen in young athletes, happens gradually and gets worse over time. “Basically, kids are overdoing it,” says Dr. Fabricant. “ in the article “Intensive Participation in a Single Sport,” written July 25, 2022, by Dr. Peter Fabricant. He also goes on to explain that a better alternative to specialization would be playing different sports year round to give certain parts of the body a break. Evidently, the injuries these athletes are experiencing aren’t the usual ankle sprain; they’re coming in with tendon and ligament injuries as well as muscle strains. This is the result of high amounts of play in a single sport from young athletes. Nevertheless, starting specialization after puberty can be a safer route because bones are developed, but there will always be an increased chance of injury. Many people still go through with specialization despite the negative repercussions, but often multiple sports are still more beneficial.

Dropping other sports to specialize may not be as beneficial as one might think. This can be supported by the quote “Diversifying makes you a better, more well-rounded athlete, and often makes you better at the one sport you want to focus on.'' being said in the article “Beware of Early Sports Specialization in Young Athletes,” written by University Hospitals, on June 20, 2021. The article goes on to support the idea that playing multiple sports may be more beneficial than specializing in just one. It is hard to deny the fact that many athletes who do specialize end up getting scholarships, or in some cases going pro; however, this can be done other ways. Many successful athletes still participated in multiple sports or did until college. Some players even go pro in two sports. In fact, exceptional players such as Deion Sanders, Russell Wilson, Bo Jackson, and many other athletes played two sports professionally. Many of these athletes can be found in the article “Tough to choose: Top two-sport athletes,” written February 1, 2023, by David Adler and Manny Randhawa from MLB. These players support the idea that it is possible to succeed while playing multiple sports.

I can see why many people specialize in a certain sport; it can bring many opportunities and advantages, but it can also do just the opposite. Specialization can bring harm to an athlete's present and future, often harming mental and physical health. Ultimately losing the goal to get a scholarship or “go pro” that was set in the first place. The end of this isn’t near either, I have witnessed girls in elementary and on my own team dropping sports to specialize. In the end after all that is sacrificed, money, time, health, friends, and family is it really worth it?