Cramer’s Corner: Too Much of a Good Thing

In a society that is obsessed with being the best in almost every aspect of life, it’s no surprise that this belief has transferred into high school sports.

More students are being told that it is better to be great at one sport, rather than to have fun and be good at multiple sports.

Teams are starting their training earlier in the year, forcing students to make a decision between sports because of overlapping conflicts. While training for all sports before the official season begins is not mandatory, numerous athletes feel the need to choose one sport in order to keep up with the competition.

Various sports companies now push the idea of having year-round club (also known as tournament) teams so athletes can fully tap into their potential. Kids are being told at a young age that being on one of these teams is the only way to keep up with the competition. Instead of being on an AYSO soccer team in the fall, NJB in the winter and a Little League team in the spring, athletes are starting to join club teams earlier in life.

While these year-round club teams indeed improve an athletes’ ability in their sport, there are a lot of negative side effects that are pushed under the rug. For instance in baseball, many young players are getting serious injuries that in the past had only been seen in older players who had been in the sport for much longer.

Because there are so many games packed into one tournament, and a tournament possibly every weekend, young athletes are playing more games than ever before.

At an increasing rate, 11 and 12 year-old pitchers are beginning to develop injuries from overusing their arms. Even with Little League creating pitch count limits, the combination of playing on tournament teams as well as playing for the local Little League team is too much for many young athletes.

But these young baseball players are not the only ones who are suffering from too much activity, girls soccer players are getting the dreaded injury of having an ACL tear.

As much as half of all youth sports injuries are because of overuse, making it even more frustrating to watch fellow athletes be forced to stop playing at a young age.

Athletes, especially teenagers, need to realize what kind of risks they are putting themselves in when they decide to play on these club and tournament teams. It is important to know your own limit, when to take a break from a sport in order to let your body recover, and to not push yourself to the point where you can get seriously injured.