As a child growing up we played a variety of sports and worked as high school students in the summer and workout for our sports at night. However, today’s athletes starting at age 6 are playing year round sports. For some sports like baseball, volleyball, hockey, tennis, basketball, cheerleading, and gymnastics, these are year round sports.

Here is the problem with young athletes. They are developing in bone, ligament, tendon, muscle and mentally through these years. There is now tending statistical data showing high incidences of kids having adult like injuries (ACL tears, tendon ruptures, fractures, ligament damage, tendonitis and bursitis). These injures are the result of overuse.

Kids playing multiple sports is a good thing. It increase the child’s athletic abilities. More importantly allows the child’s body and joints to have different stressors, forces being applied to different areas allowing healing to occur in overused regions.

Children nowadays are loaded with homework, practices, and other responsibilities. This can also be mentally fatiguing to the child. Think about giving your child a break in the off season so that they can grow, heal , and mentally chill out a bit and just be a kid. Plus the less demand on the family dynamic will be felt as well.

Just food for thought.

Dr. John