Wednesday, July 4, 2007
EDUCATING PARENTS
Getting coaches and athletes on board is doable. But parents are a much tougher nut to crack. They want what they think is best for their son or daughter and can’t always see the forest through the trees. Oftentimes their views are skewed by the number of children who specialize. They see the neighbor’s kid practicing year-round and worry they might be failing their child if they don’t provide the same opportunity.
As Adam Naylor, Director of the Athletic Enhancement Center at Boston University and a sports psychologist, explains, “Parents have to cope with the ‘everybody’s doing it’ mentality,” he says. “It takes a lot of confidence to go against the trend and say, ‘My kid is going to be just fine.’
“That confidence comes from having the facts, so we can’t just tell parents, ‘Specialization is bad.’ We have to tell them why,” he continues. “We need to give them facts to support their choice by discussing overuse and burnout and showing them that multi-sport athletes can be even more successful athletically than those who specialize.”
When talking to parents about the topic, the more specifics you can offer, the more your words will resonate. What athletic directors and experts have found sinks in deepest are examples of how sport specialization does not correlate with future athletic success.
“The way I explain it to parents is that the earlier you specialize, the earlier you peak,” Naylor says. “The athlete who plays one sport at age 12 is likely to peak at age 16—the opposite of what you want if you’re trying to get to the next level. Athletes who specialize later peak later and they reach a much higher level of play.”
“You get a lot of athletic development by doing several different sports when you’re young,” Brenner says. “Developing overall conditioning, balance, and coordination through multiple sports ultimately makes a far better athlete than only using your body in one way.”
Brown likes to give parents examples of multi-sport athletes who have successfully gone on to college or the pros. “A few years back, we had an athlete from our school go on to the WNBA,” he says. “She played soccer, basketball, and softball for us. I always use her as an example, as well as other athletes whose stories I can find.”
Parents will also open their ears to information about college scholarships, and they need to be educated about two things: the long odds of their child getting the kind of scholarship they’re envisioning, and the fact that college coaches generally find Division I-caliber athletes no matter where they are, so playing year round for an expensive club is not necessary. They also need to know that more and more college coaches are going on record saying they want multi-sport athletes, not ones who only play their sport.
Jack Parker, Head Men’s Ice Hockey Coach at Boston University, says he is starting to recruit more athletes from out-of-state instead of Massachusetts high school and club stars who play hockey almost year round. “By the time I see these kids, they are bored, burned out, and often injured,” he says. “There are more players ready to play college hockey in California and Texas right now than in Massachusetts because they don’t play it year round. Specialization is killing hockey in our state.”
University of Northern Colorado Head Wrestling Coach Jack Maughan has similar feelings about sport specialization and now recruits multi-sport athletes as much as possible. “Wrestling is so life-consuming,” Maughan told the Greeley (Colo.) Tribune. “Sometimes when they get here they are burned out. The goal is to get to college and then that’s it. If they have done it all of their lives and they still have that hunger, then sure I’d recruit them. But that’s not always the case.”
Few things will get a parent’s attention quicker than risks to their child’s health. Thus, facts about injuries are also important to provide. In an article he wrote for Pediatrics last year, Brenner explained that young athletes who perform the motions of their sport over and over without a break—often before they have perfected the proper mechanics—are at risk for injuries to bones, muscles, and tendons. In fact, research indicates that half of all injuries seen by pediatric sports medicine doctors today are related to overuse.
“Each sport has particular injuries that we see over and over in kids who play year round,” Brenner says. “We see runners and field hockey players with stress fractures of the tibia in the lower leg, baseball pitchers with stress fractures in the upper arm, and gymnasts with stress fractures in the spine. Tendonitis is common in swimmers and baseball, volleyball, and basketball players.”
At best, overuse injuries sideline players temporarily. At worst, they can end a career. “It depends on how early the athlete comes in and how well they adhere to the treatment plan,” Brenner says. “I’ve seen cases where kids ended up with chronic pain.”
As many coaches and administrators have seen, the risks aren’t only physical. Athletes who specialize are vulnerable to burnout. Parents may have a hard time believing that their child may tire of a sport they love, so Naylor uses an analogy to help them understand how it can happen.
“I compare it to what would happen if you ate your favorite dinner every night for six months,” Naylor says. “‘You might love it to begin with, but by the end, you’d never want to see it again.’ The same is true for kids who play too much of one sport.
“I’ve had high school athletes who play their sport year round tell me, ‘I don’t even know why I play anymore,’” he continues. “Kids who specialize often end up leaving their sport a lot earlier than those who play multiple sports.”
Getting coaches and athletes on board is doable. But parents are a much tougher nut to crack. They want what they think is best for their son or daughter and can’t always see the forest through the trees. Oftentimes their views are skewed by the number of children who specialize. They see the neighbor’s kid practicing year-round and worry they might be failing their child if they don’t provide the same opportunity.
As Adam Naylor, Director of the Athletic Enhancement Center at Boston University and a sports psychologist, explains, “Parents have to cope with the ‘everybody’s doing it’ mentality,” he says. “It takes a lot of confidence to go against the trend and say, ‘My kid is going to be just fine.’
“That confidence comes from having the facts, so we can’t just tell parents, ‘Specialization is bad.’ We have to tell them why,” he continues. “We need to give them facts to support their choice by discussing overuse and burnout and showing them that multi-sport athletes can be even more successful athletically than those who specialize.”
When talking to parents about the topic, the more specifics you can offer, the more your words will resonate. What athletic directors and experts have found sinks in deepest are examples of how sport specialization does not correlate with future athletic success.
“The way I explain it to parents is that the earlier you specialize, the earlier you peak,” Naylor says. “The athlete who plays one sport at age 12 is likely to peak at age 16—the opposite of what you want if you’re trying to get to the next level. Athletes who specialize later peak later and they reach a much higher level of play.”
“You get a lot of athletic development by doing several different sports when you’re young,” Brenner says. “Developing overall conditioning, balance, and coordination through multiple sports ultimately makes a far better athlete than only using your body in one way.”
Brown likes to give parents examples of multi-sport athletes who have successfully gone on to college or the pros. “A few years back, we had an athlete from our school go on to the WNBA,” he says. “She played soccer, basketball, and softball for us. I always use her as an example, as well as other athletes whose stories I can find.”
Parents will also open their ears to information about college scholarships, and they need to be educated about two things: the long odds of their child getting the kind of scholarship they’re envisioning, and the fact that college coaches generally find Division I-caliber athletes no matter where they are, so playing year round for an expensive club is not necessary. They also need to know that more and more college coaches are going on record saying they want multi-sport athletes, not ones who only play their sport.
Jack Parker, Head Men’s Ice Hockey Coach at Boston University, says he is starting to recruit more athletes from out-of-state instead of Massachusetts high school and club stars who play hockey almost year round. “By the time I see these kids, they are bored, burned out, and often injured,” he says. “There are more players ready to play college hockey in California and Texas right now than in Massachusetts because they don’t play it year round. Specialization is killing hockey in our state.”
University of Northern Colorado Head Wrestling Coach Jack Maughan has similar feelings about sport specialization and now recruits multi-sport athletes as much as possible. “Wrestling is so life-consuming,” Maughan told the Greeley (Colo.) Tribune. “Sometimes when they get here they are burned out. The goal is to get to college and then that’s it. If they have done it all of their lives and they still have that hunger, then sure I’d recruit them. But that’s not always the case.”
Few things will get a parent’s attention quicker than risks to their child’s health. Thus, facts about injuries are also important to provide. In an article he wrote for Pediatrics last year, Brenner explained that young athletes who perform the motions of their sport over and over without a break—often before they have perfected the proper mechanics—are at risk for injuries to bones, muscles, and tendons. In fact, research indicates that half of all injuries seen by pediatric sports medicine doctors today are related to overuse.
“Each sport has particular injuries that we see over and over in kids who play year round,” Brenner says. “We see runners and field hockey players with stress fractures of the tibia in the lower leg, baseball pitchers with stress fractures in the upper arm, and gymnasts with stress fractures in the spine. Tendonitis is common in swimmers and baseball, volleyball, and basketball players.”
At best, overuse injuries sideline players temporarily. At worst, they can end a career. “It depends on how early the athlete comes in and how well they adhere to the treatment plan,” Brenner says. “I’ve seen cases where kids ended up with chronic pain.”
As many coaches and administrators have seen, the risks aren’t only physical. Athletes who specialize are vulnerable to burnout. Parents may have a hard time believing that their child may tire of a sport they love, so Naylor uses an analogy to help them understand how it can happen.
“I compare it to what would happen if you ate your favorite dinner every night for six months,” Naylor says. “‘You might love it to begin with, but by the end, you’d never want to see it again.’ The same is true for kids who play too much of one sport.
“I’ve had high school athletes who play their sport year round tell me, ‘I don’t even know why I play anymore,’” he continues. “Kids who specialize often end up leaving their sport a lot earlier than those who play multiple sports.”
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