Friday, March 29, 2024 Mar 29, 2024
58° F Dallas, TX
Advertisement
Health & Fitness

Why Kids’ Sports Injuries Are Up

Children are suffering due to early specialization. Here’s how to help prevent the problem.
By Karen Nielsen |
Image
photography by Justin Clemons

Image
photography by Justin Clemons

Optimizing Training

Kade Ashley began working out at MJP four years ago. The 13-year-old has been through the center’s training curriculum and attended  numerous camps. His sister, Kyler, also has sought training to improve her running. Their dad, Keith, first went to MJP for therapy after a shoulder injury, and liked the emphasis on proper techniques and body positioning to prevent injuries.

“It’s not about working harder, but working out smarter,” he says. “They make athletes there, but they teach them from a preventative and physical fitness perspective.”

Walker, the performance director at MJP,  says there are “critical windows of accelerated adaptation to learning.” That means that from ages 9 to 11, rhythm and reaction skills are optimally trained, while 12- to 15-year-olds should focus more on speed, strength and aerobic capacity.

“The training specializes around their age and less around their sport,” he says.

That’s hard to explain to a parent who brings his 10-year-old football player to MJP to work on press coverage, an advanced defensive tactic. Walker says there are five degrees of separation between press coverage and training a 10-year-old athlete to develop basic skills.

“It’s like calculus,” he says. “You wouldn’t take a test if you’re not decent at subtraction or addition. But parents walk in and want us to teach [their kids] calculus.”

Image
Diehl is seeing more injuries in younger athletes who are overtraining in preparation for high school sports. He’s also noticed an upswing in interval training, particularly the popular Shaun T. “Insanity” workouts, which focus on high-intensity, short-recovery intervals. The problem with these workouts is that athletes aren’t always balancing the two. “They do a lot of overload, but not a lot of recovery,” Diehl says.

All of these factors create a perfect storm, resulting in injuries, frustration, and some kids who become turned off by physical fitness. They never get to experience other sports like tennis or golf because they specialized too soon, too fast.

“The term ‘development process’ may not be sexy, but long-term there is a chance to have a healthier development process and better outcome for the athlete,” Walker says. “Most kids are not going to be playing collegiate. Our goal as physical educators is to not only have some success at the high school level, but enjoy themselves and take sports into the next phase of their life.”

Unstructured free play, like dodgeball and king of the hill, helps kids expand their physical abilities, but it’s in danger of becoming extinct. In the last two decades, the amount of free play time has decreased by eight hours a week, according to the National Institutes of Health. Chalk that up to increased media and screen time, but also to the trend of eliminating school recess.

Although organized sports encourage exercise and team involvement, they also cut into free play time.

“Everything is too organized and scripted out for them,” Walker says. “Other countries encourage (free play), while we’re trying to create premier leagues at ages 5, 6, and 7.”

The rule of thumb for young athletes is to take at least two months off from a particular sport each year to let their body rest. Athletes also should take one or two days off per week from an organized sport—no lessons on those days, but free play is good, Miller says.

Image
Four-time Olympic track and field gold medalist Michael Johnson grew up in Dallas. He didn’t start running competitively until age 10. Before that, he says he played outside with his friends.

While at Baylor University, Johnson trained with coach Clyde Hart, who went on to help him win several NCAA titles in sprints and relays—and the title of fastest man in the world in 1996.

In 2007, Johnson opened his facility at Craig Ranch in McKinney to help athletes of all ages and sports, using the same training philosophy and techniques that were successful for him.

“I have a great sense of pride in giving kids the same opportunity I had to reach their full potential as athletes,” he says. “Some won’t play at a competitive level beyond high school, but if we help them be the best athlete they can be they will look back on their career and feel it was a great, positive experience.”

Many great athletes found success later in life. Michael Jordan didn’t make the varsity basketball team when he first tried out in high school, which illustrates the point that if a child has the ability to be great, he’ll get there.

“It’s tough if you start later and you’re behind the curve in more competitive environments like we have in this area,” Miller says. “But once they learn, they will catch up quickly. If you’ve got it, you’ve got it.” 

Image


Related Articles

Image
Arts & Entertainment

Here’s Who Is Coming to Dallas This Weekend: March 28-31

It's going to be a gorgeous weekend. Pencil in some live music in between those egg hunts and brunches.
Image
Arts & Entertainment

Arlington Museum of Art Debuts Two Must-See Nature-Inspired Additions

The chill of the Arctic Circle and a futuristic digital archive mark the grand opening of the Arlington Museum of Art’s new location.
By Brett Grega
Image
Arts & Entertainment

An Award-Winning SXSW Short Gave a Dallas Filmmaker an Outlet for Her Grief

Sara Nimeh balances humor and poignancy in a coming-of-age drama inspired by her childhood memories.
By Todd Jorgenson
Advertisement