Being a parent of children who participate in many activities, I find it rather interesting that there is dialogue regarding participation in more than one sport activity. This article asked college lacrosse coaches their feeling regarding athletes who participated in more than one sport in elementary and high school. Most coaches who were questioned supported the notion of students who did not specialize, but rather had a varied experience in athletics. Many of the coaches felt these student-athletes were able to 'bring more to the table' than those who specialized in only one sport. The coaches were then asked what their own children did - specialize or multi-sport? Surprisingly, all of the coaches had their children participating in more than one sport and were happy they do.
I believe many parents are led to believe their children must become a specialist within a sport at an early age in order to remain competitive and be the best within that particular sport. Pressure that is created from club teams can be confused with the thought of the club thinking they are creating the next professional athlete. Parents are then led to believe, in order to do what is best for their child, must keep their children on a crazy pace.
Proponents who support the idea of multi-sport athletes have demonstrated that children who specialize in one sport are at a higher risk of injury as well as obesity. Interesting, many college athletes were multi-sport athletes in high school.
My hope is that parents recognize that club athletics, while they have a part in assisting in the skills development of our children, should also be recognized as a business venture for the organization who is actively recruiting your child, having the family pay 'tuition' as well as traveling. Hopefully, we can keep this in perspective and allow our children to become involved in many activities rather than just one!
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