Youth Specialization in Sports: A photo essay
They call it youth specialization; the idea of intensely practicing one sport in your youth and excluding all others. The dedication and perseverance attitude associated with this tactic can seem admirable, at first. However, according to the National Sports Medicine Institute, youth specialization in sports can lead to athlete burnout, an often irreversible consequence, (“Sport Specialization in Young Athletes and Promoting Long-Term Athletic Development”).
In recent years, the percent of young athletes specializing in one sport has grown drastically. According to the National Library of Medicine, 77.7% of high school athletic directors reported seeing a growing trend in sports specialization, (“Sports Specialization in Young Athletes - PMC”). Plus, there are a growing number of travel leagues across the board for kids aged 7-8 years old, which is something that didn’t exist in years prior, (“Sports Specialization in Young Athletes - PMC”). The reasons for sports specialization varies between kids but it includes getting college scholarships, becoming a professional or even Olympic-level athlete and more.
Sports specialization often starts in high school for many kids. By the age of 18, 95% of sports players are specializing in one sport, (“Sports Specialization in Young Athletes - PMC”). For many professionals in any industry, speicalizing in one talent can help them grow their skills and knowledge faster than others who disperse their time over many talents. For example, a study showed that musicians who began training after 5 years old were unable to catch up to those who started before or at the age of 5, (“Sports Specialization in Young Athletes - PMC”). However, in sports, there is no consistent research to support the idea that early intense training will guarantee elite athletic ability, (“Sports Specialization in Young Athletes - PMC”).
Despite a lack of sufficient, research many trends suggest that there is increased pressure for young kids to train intensely in one sport to become better, (“\/”). According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the increased pressure has caused a rise in overuse injuries, overtraining and burnout. Overuse injuries are sports-related injuries that happen after repeatedly straining the same part of the body, typically by overtraining. In recent years, these injuries have made up about 46-50% of all athletic injuries, according to Boston Children’s Hospital (“Overuse Injuries”). Overuse injuries are especially dangerous because they can lead to the early retirement of a sport, especially in strenuous sports positions like pitchers in baseball. Additionally, youth specialization is also dangerous for a childs psychological and mental wellbeing. By overworking and pushing oneself too hard in one sport, children can feel burnt out and lose the enjoyment that’s supposed to come with playing the sport. Research from the American College of Sports Medicine suggests that about 35% of professional athletes suffer from burn out, depression, anxiety and/or disordered eating, (“The American College of Sports Medicine Statement on Mental Health Challenges for Athletes”).
Therefore, this substantial data begs the question, how much training is too much? One suggestion brought by the Academy of Pediatrics is to participate in fewer hours of organized sports per week than a child’s age in years. This would mean if a child is 8, he or she should not participate in more than 8 hours of sports training a week. Another suggestion is to restrict training to less than 16 hours a week to lower the chance of injury and burnout, (“\/”). Overall, children should not feel forced to participate in something they do not enjoy. Researchers say that its important to keep the excitement and enjoyment in the game, while also working to improve skill and knowledge of the games.
The following images detail a few 11-year-old children who are actively specializing only in basketball.
A boy who feels frustrated and disappointed in himself for not making the last shot in a close-scoring game. When children are overworked, they get down on themselves more easily, which often leads to burnout.
#22 has his hands around his head, rather than being in a ready position because he feels stressed about the outcome of the other team’s foul shot. He is overpracticing and therefore overthinking the aspects of the game he cannot control. This is an example of when overworking oneself becomes enjoyable.
A boy is getting a pep talk from a family member in the stands. He is young and perceptive to advice and criticism from his role models. He also relies heavily on those around him to help him up since he still is learning how to play the game.
One kid is cheering up another kid after losing the game. The kid on the right feels disappointed in himself because he trained long hours to win the game. Despite long training, there is no guarantee of success, as the research shows.
The kid on the left is leaning on his knees due to feeling tired and overworked. This kid has been playing throughout the entire game and feels unsatisfied with his performance because he realizes he doesn’t want to play basketball anymore. He has been training all week but is not living up to the expectations that are set for him due to athlete burnout.
This boy has just injured his right leg while dribbling down the court. This is a result of overtraining during practices before the big game. Overuse injuries happen to athletes who specialize in one sport and strain the same muscle over and over again.
This picture was taken right before an injury happened. Just like the last one, this injury was also due to overusing one muscle, in particular the hamstring during intense practices. Intense running and dribbling drills can cause overuse injuries like this, therefore researchers recommend limiting the number of hours playing one sport per week.
Reflection
Upon creating this photo essay, there were multiple techniques involved in telling the full story. Each of the photographs that were taken represents a point in an athletic game where someone who is specializing in one sport may fall short, rather than succeed. The goal of this project was to convey the emotional toll that youth specialization can have on a young person. In many of the photos you can see children facing emotional distress, discouragement and disappointment in themselves based on their belief that they did not perform well enough. This comes from overtraining and is the beginning stage of burnout in athletes. According to many researchers, burnout comes from working at a sport for too many hours a week to a point where it consumes your life and eradicates the fun and enjoyment that used to fill that space in your heart.
I would categorize the pictures into overuse injuries, burnout, and overtraining. Each of these categories goes along with the adverse effects of youth specialization in sports and can be displayed by the emotion in each of the photos.
Techniques used
Among the many tactics involved in this photojournalism process, one that stood out to me the most was honesty. Honesty was easy to convey through pictures because there is nothing more honest than a person’s facial expressions. In each of the photos I used, I provided some background information so that the viewers could understand the circumstances behind the emotion that was clearly being shown on the person’s face. Another tactic I used was putting principles into practice. This is commonly used in visual journalism to ensure that journalists are sticking to the honor they serve to the community. In this essay, this tactic has helped to ensure that the message is being efficiently conveyed through the choice of images. I also used the technique – anticipate – in many of the photos that were taken. In the pictures, I anticipated a missed shot, an injury, a timeout and more. This allowed me to capture raw moments rather than moments before or afterward. Furthermore, I also researched the team that I captured before going into the game. I knew that the group of 11-year-olds I was taking pictures of, only played basketball for a travel team that had at least 2 practices and 2 games a week. According to the research I did, this far exceeds the limit that 11-year-olds are supposed to train. I also did heavy research on the actual topic of youth specialization in sports by reading different studies from academies, colleges and organizations. During the game, I found myself using the “prioritize” technique to pick which aspect of the game I was going to focus my lens on. Since basketball is a very busy game, I knew that I would have to choose where the lens would be zoomed in on, to get the perfect shot. Additionally, I used the “reach out” and “interact” techniques to talk to some of the players before and after the game. In talking casually to them, I learned the extent to which they practiced before the game and was able to provide more context clues into the emotions that I captured. Lastly, I did not get involved in the game when I was taking the pictures. This allowed me to use the “invisible” technique throughout the storytelling process. Interfering with the visual storytelling would have interfered with the result of the picture, therefore by removing myself the pictures were honest and true to the game.
Overall, I enjoyed telling a story through these photos and also learning a little bit more about youth specialization in sports as I believe I know many young people who have or are suffering from this.
Works Cited
“\/.” YouTube, 16 June 2023, https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/3/e20162148/52612/Sports-Specialization-and-Intensive-Training-in?autologincheck=redirected. Accessed 19 November 2023.
“The American College of Sports Medicine Statement on Mental Health Challenges for Athletes.” American College of Sports Medicine, 9 August 2021, https://www.acsm.org/news-detail/2021/08/09/the-american-college-of-sports-medicine-statement-on-mental-health-challenges-for-athletes. Accessed 19 November 2023.
“Overuse Injuries.” Boston Children's Hospital, https://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions/overuse-injuries. Accessed 19 November 2023.
“Sport Specialization in Young Athletes and Promoting Long-Term Athletic Development.” The National Sports Medicine Institute, 22 October 2020, https://www.nationalsportsmed.com/sports-specialization/. Accessed 19 November 2023.
“Sports Specialization in Young Athletes - PMC.” NCBI, May 2013, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3658407/. Accessed 19 November 2023.