Kids and Fitness---One Sport or Many?

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

05 Sep 2008 08:50 PM

It's a question I pondered recently when enrolling my 4-year-old in soccer. She loves playing soccer, but she also loves tumbling, swimming, golfing, and shooting hoops. So do I have her stick with a single sport at an early age, which can lead to advanced skill level and potentially a college scholarship (or if I want to dream bigger... success akin to Olympic gold medal winning gymnast Shawn Johnson, who began tumbling when she was just 3 years old) or do I enroll her in several different classes to expose her to a variety of activities?

There are pros and cons to each (I'll let you know what I ended up doing with my daughter at the end of this blog), but pediatricians are quick to point out that only one answer (their answer) is best for your child. According to a recent entry to a medical journal I read while contemplating my dilemma, it is a rare child who win get to the top tier of any sport. In most cases children who focus on a single sport experience overuse injuries and burnout.

According to doctors, when a child specializes in one sport early in life, certain body parts are subjected to repetitive stress. For example, the arm of a Little League pitcher or the spine of a gymnast will feel the stress in a relatively short amount of time when repeatedly used. Likewise, studies have found that there has been an alarming rise in injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament, the main ligament that stabilizes the knee joint among young soccer players. Doctors say this is a particular concern because repair involves drilling into the leg bone.

Instead of sticking with a single sport, pediatricians recommend parents expose their young children to a variety of physical activities that develop different skills and use different body parts. For example, if your child is enrolled in soccer consider adding a tennis class so his or her overused muscles will get a break while he or she still remains physically active.

In the end it wasn't a muscle issue that made me decide to switch up my daughter's class schedule--it was her interest level. She simply grew tired of playing soccer week after week. My saving grace came in the form of a "Sports Round Up" class I found offered at a local gym. The 10-week course provides instruction in 5 different sports (basketball, football, hockey, soccer, and baseball) with 2 weeks dedicated to each sport. My daughter loves it and she gets to develop different skills and use different body parts... and more importantly--have fun.

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Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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