Noted sports surgeon warns against overuse and specialization.

[AlbertFT]

Because. Can't you tell what's going on here? Football is king. Everything else is bad and how dare these other sports take away kids that we can use on the football field? How dare these kids not enjoy getting hit everyday in practice from August to December(if their team is good). Shame on the kids who just want to play one sport and it's all the basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball coaches faults who are honest with the kids from jump. It's all AAU and travel teams spots for offering kids an opportunity to get better. Yeah, even James Andrews says the kids should be playing football and not specializing in one thing because the kids will get hurt. James Andrews is the world's most prestigious surgeon and everything he says is right. Play all sports kids. Don't listen to your coach. Don't play AAU. Play football. Come to the gridiron kids!!!!!

 

 

That's what is happening in this thread and it's the same thing they say the other sports are doing. It's just by their rules in here.

 

There are many kids i look at and wonder why they didnt play football. There are many kids who others look at, I'm sure you are one of them, and say why didn't they play basketball? or baseball? The following incidences are completely plausible excuses for not playing those sports: too small, too afraid, hs job, grades take precedence, or simply not interested. Having an AAU coach, club coach, or a HS coach telling them or suggesting them not to play is unacceptable. If an AAU coach is telling some naive 15 year old kid and their absolute clueless parents that he/she is going to get a scholarship, that coach is lying. These are the reasons i despise AAU/club sports. When you tell a kid who is impressionable what is good for them at the age of 10-12, they listen. When you tell a parent that if they pay x amount of dollars and their kid can play in an exposure, travelling baseball league....they are all ears. When kids attempt to play club sorts in the same season as a HS sport, thats where burnout, injury, and ultimately quitting other sports come in to play. I agree with your main argument PurplePride, let the kid play all the sports they want to but come one, a 5-8 kid should not be focusing on basketball...unless thats what he wants to do. Not at the pressure of coaches telling him that he has to play year round.

[All Tell]

And I say "Thank you, Club soccer and AAU basketball."

High school sports are not always where it's at. With the current school transfer rules, where many kids can transfer to the school with the better teams with no questions asked while others would have to sit out a year, the club sports and AAU gives kids a chance to compete on a stacked team. It gives them a chance to really taste success at the sport that they love, especially if the school program is lacking talent.

 

Then play AAU and don't take a spot on a HS roster.

[All Tell]

How about getting back to the gist of the thread. That a noted orthopedic surgeon (who has operated on UK players so that should give him God-like status on this board) stated that it's harmful for kids to do this?

[THUNDERBIRDS]

Received this article a couple of weeks ago from a guy I coach with. This article was kind of a coincidence that he found right after I told him that we lost the best player in the FTJFL from our team that we both coach this year due to a knee injury he suffered from a freak accident playing baseball. Am I blaming baseball? Absolutely not but maybe a little rest once and a while would be beneficial to the young kids out there. Just an opinion! I thought it was some good reading......

[Voice of Reason]

Because. Can't you tell what's going on here? Football is king. Everything else is bad and how dare these other sports take away kids that we can use on the football field? How dare these kids not enjoy getting hit everyday in practice from August to December(if their team is good). Shame on the kids who just want to play one sport and it's all the basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball coaches faults who are honest with the kids from jump. It's all AAU and travel teams spots for offering kids an opportunity to get better. Yeah, even James Andrews says the kids should be playing football and not specializing in one thing because the kids will get hurt. James Andrews is the world's most prestigious surgeon and everything he says is right. Play all sports kids. Don't listen to your coach. Don't play AAU. Play football. Come to the gridiron kids!!!!!

 

 

That's what is happening in this thread and it's the same thing they say the other sports are doing. It's just by their rules in here.

 

My point is very simple. If you are a good or better high school athlete and you are playing only one sport, you are missing out on fun, development and great life experiences.

 

On the coaching side - if you are pushing kids to play one sport only, I wish you nothing but failure. Personally, I think you should get out of coaching if that is your attitude because you obviously care more about you and your success than the kids you should be focused on.

[spindoc]

Well, to hopefully bring this discussion in full circle and back to the topic of the thread, I think it's obvious that repetitive strain on ligaments, muscle groups, joints are way more taxing without rest. However, it's my contention that if you play year round, and change sports, that you have a different stress and have some "rest" from the repetition. I played 75 games+ a summer in baseball when I was 15-18 before I went to college. I attended a small high school and most of our boys played every sport from the beginning of the school year to the end. Then I added baseball in the summer. I'm also of the opinion that there were just as many injuries then as there is now. But that's just my non-James Andrews opinion.

[Voice of Reason]

I will add that the Reds team doctor, Tim Kremcheck, also is a strong believer in what Dr. Andrews said. I have heard Dr. Kremcheck say on more than one occasion that it is much better for kids development and their health to play more than one sport.

[rjs4470]

I can't speak for other sports, but I've seen a rise in injuries in baseball. Pitchers and catcher's especially because of the amount of throwing they do. I've also seen it in volleyball. Those two sports have the unique throwing/hitting action that is not a natural movement.

[PurplePride92]

I know a ton of kids that play one sport and when I think of kids I know that got injured the one injury I know of happened to the kid that plays 3 sports and another that played 2 sports.

[rjs4470]

I know a ton of kids that play one sport and when I think of kids I know that got injured the one injury I know of happened to the kid that plays 3 sports and another that played 2 sports.

 

Injuries happen, especially in sports that have a lot of contact. Basketball comes to mind as a sport where I can't see how playing all the time will result in a greater risk for injury. It's played indoors and in a controlled environment, and most of the movements are fairly natural. I guess it's bound to happen, and while basketball is physical, I haven't seen many injuries that require surgery.

[spindoc]

Injuries happen, especially in sports that have a lot of contact. Basketball comes to mind as a sport where I can't see how playing all the time will result in a greater risk for injury. It's played indoors and in a controlled environment, and most of the movements are fairly natural. I guess it's bound to happen, and while basketball is physical, I haven't seen many injuries that require surgery.

Wow, I have. I'll say ligament strain is worse in basketball than the others with the exception of soccer.

[RCC9]

First not all AAU orgs and coaches are crooks and deceiving the youth. Some are and those are the ones you hear about. But others are there to give kids competitive opportunities outside of school ball. I ran an AAU org and not one of our coaches or directors (Me) made a dime off of it. At it's height, we had 14 boys and girls team playing in leagues and tournament. And not one time did I hear any of our coaches telling kids to only play one sport.

 

Now as you get older (approx after freshman year), I feel if you are a good athlete, there is a time to chose the sport you want to focus on. But that doesn't mean that you have to quit other sports. For me that means that you can play the other sports in high school, but you might need to reduce the the select teams you play on down to one sport. You can make it work if you find the right org for you. I also agree with Purple Pride that the work on your focal sport must be on your own with your family or in your back yard. No matter what a select sport coach tells you, it's about the work you put in off the field/court that gives you the edge. This might mean that if your sport is basketball and you want to play soccer for your high school team that you find a way to maintain some of your bball skills on the side. I said "maintain", not workout. Anybody that has the passion for one sport over the other can find some time to work on the sport, even during the season of another sport without causing stress mentally or physically.

 

Also, many want to blame select sports for whats going on. But if you ask just about ANY college coach where they do most of their recruiting, they will tell you at select tournaments and yes, exposure camps and tournaments. Here's why. If you were a college coach, where do you get the best bang for your buck? Let's just take a high school AAU event. Coaches can take one weekend and get to see 100's of kids. And guess what...they are seeing them get tested against the best teams and players in the particular region. You don't get that in high school sports as consistent as select sports. When you go to a high school game, that opponent may not have anyone of the caliber of the athlete they are looking at. They may have one or even two players if the opponent is a great team, but AAU teams play opponents that challege these athletes everytime they take the floor! Where would you go to recruit?? It's a shame, but most college coaches don't even waste their time on high school games until they are already recruiting you and are trying to get you to come to their school.

 

It's a shame that it's come to this, but it is what has evolved. I want my kids to play as many as they want, but I will reccommend they focus on one if they are talented enough to have a shot. Again, not quit the others, just make time to put in extra time on the one they chose.

[rjs4470]

Wow, I have. I'll say ligament strain is worse in basketball than the others with the exception of soccer.

 

I guess my point was, while I've seen injuries in basketball, I haven't seen the major injuries that require surgery. I'm in no way saying it doesn't happen. And ligament strains I are more the direct result of something specific happening (jumping and landing on somebodies foot for example) rather than from over use. I'm not a doctor (although I have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express a few times), and I guess one could argue that fatigue from year round playing could play a role in that happening.

[hoops5]

Regarding injuries----

my two sporter (soccer and basketball) does half an hour of the Insanity workout and now his knee is bothering him. So there's that.....

[AlbertFT]

Football injuries occur mostly due to the nature of the contact and aggressive cutting. I have seen individuals with lingering injuries from baseball/basketball have to sit during football while they heal. I think many of the baseball injuries occur due to too much throwing, too many games, as many people have said. Basketball and volleyball injuries which have become very common, stress fractures and sprains, are from overuse and repetitive movement on the gym floors. You also see a ton of overuse injuries in cheerleading, swimming, and running. In many cases it is because the coach is not training the athletes properly and allowing them to rest during the season. Could you imagine if all football programs went full pads, every day leading up til Friday?? Everyone's body needs time to heal and playing two sports at a time or sport after sport is not the right approach. If a kid does multiple HS sports, there needs to be some time off and a adjusting period to the rigor of the new activity. I know most adults on this forum have played multiple sports in HS and didn't have serious injuries to speak about....how do you feel today is the question? Taking proper care of your body during season (along with proper nutrition) and allowing your body to heal while complimenting that with light-moderate weight lifting is what should be recommended.