Dear Dr. Rick
Kids Specializing in One Sport...
John Anderson, Head Baseball Coach at the University of Minnesota, recently addressed a controversial topic... Is it okay for a young athlete to specialize in one sport? Dr. Rick Aberman added a few comments as well...
“We hear a lot these days about coaching kids from the neck-up. What people usually mean by that is teaching the kids discipline, poise, control and emotional stability. This is getting to be a tougher and tougher job.”
“One reason it’s getting tougher is the changing nature of youth sports. Good athletes are told at a very early age that they have to specialize in one sport. They can’t just be kids and try a bunch of different things in and out of athletics. If they want to be a good football player, they’re told, they have to concentrate on football. If they want to be a good swimmer, they have to swim and nothing else. That means year-round, specialized weight training, beginning (in my opinion, at least) at too early an age. It means summer camp. It means winter conditioning. These young athletes are allowed to play other sports only to improve their skills for their main sport. By the time they enter junior high or middle school, they’ve not only been slotted into a specialized sport, but into a specialized position within that sport.”
“By the time we recruit these athletes at the university level, they’ve developed unreasonably high expectations. They’ve been told by everyone at every level how good they are – all-state, all-american, all-everything. The fact that we’re recruiting these players only confirms their exalted status.”
“Part of our de-recruiting process is to work with athletes on managing reality. We try to make them understand how difficult its going to be to play at the college level. We explain that learning is a process and we don’t expect them to do everything right away. Sometimes that works.”
Dr. Aberman added the following...
“And sometimes it doesn’t work.”
“One of the things I don’t think we do a very good job of is dealing with the fallout, the residue of specialization in sports. Everyone wants these highly talented kids to play, play, play, except eventually, the kids themselves. They have been pushed and pulled and prodded and coerced for so long they’ve burned out.”
Dr. Rick Aberman has worked with athletes, coaches and teams at the collegiate and professional levels for over 20 years. Have a question for him? Please e-mail him at deardr@lennickaberman.com
