Heart of hearts - which prefer?

[Dark Energy]

A.  Youth - through high school are incentivized and encouraged to play multiple sports — some perhaps competitively, others more relaxed.  Results in less ‘Awesomeness’ in sports and less competitive at international events.

Or

B.  Youth specialize in one sport.  Get awesome at it.  Level of play much higher.  Do great at international level events.  
 

As a fan, B has many perks.   But as a member of a society - I wonder if A is the better approach for the overall well being of the society.  More interchange of experiences, people.  Healthier bodies.  More diverse experiences and lessons learned.  
 

Thoughts?

[alex1fly]

I don't see many perks with B. Kids get pushed to do things they don't want to do by parents with unfulfilled dreams. Parents have to spend tons of time and money shlepping their kid around the country - I'm talking tens of thousands of dollars a year. This prices out the majority of families and makes specializing in a youth sport the realm of rich people with flexible jobs. And it's not like the level of play is high enough to be objectively entertaining - you cheer and attend because you care about the person playing, not because a bunch of 10-16 year olds are executing incredible athletic techniques. 

A is better for kids and families. Life lessons, exercise, camaraderie, scheduling, more accessible to more people. And B is still absolutely an option if the kids are passionate about it but really in general athletics should be part of a well rounded growing up experience.

[The Kid]

It depends on the individual.   Some kids have elite talent and should focus on one sport.  They should have a fun sport too.

Some kids are there for the social aspect while learning about competition.  They are not elite and would just be jv or a practice partner if they committed to one sport.

Edited 11 hours ago by The Kid

[GimJustafan]

i think it also depends on age of the child you are referring to

 

no 8 year old should be told he or she is only participating in 1 sport 

[CHROMEBIRD]

Why not both? I don't know about "incentivize" but I thought the US had always been a T-shaped model where kids are encouraged to try out multiple sports with the option to go deep if they find something they really love or are good at, while still having the option to dabble in other sports.

I hear people say that money and hypercompetitiveness are pushing more kids towards 'B', but I don't know how true that is. I also don't know if devoting a kid's life to one sport, like the sports academy model in Europe and other countries, is the best thing for them, especially at a young age where burnout and repetitive use injuries are prevalent.

Arguably, competing in multiple sports exposes youth to multiple types of athleticism and athletic strategies, and skills you pick up in one sport can be beneficial in another, leading to higher overall athletic intelligence. Plus, 'A' offers a breadth of lifelong skills and broadens a kid's social circles and helps develop them not just into well-rounded athletes, but well-rounded people.

[Konquest]

"A" up until middle school, "B" after that, but obviously it's everyone's individual choice. Ben Askren is arguably the best club wrestling coach in the country, and those guys pride themselves on kids who didn't do anything big as youth wrestlers going on to earn college scholarships.  Play a bunch of sports as a kid but if you want to be great at wrestling, fall in love with it as a kid, and then start the high level competition grind at age 11-14 (early adolescence) if they're ready for it.  The big trophies from the kids' national tournaments where you see psychos screaming at kids and 6 year olds cutting weight don't mean squat in the grand scheme of things.

[Hammerlock3]

A is good because it maximizes me doing B.

[Hammerlock3]

In terms of society as a whole, neither is intrinsically better, but if you were somehow to compare them, B is gonna attract a lot of problematic people. I'll put it this way, the party stacked with people from group A is gonna be more interesting and the people there are gonna be better listeners. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Hammerlock3