Are We Burning Kids Out?

Youth sports are a staple of American culture, often viewed as the surest track to developing talented athletes. It makes sense — more practice time and more gameplay lead to better skill and fitness. For parents hoping to see their kids earn a college scholarship or start a pro career, maximizing the amount of time their kids spend playing their sport seems to be the best path to success. But is it?

There’s a trend in youth sports toward maximum participation and playing time. On Amateur Athletic Union, or AAU, basketball teams, kids and teenagers are playing three to four games a day during tournaments. With such a packed game schedule, teams rarely focus on practicing skills and fundamentals. A similar phenomenon takes place in the ultra-competitive world of club soccer in the United States. Families devote huge amounts of time and money to fund their kids’ trips to tournaments, all part of U.S. Soccer’s pursuit to weed out prospects for its national teams. Youth sports have become an exercise in scheduling gymnastics, wiping out weekends that could be used for family time or rest. Is this the best way for kids to develop their talents?

With such a steep increase in activity — and revenue — researchers have been exploring the perils of these commercialized and hyper-competitive youth sports leagues. The most significant risk is specialization. With each sport taking up such a large portion of families’ time, kids are having to choose a primary sport earlier. Researchers have found that specializing too early presents serious consequences. The American Academy of Pediatrics warned that increased specialization has resulted in an uptick in overuse injuries in athletes ages 8 to 18. Specialization can also lead to repetitive motion disorders (RMDs) like tendonitis. Burnout is another consequence. Leading sports medicine specialist Dr. Neeru Jayanthi cautioned that “kids are broken by the time they get to college” as a result of such intense training at a young age.

U.S. Soccer and AAU, unsurprisingly, see no danger in intense single-sport focus. What, then, can parents, coaches, and athletes do to reduce these risks?

Cross-training can combat the ill effects of specialization. Introducing more variety to athletes’ muscles and joints can reduce the risk of injury and inject some novelty into their routines. Varied movement is more beneficial for the body than repetitive specialized motions from a specific sport.

The most successful athletes avoid specialization and add other forms of movement to their training. LeBron James, legendary for his durability over a 17-year career, incorporates exercises like boxing and yoga into his fitness routine. Soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo swims to ease the load on his joints while still working on endurance. Michael Jordan hardly worked out in the offseason, preferring golf and rest. These players rarely missed extended time with injuries.

Kobe Bryant — another athlete with a long, successful career — was a harsh critic of the culture of youth sports. Bryant frequently credited his upbringing in Italy, where he had a more relaxed training schedule, as the key to his 20-year career. Tournaments weren’t a regular occurrence until he moved back to the United States in high school. He doubted he would’ve had the same successful career playing in an American youth league: “Hmmm … I’m not sure,” he said. “I’d like to think I’d be able to figure something out, but the reality is, I’d have to figure something out, because I put so much on my body.”

Coaches and leaders need to be sure they are not overloading their young players. The consequences of too much activity at an early age are devastating. It leads not only to physical exhaustion and a greater risk of injury, but also mental burnout and a loss of passion and enthusiasm. That’s the opposite of what we intend to do when we involve young people in sports. We want to foster active lifestyles and a love for physical activity and competition. Overloading kids with year-round training schedules, multiple games a week, and strict specialization drive them away. 

We must account for these dangers. Incorporating cross-training and encouraging rest can protect players from burnout. A team culture of prioritizing wellbeing and health over games and winning is an excellent step. When it comes to developing young athletes, less truly is more.