Sport specialization, Part I: does early sports specialization increase negative outcomes and reduce the opportunity for success in young athletes?
Open accessAbstract
CONTEXT: There is increased growth in sports participation across the globe. Sports specialization patterns, which include year-round training, participation on multiple teams of the same sport, and focused participation in a single sport at a young age, are at high levels. The need for this type of early specialized training in young athletes is currently under debate. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Nonsystematic review. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical review. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4. CONCLUSION: Sports specialization is defined as year-round training (greater than 8 months per year), choosing a single main sport, and/or quitting all other sports to focus on 1 sport. Specialized training in young athletes has risks of injury and burnout, while the degree of specialization is positively correlated with increased serious overuse injury risk. Risk factors for injury in young athletes who specialize in a single sport include year-round single-sport training, participation in more competition, decreased age-appropriate play, and involvement in individual sports that require the early development of technical skills. Adults involved in instruction of youth sports may also put young athletes at risk for injury by encouraging increased intensity in organized practices and competition rather than self-directed unstructured free play. STRENGTH-OF-RECOMMENDATION TAXONOMY SORT: C.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Stodden, D. F., Goodway, J. D., Langendorfer, S. J., Roberton, M. A., Rudisill, M. E., García, C., & Garcia, L. E. (2008) · Quest · doi:10.1080/00336297.2008.10483582 · Cited by 2,346 · see citing works
Hootman, J. M., Dick, R. W., & Agel, J. A. (2007) · PubMed · Cited by 2,188 · see citing works
Ardern, C. L., Webster, K. E., Taylor, N. F., & Feller, J. A. (2011) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2010.076364 · Cited by 1,329 · see citing works
Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity From Ages 9 to 15 Years
Nader, P. R. (2008) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.300.3.295 · Cited by 1,213 · see citing works
Childhood Motor Skill Proficiency as a Predictor of Adolescent Physical Activity
Barnett, L. M., van Beurden, E., Morgan, P. J., Brooks, L. O., & Beard, J. (2008) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.07.004 · Cited by 906 · see citing works
DiFiori, J. P., Benjamin, H. J., Brenner, J. S., Gregory, A., Jayanthi, N., Landry, G. L., & Luke, A. (2014) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsports-2013-093299 · Cited by 816 · see citing works
Self-citationKvist, J., Ek, A., Sporrstedt, K., & Good, L. (2005) · Knee Surgery Sports Traumatology Arthroscopy · doi:10.1007/s00167-004-0591-8 · Cited by 721 · see citing works
Risk Factors for Shoulder and Elbow Injuries in Adolescent Baseball Pitchers
Olsen, S. J., Fleisig, G. S., Dun, S., et al. (2006) · The American Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1177/0363546505284188 · Cited by 671 · see citing works
Ardern, C. L., Webster, K. E., Taylor, N. F., & Feller, J. A. (2010) · The American Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1177/0363546510384798 · Cited by 636 · see citing works
Talented Teenagers - The Roots of Success and Failure
Bevan‐Roberts, E., Csíkszentmihályi, M., Rathunde, K., & Whalen, S. P. (1994) · British Journal of Educational Studies · doi:10.2307/3121889 · Cited by 635 · see citing works
Tracking of sedentary behaviours of young people: A systematic review
Biddle, S. J. H., Pearson, N., Ross, G. M., & Braithwaite, R. (2010) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2010.07.018 · Cited by 616 · see citing works
Sports-Specialized Intensive Training and the Risk of Injury in Young Athletes
Jayanthi, N. A., LaBella, C. R., Fischer, D., et al. (2015) · The American Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1177/0363546514567298 · Cited by 553 · see citing works
Self-citationLongitudinal study of elbow and shoulder pain in youth baseball pitchers
Lyman, S. L., Fleisig, G. S., Waterbor, J. W., et al. (2001) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-200111000-00002 · Cited by 550 · see citing works
Sports Specialization in Young Athletes
Jayanthi, N. A., Pinkham, C., Dugas, L. R., Patrick, B. C., & LaBella, C. R. (2012) · Sports Health A Multidisciplinary Approach · doi:10.1177/1941738112464626 · Cited by 537 · see citing works
Self-citationOveruse injuries, overtraining, and burnout in child and adolescent athletes
Brenner, J. S., & and the Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness (2007) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2007-0887 · Cited by 520 · see citing works
Côté, J., Lidor, R., & Hackfort, D. (2009) · International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1612197x.2009.9671889 · Cited by 474 · see citing works
Tracking physical fitness and physical activity from childhood to adolescence: the Muscatine study
Janz, K. F., Dawson, J. D., & Mahoney, L. T. (2000) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-200007000-00011 · Cited by 425 · see citing works
Parental and Peer Influences on Leisure-Time Physical Activity in Young Adolescents
Anderssen, N., & Wold, B. (1992) · Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport · doi:10.1080/02701367.1992.10608754 · Cited by 389 · see citing works
Burnout in Competitive Junior Tennis Players: I. A Quantitative Psychological Assessment
Gould, D. R., Tuffey, S., Udry, E., & Loehr, J. E. (1996) · The Sport Psychologist · doi:10.1123/tsp.10.4.322 · Cited by 374 · see citing works
Overuse Injuries and Burnout in Youth Sports
DiFiori, J. P., Benjamin, H. J., Brenner, J. S., Gregory, A. J. M., Jayanthi, N. A., Landry, G. L., & Luke, A. C. (2013) · Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine · doi:10.1097/jsm.0000000000000060 · Cited by 363 · see citing works
Self-citationRisk Factors for Injury in Child and Adolescent Sport: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Emery, C. A. (2003) · Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine · doi:10.1097/00042752-200307000-00011 · Cited by 357 · see citing works
Langford, J., Webster, K. E., & Feller, J. A. (2008) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.044818 · Cited by 356 · see citing works
The Relation Between Pain-Related Fear and Disability: A Meta-Analysis
Zale, E. L., Lange, K. L., Fields, S. A., & Ditre, J. W. (2013) · Journal of Pain · doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2013.05.005 · Cited by 338 · see citing works
Gobbi, A. W., & Francisco, R. (2006) · Knee Surgery Sports Traumatology Arthroscopy · doi:10.1007/s00167-006-0050-9 · Cited by 320 · see citing works
Myer, G. D., Faigenbaum, A. D., Ford, K. R., Best, T. M., Bergeron, M. F., & Hewett, T. E. (2011) · Current Sports Medicine Reports · doi:10.1249/jsr.0b013e31821b1442 · Cited by 313 · see citing works
Self-citationEpidemiology of musculoskeletal injury in the tennis player
Abrams, G. D., Renström, P. A. F. H., & Safran, M. R. (2012) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsports-2012-091164 · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Developmental activities that lead to dropout and investment in sport
Wall, M., & Côté, J. (2007) · Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy · doi:10.1080/17408980601060358 · Cited by 284 · see citing works
High-Impact Athletics after Knee Articular Cartilage Repair
Mithoefer, K., Williams, R. J., Warren, R. F., et al. (2006) · The American Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1177/0363546506288240 · Cited by 283 · see citing works
Burnout in Competitive Junior Tennis Players: II. Qualitative Analysis
Gould, D. R., Tuffey, S., Udry, E., & Loehr, J. E. (1996) · The Sport Psychologist · doi:10.1123/tsp.10.4.341 · Cited by 278 · see citing works
Hall, R. T., Foss, K. B., Hewett, T. E., et al. (2014) · Journal of Sport Rehabilitation · doi:10.1123/jsr.2013-0101 · Cited by 255 · see citing works
Intensive Training and Sports Specialization in Young Athletes
Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness (2000) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.106.1.154 · Cited by 240 · see citing works
Patrick, H., Ryan, A. M., Alfeld-Liro, C., Fredricks, J. A., Hruda, L. Z., & Eccles, J. S. (1999) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1023/a:1021643718575 · Cited by 218 · see citing works
Ardern, C. L., Taylor, N. F., Feller, J. A., & Webster, K. E. (2012) · Journal of science and medicine in sport · doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2012.03.015 · Cited by 183 · see citing works
Podlog, L. W., & Eklund, R. C. (2006) · Psychology of sport and exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2006.07.008 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Sports-Related Injuries in Youth Athletes: Is Overscheduling a Risk Factor?
Luke, A. C., Lazaro, R. M., Bergeron, M. F., Keyser, L., Benjamin, H. J., Brenner, J. S., d’Hemecourt, P. A., Grady, M. F., Philpott, J., & Smith, A. D. (2011) · Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine · doi:10.1097/jsm.0b013e3182218f71 · Cited by 172 · see citing works
Mountjoy, M. L., Andersen, L. B., Armstrong, N., Biddle, S., Boreham, C. A., Bedenbeck, H.-P. B., Ekelund, U., Engebretsen, L., Hardman, K., Hills, A. P., et al. (2011) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsports-2011-090228 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Self-citationAn 8-Stage Model for Evaluating the Tennis Serve
Kovacs, M. S., & Ellenbecker, T. S. (2011) · Sports Health A Multidisciplinary Approach · doi:10.1177/1941738111414175 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Correlates of Stress Fractures Among Preadolescent and Adolescent Girls
Loud, K. J., Gordon, C. M., Micheli, L. J., & Field, A. E. (2005) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2004-1868 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Self-citationBurnout in Competitive Junior Tennis Players: III. Individual Differences in the Burnout Experience
Gould, D. R., Udry, E., Tuffey, S., et al. (1997) · The Sport Psychologist · doi:10.1123/tsp.11.3.257 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Sociodemographic Predictors of Sport Injury in Adolescents
ROSE, M. S., Emery, C. A., & Meeuwisse, W. H. (2008) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e31815ce61a · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Exercise Deficit Disorder in Youth
Faigenbaum, A. D., & Myer, G. D. (2012) · Current Sports Medicine Reports · doi:10.1249/jsr.0b013e31825da961 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Self-citationPrevention of Elbow Injuries in Youth Baseball Pitchers
Fleisig, G. S., Weber, A., Hassell, N., et al. (2009) · Current Sports Medicine Reports · doi:10.1249/jsr.0b013e3181b7ee5f · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Factors Associated with Wrist Pain in the Young Gymnast
DiFiori, J. P., Puffer, J. C., Mandelbaum, B. R., et al. (1996) · The American Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1177/036354659602400103 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Self-citationPrevalence and Prognostic Factors of Disability After Childhood Injury
Polinder, S., Meerding, W. J., Toet, H., et al. (2005) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2005-1035 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Prevalence of adolescent injury from recreational exercise: an australian perspective
Grimmer, K. A., Jones, D., & Williams, J. (2000) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/s1054-139x(00)00120-8 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Knowledge of and Compliance With Pitch Count Recommendations
Fazarale, J. J., Magnussen, R. A., Pedroza, A. D., et al. (2012) · Sports Health A Multidisciplinary Approach · doi:10.1177/1941738111435632 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Psychological effects of chronic injury in elite athletes.
Shuer, M. L., & Dietrich, M. S. (1997) · PubMed · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Psychological Issues Related to Injury in Athletes and the Team Physician
(2006) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e31802b37a6 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Sheets, A. L., Abrams, G. D., Corazza, S., et al. (2011) · Annals of Biomedical Engineering · doi:10.1007/s10439-011-0418-y · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Sport Commitment Among Competitive Female Gymnasts
Weiss, W. M., & Weiss, M. R. (2007) · Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport · doi:10.1080/02701367.2007.10599407 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Long term sport involvement and sport injury rate in elite young athletes
Maffulli, N. (2005) · Archives of Disease in Childhood · doi:10.1136/adc.2004.057653 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Repeated-bout exercise in the heat in young athletes: physiological strain and perceptual responses
Bergeron, M. F., Laird, M. D., Marinik, E. L., Brenner, J. S., & Waller, J. L. (2008) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00122.2008 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
The Professionalization of Youth Sports: It's Time to Act!
Gould, D. R. (2009) · Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine · doi:10.1097/jsm.0b013e31819edaff · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Wrist Pain in Young Gymnasts: Frequency and Effects Upon Training Over 1 Year
DiFiori, J. P., Puffer, J. C., Aish, B., et al. (2002) · Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine · doi:10.1097/00042752-200211000-00005 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Self-citationAndrew, N. E., Wolfe, R. S., Cameron, P. A., Richardson, M., Page, R. S., Bucknill, A., & Gabbe, B. J. (2012) · Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0838.2012.01523.x · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Young People in Canada: Their Health and Well-being
Boyce, W. (2004) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e615182012-001 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children
Halgin, R. P. (2009) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000346432.16377.99 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour 10 year age eligibility and professional development review
Otis, C. L., Crespo, M., Flygare, C., Johnston, P., Keber, A., Lloyd-Kolkin, D., Loehr, J. E., Martin, K., Pluim, B. M., Quinn, A., et al. (2006) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsm.2005.023366 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Thibodeau, M. A., Fetzner, M. G., Carleton, R. N., Kachur, S., & Asmundson, G. J. G. (2012) · Journal of Pain · doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2012.10.014 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Andrew, N. E., Wolfe, R. S., Cameron, P. A., Richardson, M., Page, R. S., Bucknill, A., & Gabbe, B. J. (2012) · Injury Prevention · doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2011-040190 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Psychological Influences Predict Recovery Following Exercise Induced Shoulder Pain
Parr, J. J., Borsa, P. A., Fillingim, R. B., et al. (2013) · International Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1055/s-0033-1345179 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Sheets, A. L., Corazza, S., Abrams, G., et al. (2009) · ASME Summer Bioengineering Conference (SBC) · doi:10.1115/sbc2009-206376 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
(2009) · Journal of Coaching Education · doi:10.1123/jce.2.1.1 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 8
- [10]Barynina I Vaitsekhovskii S The aftermath of early sports specialization for highly qualified swimmers. Fitness Sports Rev Int. 1992; 27: 132- 133.
- [14]Butcher J Lindner KJ Johns DP Withdrawal from competitive youth sport: a retrospective ten-year study. J Sports Behav. 2002; 25: 145- 163.
- [28]Gould D Carson S Fun & games? Myths surrounding the role of youth sports in developing Olympic champions. Youth Stud Aust. 2004; 23: 19.
- [29]Gould D Carson S Fifer A Lauer L Benham R Social-emotional and life skill development issues characterizing today’s high school sport experience. J Coach Educ. 2009; 2: 1- 25.
- [30]Gould D Feltz D Horn T Weiss MR Reasons for attrition in competitive youth swimming. J Sport Behav. 1982; 5: 155- 165.
- [38]Jayanthi N Dechert A Durazo R Dugas L Luke A Training and sports specialization risks in junior elite tennis players. J Med Sci Tennis. 2011; 16: 14- 20.
- [41]Kontos AP Feltz DL Malina RM The perception of risk of injury in sports scale: confirming adolescent athletes’ concerns about injury. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2000; 22: S12.
- [68]Wolff A High school sports: inside the changing world of our young athletes. Sports Illustrated. 2002; 97(20): 74- 92.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The NBA and youth basketball: recommendations for promoting a healthy and positive experience
DiFiori, J. P., Güllich, A., Brenner, J. S., Côté, J., Hainline, B., Ryan, E., & Malina, R. M. (2018) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.1007/s40279-018-0950-0 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Self-citationInjury prevention in youth sports
Stracciolini, A., Sugimoto, D., & Howell, D. R. (2017) · Pediatric Annals · doi:10.3928/19382359-20170223-01 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Creatine supplementation in the pediatric and adolescent athlete-- A literature review
Metzger, G. A., Minneci, P. M., Gehred, A., Day, A., & Klingele, K. E. (2023) · Journal of Orthopaedics · doi:10.1016/j.jor.2023.03.010 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Exploring New Approaches to Youth Sports Programs: Montessori Motor Development
Rigaud, V., & Quinn, R. W. (2023) · Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance · doi:10.1080/07303084.2023.2237550 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
- Authors
- Myer, G. D., Jayanthi, N., Difiori, J. P., Faigenbaum, A. D., Kiefer, A. W., Logerstedt, D., & Micheli, L. J.
- Affiliations
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
- Emory University (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- The College of New Jersey (US)
- University of the Sciences (US)
- Boston Children's Hospital (US)
- Corresponding author
- Myer, Gregory D.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-08-06
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 437-442
- ISSN
- 1941-0921 (ISSN-L)
- 1941-7381
- PMC
- PMC4547120
- OpenAlex
- W1924403535
- Cited by
- 409
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 35 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 51 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 60 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 22.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Sports Health A Multidisciplinary Approach (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports injuries and prevention
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Injury Epidemiology and Prevention
- Keywords
- sport specialization, youth athletes, year-round training, overuse injuries, sports injury risk, burnout, youth sport participation, free play
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Athletic Injuries, Competitive Behavior, Humans, Physical Education and Training, Cumulative Trauma Disorders, Risk Factors, Specialization, Sports, Stress, Psychological
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
