http://changingthegameproject.com/is-it-wise-to-specialize/
I agree a lot with this article. We decided this year with 3 kids we had to make each of them choose one sport/activity per season. Luckily, this has worked so far for us, and helps us budget our time, finances, & balance their overall childhood experiences. They still have time to play with friends outside and just be a kid. And we make sure their "off" time is not all spent inside with video games and tv shows. The majority of their time is not spent inside. They have a love for playing outside - they ride bikes, they play tennis, kickball, football, soccer in the culdesac with friends, jump on the trampoline, swing on the swing-set, ride scooters, swim at the pool with friends, and I'm sure more that I'm leaving out that they do just for fun that doesn't cost me any money or time. And when they do have sports practice they "enjoy" going. So far, our sports experiences have been soccer, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, & dance. And so far all of these sports experiences are not year-round with no break. So far, we haven't ever played Spring sports, and have reserved that time for playing outside at home. We reserve summer for sports camps and other activities. This may change as they get older, but I like the way we have been specific about protecting our family time too. I want them to experience many things in life and find out what they enjoy the most and not put all their eggs in one basket early on, if you will. It's important to be well rounded in all areas of course. I realized recently that there are many kids who don't know how to roller skate because they've never had time to be taken to just go skate. It's such a fun activity, but where will it get them in life you know? They won't be able to make the high school roller skating team. But they'll have fun, they'll learn coordination, they'll be getting exercise. It didn't even occur to me to take them until about a year ago, because we were busy with all of our organized sports. Even just one day a week for sports practice, one day for church, and keeping up with school work and good routines prevent us sometimes from doing regular childhood experiences. It may be harder for kids who say they only want to do one sport and that is all though. So far, we haven't experienced that, but we've purposefully encouraged them to try different things from the beginning. Do I hope they will be skilled enough to play for a team in middle school, high school, and/or college if they desire to? Of course! But I don't want them injured before they even get to that point. I'm sure the pressure gets more as they get older too. But just because they specialize young still doesn't guarantee them a spot on the travel or high school team. Unfortunately many sports for young kids have become so political and competitive early on. We've felt the pressure even to change from Upward, a faith based sports organization which encourages equal playing time, learning the skills of how to play the game, focusing on team work and fun, and not as much on keeping score to more competitive leagues. And we did actually switch our boys to the AYSO league which does keep score and provides more challenge for them in soccer, but only after Ethan had played 5 years in Upward and we knew he needed more of a challenge because he wanted to, and Caleb had played 2 years of Upward. They both are doing Upward basketball this winter for a 2nd year, and even after only playing one year, I'm pressured by outside influences to consider a more competitive league so they don't get "left behind." But at this point I don't think it is necessary to move to another league until we see more of if they want to continue it in a more competitive league. Granted it was a while ago by today's standards, but my sisters and I never played any organized sport until we got to middle school. Always played on the school's team, never a recreational league, or specialized travel league, and we all were on varsity sports teams in high school. My sisters both had scholarships in college for sports, and I had the opportunity to also, had I chosen to continue, but chose not to. So, it is still very do-able even though people will tell you differently. I hope more coaches and parents will start adopting this philosophy of thinking so that kids (and parents) don't feel that pressure to specialize early, or they'll be left behind. I already have friends I know whose middle school and high school aged children are injured from sports, and may or may not have the option to continue in college. Perhaps my view will change as my children get older. But I hope to fight against the prevailing theory of thought in this area, and stick to my convictions that I have for our family. I realize not everyone may share my opinion, and that is fine. Each family can have their reasons and convictions for what they do for and with their children, regarding sports involvement. Overall though, all of this blog post just came from my thoughts after reading this one article. And after I started typing my thoughts on a Facebook post, I saw quickly that they were too many for a Facebook post. I was just happy to see an article that supports all I've been thinking for a long time regarding our own children's involvement in sports. Thanks for reading my thoughts! :-)
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