Young Athletes and Injury

The sight is becoming all too common, young athletes wearing a variety of braces, casts, and other supportive devices. It is not unheard of for many young athletes to have two or three surgeries before their fledgling careers as athletes come to an abrupt end. The causes for the swelling ranks of injured young athletes can be attribute to two phenomenon. The first being the trend toward year round play in a single sport, and the second being the type of training these athletes receive.

A few decades ago, most athletes were two or three season athletes. In the fall football, soccer, cross country or field hockey reigned supreme. The winter was usually devoted to basketball, wrestling, hockey, volleyball or indoor track. Spring followed with baseball, softball and outdoor track and field to name a few. The summer was usually spent doing outdoor activities such as swimming or pick up games of baseball, touch football or basketball.

Todays athletes are led down the path that specialization in one sport is the ticket to success. These athletes are allowed to play the same sport, indoors and out, year round. Often times, they play in multiple leagues at the same time, playing nearly everyday, with multiple games in one day not unheard of. Although this level of exposure may be beneficial for skill development, it takes a toll on a young developing body. In performing the same sport year round, the young athletes body is exposed to the same musculoskeletal demands, over and over. This causes fatigue and stress in their under developed bodies, leading to tears, strains, sprains and stress fractures. In addition, a young athlete is unable to gain the proper strength training, because they are always in competition mode.

In the world of the professional athlete this is not the practice. You don't see pro football players or any other sport for that fact competing year round with almost no break. The professional year is split into seasons, the off season, pre-season, regular season and the post season. In the training world this is known as periodization training. In the off and pre-season, the concentration is on repair, rebuilding and strengthening. The pre-season is also dedicated to skill development, and the regular season and post season are dedicated to competing and maintaining conditioning and skill level to prevent injury and to compete at the highest level.

This failure to periodize a young athletes training by always having them in competition mode is compounded by the type of training they do receive. Almost all of the training is skill or technique, and not nearly enough strength and conditioning. Therefore, the young athletes bodies aren't conditioned to take the repeated stresses of competition, and thus injury occurs. A fully rounded athletic training regimen includes cardio, strength, flexibility and balance training in conjunction with the specific skills required for that sport.

In conclusion, it is best to allow a young athlete to be exposed to multiple sports in their respective seasons. This coupled with a well designed periodized training plan, that includes all aspects of athletic training, will produce a well rounded young athlete. Over time, the young athlete will gravitate to the sport which they enjoy the most. By this time their bodies will have fully developed, and they can devote themselves to the sport relatively injury free.

Stephen Stern, BS, CPT
Common Sense Fitness
Personal Training
605 Washington Avenue
north Haven, Ct. 06473
www.comsenfit.com
203-530-1811
stepstern@comcast.net