ArticleSports health2013
Sports specialization in young athletes: evidence-based recommendations.
Article in Sports health, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 177 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
177 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Factors influencing sport persistence still represent a knowledge gap - the experience of a systematic review.BMC psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Epidemiology of injuries in young volleyball athletes: a systematic review.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2023Pooled it
- Athletic Identity in Youth Athletes: A Systematic Review of the Literature.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Preseason shoulder range of motion screening and in-season risk of shoulder and elbow injuries in overhead athletes: systematic review and meta-analysis.British journal of sports medicine · 2020Pooled it
- What Defines Early Specialization: A Systematic Review of Literature.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2020Pooled it
- Opioid Use in Athletes: A Systematic Review.Sports healthPooled it
- Current Sport Organization Guidelines From the AMSSM 2019 Youth Early Sport Specialization Research Summit.Sports healthPooled it
- Systematic Review of Health Organization Guidelines Following the AMSSM 2019 Youth Early Sport Specialization Summit.Sports healthPooled it
- Risk of Scoliosis in Adolescent Female Rhythmic Gymnasts Compared with Healthy Peers: A Cross-Sectional Study Using the Scoliosis Tele-Screening Test.Sports health · 2026Article
- Adaptive Athlete Management in Youth Football: A Developmentally Informed Framework for Applied Practice.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Association of Mental Health, Quality of Life, and Sport Specialization Using the Wisconsin Sport Specialization Questionnaire Among Adolescent Athletes.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Formed on Ice: A Qualitative Study of Motivation, Pressure, and Identity in Early Ice Hockey Specialization.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Construction and Validation of a Specific Balance Test for Rhythmic Gymnasts: A Pilot Study.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Influence of Biological Age and Sex on Gross Motor Skill Development in Young Athletes: A Pilot Study.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Biomechanical Differences Among Collegiate Sprinters Developed Through Specialized and Diversified Training Pathways.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Sport-Specific Testing and Training Methods in Youth.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of a 3-week foam rolling warm-up intervention on ankle dorsiflexion measurements and jumping performance in young rhythmic gymnasts.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Development and testing of a sports intervention (Girls PLAY)to promote physical activity among rural girls: a feasibility study protocol.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2026Article
- Age is not a primary risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament injury-A comprehensive review of anterior cruciate ligament injury and reinjury risk factors confounded by young patient age.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2026Review
- Sport specialization predicts athletic identity exclusivity in youth athletes: a three-wave RI-CLPM study of controlling coaching and non-sport peer restriction with implications for adolescent care.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
117 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextSports specialization is intense training in 1 sport while excluding others. Sports specialization in early to middle childhood has become increasingly common. While most experts agree that some degree of sports specialization is necessary to achieve elite levels, there is some debate as to whether such intense practice time must begin during early childhood and to the exclusion of other sports to maximize potential for success. There is a concern that sports specialization before adolescence may be deleterious to a young athlete. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: PubMed and OVID were searched for English-language articles from 1990 to 2011 discussing sports specialization, expert athletes, or elite versus novice athletes, including original research articles, consensus opinions, and position statements.
resultsFor most sports, there is no evidence that intense training and specialization before puberty are necessary to achieve elite status. Risks of early sports specialization include higher rates of injury, increased psychological stress, and quitting sports at a young age. Sports specialization occurs along a continuum. Survey tools are being developed to identify where athletes fall along the spectrum of specialization.
conclusionSome degree of sports specialization is necessary to develop elite-level skill development. However, for most sports, such intense training in a single sport to the exclusion of others should be delayed until late adolescence to optimize success while minimizing injury, psychological stress, and burnout.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.