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Multi Sporting Means Multiple Benefits
By: Dr Sally Blossom
Michael Jordan. John Elway. Patrick Mahomes. Just a few of the athletes who
played multiple sports. While they may have dominated in one particular sport, they
benefited from playing different sports throughout their lives. There are multiple ben-
efits for the multi sport athlete, especially in youth sports.

Let’s look at some alarming statistics. According to statistics provided by the
NFHS, ACL surgeries in 6-18 year olds have gone up by 60 percent in the last 20 years
and more than 57 percent of Tommy John surgeries are performed on 15-19 year olds.
The American Journal of Sports Medicine claims that athletes who spend more than
eight months in one sport per year increase the chance by 3 times that the young ath-
lete will experience and overuse injury in the hip or knee. Why is this?

The influence of school and club sports can play a big role in kids specializing in
one sport. Gone are the days when a kid could play one season in one sport and then
be done. Today, there is enormous pressure to play in travelling leagues and clubs out-
side of the regular season. Many parents I talk to say this is necessary if their kid(s)
want to be competitive in their chosen sport. The research and repercussions of sole
sport focus is starting to show that being involved in more than one sport has many
benefits.

The most important benefit is that the risk of injury is reduced. Single sport ath-
letes are seventy percent more likely to experience an injury during the season than
those athletes that play more than one sport. Playing multiple sports also allows the
young athlete to develop skills that may not have been developed otherwise. Exposure
to other coaches, players and ideas also benefits the young athlete. Finally, by playing
multiple sports, the chance of experiencing burn out decreases as well.

So what do you do in the off season? First, make sure there is one. Engaging in an-
other sport is a great way to take a break. If the young athlete only wants to play one
sport, make sure he or she takes a solid break from specifically training for it. Encour-
age pick up games and free play. Body weight exercises such as lunges, planks, squats
etc are great in the offseason as well. Even finding an extracurricular activity that isn’t
sports related can be helpful. All of these factors and benefits can help keep your child
healthy and in the game!

Dr. Sally Blossom is a 4th generation chiropractor who serves student athletes and
their families from all over the Thumb and Flint areas.

54 a• Sports Finest Magazine FEB 2020 sportsfinestMagzine.com 989 545 0735 kelly@sportsfinestmagazine.com