We wouldn’t ask a talented violinist to pick up the
oboe in the winter and pursue the musical stylings of the tuba in the spring,
would we? Maybe Prince taught himself to
play 20 + instruments but that’s why he is…Prince. Should we expect the same in youth sports?
A big question for new sports parents is “if and when”
to allow their student-athlete to specialize in one sport or if it’s best to
play multiple sports year-round: football in fall, basketball in the winter and
track in the spring. Looking at two
extreme examples - Todd Marinovich, discussed above, started training to become
an NFL quarterback at the age of three.
On the other hand, Payton Manning didn’t play tackle football until the
ripe old age of 7th grade.
And things turned out alright for Manning.
Every situation and family is different but below is a
general schedule for consideration for the average student-athlete:
Ages
6-10: Initiation to sportsAges 11-14: Exposure to different sports
Ages 15-18: Begin sports specialization
Age 19 +: Sport specialization focus
