Volume 9 • Issue 4 • Fall 2005
Kids & Sports: How much is too much?
 Team
sports are a great way for young people to learn about the importance of
physical fitness, make friends and have fun at the same time.
But with kids' sports injuries on the rise during the last few years, the
question is: Are we pushing our kids too much? Oftentimes, the answer is
yes, says St. John’s HealthTracks pediatrician and sports medicine
specialist Bernard Griesemer, M.D.
“Parents sometimes need a reminder to keep their child’s sports in
perspective,” Griesemer says. “In elementary and middle school kids, it’s
more important to build a healthy foundation for sports. At that age,
unstructured play is just as important as competitive activities. In high
school kids, it’s important to ensure kids understand how to train safely
and correctly to prevent injuries, and that they are getting enough rest
between athletic events.”
Because they're still growing, children and teens are more susceptible to
injury. What is often a bruise or sprain in an adult can be a potentially
serious injury in a young athlete.
“In young children, the most common sports injuries are bumps and bruises.
In older kids, we see a lot of ankle sprains and some head injuries,”
Griesemer says. “That’s why it’s so important that kids wear protective
equipment such as helmets and mouth guards.”
What accounts for this rise in sports injuries?
More children are involved in organized sports activities, and more kids
are specializing in a particular sport at a young age. Kids used to play
whatever sport was in season. Now, more and more children are specializing
at the age of 9 or 10 or even earlier. So instead of playing different
sports and using different muscles as the seasons change, you have a child
playing only baseball or only soccer, for example, 10 or 12 months out of
the year.
“Kids who play sports year ‘round can develop chronic fatigue and soreness
because they’re not getting enough recovery time between episodes of
exercise,” Griesemer says. “We also see a lot of overuse injuries, which
stem from a sudden incremental increase in activity due to the start of a
season or new training regimen.”
Injury-prevention Tips
Get a pre-participation exam.
Adults shouldn't start any exercise program without consulting their
physician, and neither should children. Make sure your child has a
physical exam before joining a team. A pre-participation physical
will tell you whether your child is physically able to meet the
demands of the sport chosen.
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Coaches should be CPR certified and trained in first aid. They
should have an up-to-date medical history for each player and
a fully stocked first aid kit. They also should know when to
seek a doctor's care, and have a plan to get a child to the
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The results of the exam should be shared
with the school and the team coach so that everybody knows about
specific health issues like asthma or diabetes. Then guidelines
should be established to make sure everyone knows what to do if
there's a problem.
Group according to skill level and size.
Kids of the same age don't all have the same skill level. Whenever
possible, parents and athletic coaches should try to group them
according to skill level and size, not chronological age,
particularly during contact sports.
If it's not practical and they have to be grouped by age, they
should modify the sport to accommodate the needs of children with
varying skill levels.
Avoid seasonal overuse and burnout.
Stick to one team at a time. Play basketball one season. Move on to
baseball the next season and maybe swimming the next season. Let
your child do what he likes, but don't get caught up in the activity
and overdo it. If it isn’t fun anymore, move on to a different
sport, Griesemer says.
“Listen to your child. If he or she no longer enjoys one activity,
move on to something else. That’s the biggest reason kids quit
sports altogether – because it’s not fun anymore. Again, the most
important goal in young people’s sports is to lay the foundation for
lifelong activity.
Training or practices should include a variety of activities, says
Scott Johnson, assistant weight-lifting program director for
HealthTracks.
“At our facility, we touch upon many different aspects of training,
to avoid injuries and burnout,” Johnson says.
Remember the basics.
“Three-hundred-dollar sneakers aren’t going to do your child much
good on the playing field if he hasn’t had enough rest or a good
breakfast that morning,” Griesemer says. “Kids also need to be
educated on how to train properly so they don’t injure themselves.”
Johnson stresses that flexibility, technique and other factors are
as important in training as speed, endurance and strength.
Have an emergency plan in place.
You want to follow all of these tips in an effort to prevent
injuries. But in the event that something does happen, make sure
everyone knows what to do.
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