Sport Specific Training in Youth

Guest post by our youth coach lead Jacob McLaughlin on Specialization of Youth Sports.

Specializing in one sport when under the age of 14 is starting to become a very popular thing in today’s age. You have probably heard of the professional athletes who have played their sport since they were 5 years old and are now some of them are the top athletes in the world!

I loved basketball ever since the first time I played it when I was 5 and knew I wanted to continue to play.

Specializing in one sport too young can be more of a negative than a positive.

The reason this is because of all the skills your child misses out on from other sports. More specifically motor skills during this period of development in your child’s life.

They should play as many sports as they are interested when they are young because they actually develop skills they otherwise wouldn’t. For example, if you have a child who loves baseball and only focuses on it from the age of 8, they may miss out on huge movements such as lateral movements or also learning to open hips and sprinting that they might learn in basketball, soccer, or football. The list goes on for certain patterns kids will miss out if they only pick one sport.

It’s okay to put emphasis on their favorite sport, but they aren’t going to be a professional at the age of 12 so don’t restrict them to one sport at such a young age because it’s very important for them to learn all of these different movement patterns and will end up making them a better athlete.

So until next time …do something active and keep being awesome!

Jeremy Scott ~ Jeremy Scott Fitness 

Scottdale Personal Trainer ~ Youth Fitness Camps