A new report takes a look at the increasingly common trend of children being injured because of the repetitive motions required of playing the same sport all throughout the calendar year. By consulting the opinions of coaches and others involved with youth sports, the story suggests not only that children could be protected by getting some balance into their lives, but that the actual worth of playing a sport around the clock may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
It’s easy to see why children are increasingly being pushed to emphasize one sport over all others. There’s more competition than ever at the professional and collegiate level, which means that the competition has extended to youth leagues as well. If a child has a natural gift for a given sport, parents hoping to secure a college scholarship may feel that they have to put their children through the same intensive regimen as other kids or risk falling behind.
This puts pressure on the child athlete, who doesn’t want to let down their parents and who wants to compete as much as anyone. Coaches may be under similar pressure, especially if keeping their jobs is a matter of getting kids to perform to an adequate degree. Thus, children are hearing from all sides that they need to push themselves and play through injury.
When all of these factors are combined, it’s easy to see that more is being asked of child athletes now than at perhaps any time in the past, with baseball players taking the brunt of the media attention. Nowadays, it’s not enough in many leagues for a baseball player to play in the spring and take the rest of the year off. Leagues are set up in a way that allows baseball to be played year round, and children in many parts of the country are expected to play on traveling teams that visit tournaments across the nation in a bid to catch the eye of scouts.
This kind of thing has led to a rapid increase in the number of injuries related to overuse. The CDC estimates that more than one sixth of the 30 million kids who play sports will need to submit to medical treatment. The report linked to above casts Florida in particular in an interesting light. There has apparently been a backlash against pitchers from that state because they suffer from arm injuries attributed to overuse to such a large degree.
As one doctor notes, there are a few simple ways to avoid an overuse injury, namely by not encouraging overuse. Children who want to play any sport, not just baseball, should stick with one team for that particular sport, and they should be encouraged to engage in other activities during the offseason so that they achieve balance. Time must also be taken to rest.
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