Great article from South Africa describing the need for later sport specialization in youth and the hazards associated with focusing on one sport too early in life. We need to find a balance between what science says is ideal (delay specialisation and encourage wide sports participation) and what the "market" forces on athletes (to pick early, and train hard in one sport).

We also know that children who focus on one sport before the age of about 16 will likely under-perform, reaching lower levels than those who play more sports for as long as possible.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2014/05/13/spare-sporting-kids-the-risk-of-burnout

If by market, you mean parents I agree

I've seen both sides. My niece was a high level DI prospect at 14 to pitch softball. She even took private lessons from Cat Osterman. When she turned 16, she quit cold ... burned out. Even after being out for 2 years, she was getting approached about playing in the Big VII but she refused to even consider it.

On the other hand, my daughter currently plays college soccer. Her biggest regret is that she didn't start playing club soccer earlier. She started at 13 and, as a result, was behind the learning curve quit a bit. She believes had she started sooner in the academy classes, she could have played at an even higher level in club and, as a result, a higher level in college.

[This message has been edited by litig8r187 (edited 5/20/2014 4:15p).]

As a parent of an 11-yr old, I enjoy reading these articles and books. After weighing all sides (there are compelling arguments in all of them), I chose to encourage participation in multiple sports. My hope is that my son will develop as an athlete who can then choose his specialization by the age of 14-15 yrs old.
However, I do this with a ton of doubt, because I see kids in the same age group who are already specialists. Some seems destined to burn out (you can tell) as the article states, but others are doing very well.
I suppose each case is unique, and timing to specialize varies by sport, but it is not an easy assessment to make.

My daughter played local youth soccer from 5 years of age but always did other activities like dance, piano etc. when she got in Jr. high, she tried band, volleyball, basketball, and track. She started club at 13 while in Jr. High. But even when she played club soccer, she participated in other school sports. In High School she ran Cross Country in the fall, played HS soccer from December through March and ran track in the Spring. However, throughout it all, club soccer was her priority. She had practices in North Houston (100 mile round trip) 3 days a week. Games every Saturday or Sunday somewhere in South East Texas and tournaments around the State and even in different States. That said, she was not the top of her club. those girls traveled ridiculous amounts all over the country year round. Had my daughter been good enough, she would have gladly done it too.

Good topic that hopefully generates some discussion. My son plays baseball for the Twelve, and based on conversations I've had with friends and acquaintances there seems to be some misconceptions of this particular organization.

I think that the misconception is that the Twelve requires or promotes specialization to baseball for its members. Actually, the Twelve encourages multi-sport participation and makes allowances for missed practices for playing other sports, especially football.

The Twelve baseball program is shut down from November to February, which allows members to play basketball. The Twelve also shuts down their youth baseball programs from June to September. This allows kids to take two significant breaks every year, and hopefully discourages burn out. I know there are organizations all over the place - Houston, Austin, etc. - that play baseball year round. I would not want my son in an organization like that because I would worry about burn out.

The Twelve also has a girls program with soccer, basketball and volleyball, and I know multiple girls who participate in 2-3 of those sports.

Overall, I think the Twelve is a local youth sports organization who is trying their best to provide a "product" that appeals to kids and parents, and at the same time protects the kids and encourages well-rounded development.

Mike Evans didn't play football until his senior year of high school. He was the #7 pick in the NFL Draft.

I understand select sports are here to stay but it is not until the child is around age 16 that the majority of parents wake up to the fact that a great deal of time and money has been invested in a sports career going nowhere. Select sports are important only for elite athletes. Everyone else would be better off the way it used to be.

If parents realized -- if they were not great athletes their children are not going to be great athletes -- there would not be nearly as many select programs.

We can find examples to support both sides. I think Breeja Larson who swims for A&M had also a very late start in competitive swimming. But you will also find Phelps and Franklin who were nationally ranked already at age 11.

My guess is that there are many different paths to get to the top of an athletic career and that it depends on many factors.

Good to see that the Twelve has relaxed their commitment levels; because it has not always been that way. My son was too old to participate with the Twelve, although he took lessons from one of its founders for years.

Both of my kids are D1 scholarship athletes. They both played select sports. I view all the money we spent on select baseball as a sunk cost; as my son is playing another sport in college. My daughter needed her select team to get a college scholarship; and we had to travel to Houston to get to the level where she would get exposure to D1 coaches.

Here is another article, this one looking at Baseball "showcases". Talent will be found no matter if you go to all the "elite" tournaments and showcases or stay home and play for your high school and local summer teams. College coaches' jobs are riding on putting together the best team and they will NOT pass a kid over just because he/she did not play in the right club or event.

The best advice I could give a high school player looking to get noticed is to pick their top 3 college choices, find out if they’re holding an “elite” camp, and attend. If the school has such a camp, it’ll be for sophomores and juniors primarily.

http://www.ericcressey.com/baseball-showcases-a-great-way-to-waste-money-and-get-injured

Similar thoughts may apply to “speed” camps as well. What use is it for a fall sport athlete to attend a one week speed camp in early July? You can’t teach speed in a week. Speed is a skill and needs thousands of repetitions, whether it’s linear, lateral, deceleration, etc. Speed camps just take people’s money, condition the athletes, and send them home.

A lot of parents need to understand that many select sports academies; showcases, training camps, etc., are businesses. They are designed to provide employment and monetary return for coaches, trainers, and owners. The DMN had an article on teen baseball World Series a couple of years ago. There were 27 sanctioning bodies holding "World Series," speaks to the demand for the product and the ability of the market to provide supply.

"Select" sports are funded by wannabe dads.

Joe, you seem to harbor some strong negative feelings towards select sports.

I guess I'm one of the "wannabe" Dads. You know what I want? I want my kid to have a chance to be a contributor on his high school baseball team. That's the goal. He's not the next Mike Trout, or even the next Cole Lankford. But, in a large high school with tons of competition, he's going to need to be prepared when it comes to try out for baseball. I hope he's a good enough athlete to play football and basketball as well, but I'm not sure that he will be.

Also, you say:

quote:

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Select sports are important only for elite athletes. Everyone else would be better off the way it used to be.

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I 100% disagree with this. Elite athletes are not going to need select sports. Take Johnny Manziel for example, he could have picked just about any sport he wanted and pursued college opportunities. He picked what he loved and what he arguably was best at which gave him the best chance to make money.

Matt Kemp is another great example of a major league baseball player who never played select sports until his senior year of college. Kemp is an incredible, natural athlete who nearly pursued a basketball career until he quit growing.

You mentioned Mike Evans earlier. Great example of a phenomenal athlete who changed sports late and succeeded.

Here's my opinion: there are millions of average to above average athletes who are not "elite" who benefit from select sports - especially if they couple select sports with other sports. My son falls into this category, as does 95% of the kids he's played baseball with over the years. But, 4-5 years down the road, these above average athletes will be the core of the local high school baseball teams. A very select few might get the chance to play college ball. Chances are basically zero that any of them play MLB.

Sure, there will be a few kids who played Little League and never played select ball who will make the high school teams, and maybe one or two of these kids (who happen to be truly elite athletes) may turn out to be the best players on the team. The elite will usually rise to the top no matter what sport they are playing. But, the #3-#20 players on the high school team probably benefitted hugely from all of the extra practices and games growing up, and that is what separates them from the other average to above average athletes.

There are a lot of problems with select sports, and there are a few (very few) over zealous dads who think their kid is the next Mike Trout. But, for the most part - at least in my experiences - the local organizations are trying to do it the right way, encouraging kids to play multiple sports, and being conscious of burnout and overuse injuries. But, the bad apples always seem to have a way of damaging perceptions - but, isn't that in everything in life?

As long as you have youth sports; you are going to have wannabe dads.

It is very difficult to play local varsity baseball, soccer, volleyball, or softball without select team participation. Select teams provide the training and the competition to hone the skills necessary to play those sports that athletes are not going to get in jr. high or high school sports.

Select sports are expensive. They involve family sacrifice. They are an avenue to college scholarships (although not as many in baseball as the other sports, unless Jr. college is an option).

You lost me on your last post frito. High school varsity is not dependent on select ball. I watched Twelve boys play high school ball for several years. None could hit good pitching. Good athletes are good athletes, with or without select ball. Scholarships? Maybe for girls. Non-revenue sport boys get very little.

Cinch - You are making my point. You are talking about what *you* want. Is that what your son wants? Your son may become the second best player in the city at his position and end up sitting the bench 90% of the time on varsity. I have been there. Have you?

Boys like you are describing will never get to experience the feeling of being good at their sport because they are always playing against guys as good or better! Play LL, pony and senior league. Dads think that playing against tougher competition will make their kid better. It will not. If a batter does not possess the skill to hit elite pitching no amount of practice is going to allow them to do so. I know what I am talking about.

Select sports are for elite athletes. You will likely agree with me in a few years.

Joe Nobody - is it possible that you are being too biased from your own experience and perhaps ignoring the complexity and diversity of different paths?

It just seems that in you are being very absolute and narrow on your evaluation of selects, leaving little room for anything else.

rookie - is it possible you are entering a conversation about which you are totally ignorant? Just messing with you.

Arsenic Sulphur!

My son says he wants to play college baseball. I try to temper his expectations without denying him his dream. I know the chances are less than 1%, but he loves baseball and it is his decision every year to continue playing or not. So far, he keeps choosing year by year to continue playing. He only plays select because we don't have time for both select and LL. We tried it one year and it was just too much to have baseball 5 nights per week. We sat down with him and made him pick between LL and select ball, and he chose select because in his words "it's more fun."

I guess we just have very different opinions about the value of playing better competition and getting more reps. I don't see how a kid is going to develop by playing bad competition. Also, you're quite possibly right about one thing - I may look back on all of this in 5 years and think it was a waste of time, money and energy. I doubt it, but you never know.

Cinch - If your son makes it his goal to play college baseball, he can likely find a school. It may not be at A&M, but he may get to play against A&M! That will be cool too. Good luck to him!

We are talking about different time frames; because when I was watching varsity baseball, the Twelve kids were at best, freshmen.

Don't know how it affected batting averages; but there was a new bat for the 2012 season with less pop.

It always cracked me up to hear dads talking about their kids getting baseball scholarships. There are baseball scholarships; but very few are full rides at D1 programs. If you want a full ride in baseball; go to jr. college.

I have had the pleasure of speaking to and listening to several college coaches from across the country, and all have said there are 0 ZERO full ride scholarships at the D1 level and 0 ZERO scholarships at all at the DIII level. A bulk of the monies awarded at the DI level are through academics. A small portion is baseball, and it is subsidized with academic scholarships. So to all athletes out there hoping to play at the next level, keep your grades up!!!

Football is a full ride in D1. However, it is only given one year at a time as are most. None are guaranteed for 4 years.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-sports-scholarships/

You are linking to an article in 2012. NCAA changed the scholarship rules in 2012. The original scholarship papers we signed in 2012 were for one year; shortly thereafter, we were given new papers for a 4 year scholarship. No D1 program can recruit without offering 4 year scholarships.

I am sorry, looking back over my post, I should have put in emphasis on baseball rather than sports in general.

You are born with a certain amount of athletic ability. No amount of play is going to elevate you to the next-level if you don't have the God given ability.

That said, you can refine what you've got, and make some good improvements, but if you don't have it, you're not going to get it by playing as much as some of these kids.

Also, if you're hoping that your son will get a baseball scholarship out of it, why spend 10 x what they will get in the form of a scholarship, to play "select". Only a very small number of baseball players get full-rides. Most only get books, or partial tuition.

I guess if you weigh out the pro's and con's of having too much free-time, and allowing them to work toward a goal, then there is a valid objective to it.

My experience is limited to soccer. I have NEVER seen a single college soccer player, raised in the US, recruited from a high school or a local youth league. It simply does not happen in the US. I have seen some pretty good HS soccer players who, most likely, could have played at the next level. I have seen some kids that were pretty good playing in youth leagues. Not one of them ever got a look from a college coach. Other than some of the BIG soccer HS (The Woodlands, Plano, Katy and the like) or the State Tournament, I have never seen a college coach at a HS game to wathc a player (I am sure it occasionally happens but it is rare)

Although there may be some, every professional player and every member of both the Men's and Women's National Teams that I am familiar with and that were raised in this country played club soccer.

In soccer, in this country, if your kid has any desire to play in college, even at the DIII level, they better be playing for a club team and that club team had better be making some appearances in the college showcases.


[This message has been edited by litig8r187 (edited 5/22/2014 4:11p).]

Buford gets it.

litig8r187 is 99% correct regarding soccer. The 1% is for the exception, which I have yet to see either.

Buford is also mostly correct, except that in all sports, hard work and more training/play often boosts "good" talent over "great" talent, especially if the "great" talent doesn't work hard to develop that talent. I've seen it time and again.

Agree

What about letting your kid play select because he/she loves it and enjoys the better competition. That's what is wrong with youth sports in general. Parents are pushing their kids to play. Let your kid make the decision. If they are excited about playing select and enjoy working hard it is a great thing!

My son also plays with the Twelve Baseball Academy. It is because of this academy his love and passion for baseball has grown greatly. He has learned the mental aspect of the game along with the finer skills involved. The instructors totally understand the game and developmental aspects of these growing boys. They teach proper mechanics, in our case pitching, to do everything possible to prevent injury, and they limit pitch counts. They don't even allow throwing curve balls until 14 years old. My son has learned so much more about this game because of this organization, resulting in a true passion for baseball.

College coaches' contiuned employment relies on being able to put the best team possible together every season. If a coach is too lazy to do anything except attend a few select tournaments, he isn't long for continued employment. Club directors have used Mankind's inherent laziness (expressed by college coaches focusing their recruiting on summer tournaments) to create a faux reality where they tell gullible (though well intentioned) parents that the ONLY way to play college soccer is by playing for their club (and of course, spending their kid's college money in the process).

Like I said before, if your kid has interest and the ability to play at some level in college, attend the elite camps offered by the colleges they are interested in. This is the best way for a college coach to evaluate an athlete. In addition, most elite camps are staffed by coaches from other colleges as well as by the host program's staff so your kid will get to meet, test and play in front of the people that matter and do so for a tenth of the cost of club ball.

From a soccer standpoint, if you want your kid to compete against some really good competition, sign him up for the rec leagues in a predominantly Hispanic/Mexican immigrant area. There are usually three or four players per team who would embarass the starters on most of the top clubs. I've seen it happen.