Kids who only play one sport risk burnout, study finds

Focusing only on one sport, year-round, can increase kids' risk of injury and burnout, according to a clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Authors of the guidance document, Dr Joel S. Brenner and the AAP Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, advise pediatricians and parents to keep in mind that the primary focus of sports for young athletes should be to have fun and learn lifelong physical activity skills. Playing multiple sports, at least until puberty, decreases the risk of injury, stress and burnout, they add.

Specialising at a later age, perhaps in the late teens, may be a better route to accomplishing athletic goals than specializing earlier in life, upping the odds of lifetime sports involvement, lifetime physical fitness and potentially elite participation, the report concludes.

"As they note, early specialisation is in most instances unnecessary and can contribute adversely to social, emotional, and physical (eg. chronic over-use injuries) development," said Shane V. Caswell, professor of athletic training at George Mason University in Manassas, Virginia, who was not involved in the report.

Kids who have specialised in a single sport should...