The Disadvantages of Sports Specialization and the Advantages of Sports Diversification
Why was this Page Created?
This page was created in an effort to inform coaches, athletes and parents of the dangers and disadvantages of sports specialization. Please feel free to look around and learn about sports specialization.
The tabs at the top of the page will help you navigate to different pages of this website. Each page was created specifically with each group in mind. Also, feel free to post your thoughts on our blog page. Thank you and enjoy!
-Bryant Michaelson
Site Creator and Author
Sports specialization is the idea that focusing and playing one sport year-round, exclusively, will give athletes a competitive advantage over their competition (Hong 2014). Image by Bellingham Herald 2011
A survey done in 2014 found that out of 128 NFL quarterbacks surveyed, 122- 95%- played at least two sports in high school and 70% played three or more sports in high school (Seifert 2015). Image by Michelle Blackburn on Meridian Football.com
There are many negatives about participating in a single sport year-round. These negatives include increased levels of overuse injuries and high levels of athlete burnout. Both lead to athletes walking away from sports at an early age (Dyer 2015). Image by Alex Dye
Sports specialization is the idea that focusing and playing one sport year-round, exclusively, will give athletes a competitive advantage over their competition (Hong 2014). Image by Bellingham Herald 2011
Image by U.S. Soccer (Link to http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2015/07/05/21/19/150705-wnt-v-jpn-game-story)
US Women's National Soccer Team Multi-Sport Athletes
Abby Wambach
- Played soccer and basketball in high school
Morgan Brian
- Played soccer and basketball in high school.
Amy Rodriguez
- Played Soccer, swam, played softball and ran track.
Lauren Holiday
- Played soccer, ran track, played basketball and baseball.
Whitney Engen
- Played soccer, gymnastics, tennis, baseball, softball, swimming and volleyball (Rogers 2015).