1. Chapter 4: Sports and Children Sport Specialization VS. Multiple Sports During Childhood Presented by: Scott Donald, Lauren Peters & Amanda Seto

2. Stand up if…  As a child, you played and focused on one sport only  As a child, you participated in multiple sports

3. Discuss…  What are some advantages of sport specialization starting in childhood?  What are some advantages of multi-sport participation during childhood?

4. Advantages: Sport Specialization  Can optimize talent and potential for advancement  Early development of passion, focus and drive  Develops close relationships with coaches and teammates

5. Advantages: Multi-sport Participation  Research on psychological and social development suggests…  Builds self-esteem  Develops mastery of variety of skills/activities  Increases experiences with peers and authority figures  Prevents burnout  Promotes intrinsic motivation – sustains long-term sport participation  Learn different roles in different sports

6. Discuss…  What are some disadvantages to sport specialization?

7. Disadvantages: Sport Specialization  Increased risk of overuse injuries and negative effects to body development  Pressure of competition can be overwhelming  Risk of burnout and early exit from sport

8. Video  http://activeforlife.com/when-play-becomes- practice/#!prettyPhoto http://activeforlife.com/when-play-becomes- practice/#!prettyPhoto

9. Discuss…  Are there any disadvantages of multi-sport participation?

10. Disadvantages: Multi-sport Participation  Costs – gets expensive  Time consuming  Running around from sport to sport can be difficult and exhausting  SO…can these issues be eliminated?

11. The Multisport Program Approach  Multi-sport programs developed across Canada  Sportplay multisport programs  New this year: multisport pilot project in Antigonish  Article  A Balanced Diet: Setting Kids on the Multisport Path  http://www.sportno vascotia.ca/Portals /0/docs/pubs/sport q/RevisedSportsQ_ Sept_2015_Low.pdf http://www.sportno vascotia.ca/Portals /0/docs/pubs/sport q/RevisedSportsQ_ Sept_2015_Low.pdf

12. The Bottom Line…  Participation in multiple sports during childhood is more beneficial than specialization  Developing multisport programs allows for affordable, convenient, manageable and non-competitive participation in multiple sports/activities

13. References  http://www.sports-training- adviser.com/sportspecialization.html http://www.sports-training- adviser.com/sportspecialization.html  http://changingthegameproject.com/is-it-wise-to- specialize/ http://changingthegameproject.com/is-it-wise-to- specialize/  http://www.toronto4kids.com/May-2013/Sportplay-Multi- Sport-Programs/ http://www.toronto4kids.com/May-2013/Sportplay-Multi- Sport-Programs/  http://www.sportnovascotia.ca/Portals/0/docs/pubs/sportq/Revise dSportsQ_Sept_2015_Low.pdf http://www.sportnovascotia.ca/Portals/0/docs/pubs/sportq/Revise dSportsQ_Sept_2015_Low.pdf  http://activeforlife.com/when-play-becomes- practice/#!prettyPhoto http://activeforlife.com/when-play-becomes- practice/#!prettyPhoto