The days of pickup basketball games and sandlot baseball games for kids and teens have given way to specialization in organized 体育 at an early age. Elite teams for 8- and 9-year-old children are not uncommon. While there are many benefits of organized sport participation, 早期的体育专业化也存在陷阱, 太. 在你的孩子沉浸在这些活动之前, it is important to understand developmental milestones you should consider.
早期训练和损伤意识
Aaron Provance，医学博士他是……的专家 儿童运动医学 犹他健康大学的研究员, explains that with the current pressure on kids to specialize in a sport early, it is especially important for parents to learn about the stages of physiological development.
“对于父母, it can be very easy to push a little 太 far with intensity and volume of training at a young age, especially if your child has a burning passion or drive to really go after their dreams,普罗旺斯说. 当这种情况发生时, it’s possible they experience overuse or traumatic injuries, where it could have some long-lasting effects on them—whether that be mentally or physically.”
He also warns that pushing young athletes 太 early can lead to burnout and frustration, sometimes confining kids to just one social group and creating social isolation.
根据杂志上的一篇文章 体育健康, “研究 in athletes has not consistently demonstrated that early intense training is essential for attaining an elite level in all 体育.” The same article found evidence that early specialization contributed to burnout and dropping out of 体育.
为了避免受伤, Provance suggests that parents follow the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) rule of thumb: one hour of training per week for each year in the age of a child. For example, a 9-year-old shouldn’t train for a sport more than nine hours a week. 然而，即使是 AAP 说明体操等几种运动, 花样滑冰, 艺术体操, 和跳水, require early specialization as “peak performance occurs before physical maturation.”
要考虑的发展阶段
2至5岁
第一阶段包括2至5岁. It’s not uncommon for 3- or 4-year olds to begin playing soccer. 普罗旺斯相信这一点, 体育应该是介绍性的, where they learn they have a coach and teammates and a few basic rules.
“Obviously, we’re just getting them out there and getting them active,” he says. “At that age, they should be active for two to three hours a day. And you want to introduce them to as many different activities as possible.”
6至8岁
6岁左右, most children have the motor skills needed to play an organized sport, though they may not yet have the hand-eye coordination needed. Their learning should be focused on the fundamentals and rules of the game as well as the different positions they can play. “但真正, it should be focused on fun and learning about multiple 体育—not just the ones their parents played,普罗旺斯说.
9至11岁
到小学后期, kids learn which positions they want to play and how to train for their preferred 体育. This is when many kids start to focus on one sport and even specialize in it—perhaps training throughout the year for just that sport.
This is also the time that kids begin to experience overuse injuries because they are not allowing time for the body to recover. “When they are playing the same sport over and over again, they are using the same tendons and muscles in the same way,普罗旺斯说. “生长板过度使用损伤的风险增加了.”
生长板 儿童长骨末端的区域(e.g.（大腿的股骨或上臂的肱骨）. 生长板 change over time and determine the length and shape of the bone when a child is fully grown. They are not as hard as the bones, so they get injured more easily.
12至15岁
This is the age that it is probably safest for young athletes to begin specializing in their sport. “They are in middle school or junior high and now know how to train for their sport,普罗旺斯说.
16至18岁
在高中时期, athletes are starting to look at scholarships and what they are going to do with their sport for the rest of their life. Things parents should watch out for include steroid use, hazing, and unrealistic expectations. 根据NCAA的数据，只有1-2人.6% of high school athletes go on to play Division 1 football, basketball, or soccer.
为胜利而奋斗的一生
There is no doubt that participation in organized 体育运动 can be good for kids of all ages. But specialization 太 early can create unrealistic expectations for kids and cause them to lose out on lifetime 体育 skills or lose focus on the enjoyment of physical activity and 体育.
The opposite end of the spectrum is kids are who aren’t active at all spending 太 much time sitting in front of computer and television screens.
Parents can help alleviate problems either way by encouraging family outdoor activities early on. Provance advises parents to start slowly with young children, gradually increasing the length of time for activities like hiking and bike riding. He also suggests sledding and indoor climbing as great activities for families to stay active in the winter months.
“And if your child doesn’t want to play super competitive 体育, then the YMCA or rec centers have leagues that aren’t intense and very welcoming to people trying a lot of different 体育,普罗旺斯说.