When my son was 5 years old, he was invited to become a member of a swim team that practiced 3 days per week from September to March and had tournaments on weekends. My son was a natural in the water and I was so flattered that they invited him to join the team. I thought about it and decided that he was about to start kindergarten that fall and I would like to see what kind of effect that was going to have on him first. I told a play date mom about the opportunity; she told me about her experience with starting too early in a controlled sport. She had been pressured to participate and was on the team starting at about 8 years old. She didn't have any free time, was constantly tired and missed so many other fun things she had wanted to do. By high school she had done so much swimming that she had absolutely no interest in the sport at that level. She was sorry that she had been pushed to work so hard as a preteen and felt it would have been a lot more fun when it would have really counted.
I knew of a high school boy that had been on the park district swim team from the time he 6 years old, he would drink alcohol in high school just to make it through the practices. He was so sick of the sport but forced to participate. He no longer had the drive to do well and all was for nothing, no scholarship and plenty of unhappiness.
Parents are starting kids out too young in club sports; they are willing to pay $1000 or more to have their child participate in the sport with a "professional" trainer. Some of these children are practicing 90 minutes twice a week plus weekend games and tournaments. If you have two children participating, it doesn't leave much time for just being a family. Some parents like to use team sports as their babysitter. While their child is at practice they have free time. Other parents have big dreams about their child being a professional athlete.
"The 2013 research brief, which drew from the findings of more than 50 research papers and books, found that sports specialization for kids ages 6 to 12 led to increased burnout and higher rates of injury than for kids who played multiple sports.
The research collaborative also concluded that, for sports other than gymnastics and figure skating, the short-term edge that early specialization provides has dissipated by the time athletes are seeking college scholarships and have aspirations of a professional career.
If a parent wants his or her kid to be the best player on a team of 8-year-olds, sports specialization can help achieve that goal. But there are no benefits beyond that, Engh said."
(Intensity of Sport Specialization can Lead to Burnout - by Matt Wixon - The Dallas Morning News).
Parents tend to become very competitive. They want their children to be the best on the team. I have heard some really awful comments made to children by adults for failing to make a goal or for not running fast enough. Your child's participation in a sport is supposed to be fun. They are supposed to learn about cooperation, teamwork, good sportsmanship, and the rules of the game. It is not presumed to achieve their parents unfulfilled dreams. Playing the sport is about the child and what they are going to learn from participating.
Between the additional stress, expenses for gasoline, hotels for tournaments, fast food, and time constraints; is it really worth it? How often do you need to be late to fun events or skip them altogether to have your child participate in club sports that just may cause burnout anyway? You really need to ask yourself if your child would be just as happy playing in the local park district.
Children are being given more homework than ever. They have a lot of pressure put on them at school to do well on the district tests. Many complain about not having anytime to just play or sit around and do nothing for a change. Like adults, children need down time to relax and take a breather. Club sports often take them away from other activities that they would enjoy. Would the $1000.00 or more yearly fee to be of better use in a college fund for your child? With two children, four years each, it could cost $8000.00. Maybe that money could go towards college instead of the hopes of a scholarship that may not even pay off.
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