What Does Specialization in Sport Bring?
Basketball, baseball, football, soccer, figure skating, swimming, jumping, running, hockey, karate and so many more kinds of sport are now a vital part of our lives. The list goes on and on and if I had to write it, it would probably take several pages. The importance of sport in general cannot be overestimated. It helps us to support physical health and be stronger, exercising positively affects mental health, supplies us with endorphins that make us feel happier. Sport can fight stress and reveal new talents. Many parents are charmed with all these positive facts and decide to motive their children to do sports. Then, as some kind of sport is picked, a child or a teenager gets completely involved with it. However, the line between good and evil is very thin when it comes to early specialization in sport. It is important to see it and not to go beyond it.
Specialization itself means focusing on training only in one specific sport and mostly excluding all the others. Nowadays early sport specialization becomes more and more popular in the United States of America. If earlier children just got together and played games in the neighborhood, now parents and coaches organize the vast majority of sporting activities. Even at schools it is common now for the students to pick one kind of sport over the others. Many of them pursue success in sport because they look for ways to obtain a college or a university scholarship. Some of the students are concentrated on their future on professional level. However, some studies show that parents or trainers influence their children greatly, sometimes push on them and often initiate specialization in sport. This is where a great ethical dilemma lies. On one hand, parents and coaches want young athletes to achieve something significant and they think they help them concentrate on what is important. On the other hand, the athletes are deprived of their right for making free choices, expressing and following their will.
According to the study called “Intensive Training and Sports Specialization in Young Athletes” that was conducted by American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) sport specialization in youth might have multiple benefits. It brings fun, helps to develop leadership qualities and abilities to work successfully in a team. Doings sports positively influences peer socialization, it helps children and teenagers find those who share certain interests and opinions. Of course, sport helps to develop physical activity skills. Achievements in sports greatly improve self-esteem (pediatrics.aappublications.org). These good features of sports specialization look very appealing for some parents and young people.
The statistics, presented in “Intensive Training and Sports Specialization in Young Athletes” by American Academy of Pediatrics, reveals the other side of the results of early sport specialization. Even though many people pursue early sport specializations looking for achieving high levels in the chosen sport, only 0.03 – 5% of high school athletes reach professional sport. There is only 1% of high school students who receive any scholarship, …
