Sports specialization gaining ground - will it fall victim to economic choices?

Parents may want to do what they perceive as best for their athletically gifted children, but will the current economic crisis cause a shift back to the more traditional youth sports route and away from the elite, club level sports teams? We won't know for sure without the benefit of hindsight as the participation numbers roll in, but the staggering costs of participation will almost have to lead to a shift away from the travel ball teams.

Typical costs for participation in youth sports at high levels:

Softball ~$1750
Admissions - $100
Registration - $150
Tournament Fees - $400
Equipment - $150
Travel Expenses - $350
HS Activity Fee - $150
SB Equipment - $150
HS Travel Expenses - $250

Football ~$1150
Clinics - $50
Speed Agility Camp - $75
Equipment $50
HS Activity Fee - $150
Equipment - $200
Travel Expenses - $200
Admissions - $400

Baseball ~$2200
Tournament Fees - $350
Travel Expenses - $350
Admissions - $200
BB Showcase - $500
BB Clinic - $50
Speed Agility Camp - $75
Equipment - $200
HS Participation Fee - $150
HS Travel Expenses - $300

Basketball seems to be a bit more immune to these accelerating costs, so it seems as if the travel ball, AAU type influence will to continue to dominate the landscape here.

$5,100 per year for a SB playing daughter plus a two sport (baseball and football) son. Typical middle to upper middle class family with money to spend but not money to waste.

** Sports like softball, baseball, volleyball, hockey and lacrosse are becoming too expensive for low to middle income families to participate. They risk being considered "country club" sports like golf, tennis, horse back riding and polo.

** Overall Costs Reduce Participation Rates - The gap between participation and success rates between the haves and the have-nots is clearly widening.

** Time Constraints Reduce Participation Rates - between 24-48 hours per week for practices and games. For a two parent family with more than two kids, the schedules can stretch parents thin. For a one parent family, where the parent works two jobs, parental participation can be near impossible task.

** Increased Participation Fees Reduce Participation Rates - The number of students who do not play high school sports because their families cannot afford the participation fees and are too embarrassed to apply for a fee waiver is growing.

Parents may be seeking some economies of scale by cutting down the number of sports their children participate in rather than eliminate participation entirely, thereby cutting down the number of multi-sports athletes and increasing the number of "sports specialists" to cut overall expenses.
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Benefits of Multi-Sports Participation - Negatives of Sports Specialization

Benefits

** Specialists peak at age 15-16 versus 18+ for multi-spots athletes
** Specialists master their sport skills faster than multi-sport athletes
** HS specialists are WYSIWYG while multi-sports athletes leave room for higher ceiling or projectability
** Specialists tend to have higher injury rates

Negatives

** Added risk of overuse injuries
** Added risk of burn out
** Percentage of College Scholarships awarded is small
** Not achieving full athletic potential

A cursory look at almost any major collegiate baseball teams player bios will show that between 66-75% of the players report participation in multiple sports.

The majority of players drafted in the NFL draft report playing multiple sports in high school.

A majority of draft gurus and GM's from baseball and football default to "taking the best athlete available" after the early rounds.

Most college recruiters look for multiple sport participation and score players who do letter in ore than one sport higher. One of the questions on virtually every college athletic application is "what other sport did you participate other than your primary sport"?

Research continues to pile up showing that multiple sport participation is the better route to athletic success than early specialization.

Research Supporting Multiple Sport Participation:
(Hill, 1988)
(Hill & Hansen, 1988)
(Matheson, 1990)
(Gillis, 1993)
(Cardone, 1994)


Research Supporting Specialization:
(Lord, 2000)
(Hill, 1987)
(Hill & Simmons, 1989)
(Hill & Hansen, 1988)
(Hash, 2000)

We hear a lot about the success stories such as Tiger Woods but not as much about those that went the specialization route and did not succeed.

The great examples of multiple sport participation stretch back in history from Jim Thorpe, Babe Didrickson, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, Cal Ripken, John Elway to Joe Mauer. Decades and decades of success stories that continue to this day.

Most think it unwise to specialize at a young age.
Some even think it bad through high school.

With the pot of gold at he end of the rainbow being the allure of a college scholarship, many parents are led to believe that specializing is the best way to become good enough at a sport to have a shot at obtaining one.

Multiple sports participation should be encouraged from an early age though college years. It is better to encourage a wide range of athletic activities to build a solid base of athletic skills that will transfer to a higher level of sports skills in the athletes sport of choice.

Multiple athletic activities -> Higher level of Athletic Skills and Abilities -> Higher Level of Sport Skills and Abilities.
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From CoachesInfo.com

Specialization in Sport: How early... How necessary?
David Susanj, Butte Public Schools, Mt, USA; Craig Stewart, Montana State University, Mt, USA

http://www.coachesinfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=303:specialization&catid=91:general-articles&Itemid=170


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