Athlete or Addict?
Art: Miles Parnell
“Faster. Higher. Stronger.” We’ve taken this Olympic slogan to heart in Park City. Athletes of the new millennium are competing younger, focusing earlier and attaining higher skill levels at a faster rate than ever before. Old-fashioned play — that unstructured, adult-free, creative outdoor time spent checking out frogs or making up a game of stickball — has been replaced by intensive practices, training, tournaments, games, races and competitions.
It’s not so much that Park City youth suffer from the nationwide epidemic of what author Richard Louv has coined “nature deficit disorder.” With the mountains and every possible sport from Nordic jumping to mountain biking within easy reach, we are hardly divorced from nature. However, the question facing children, parents and coaches is whether or not the emphasis on competition and specialization by age 13 or 14 is beneficial. What are the pros and cons of this trend to focus, commit and achieve in one sport year-round?
First things first: Does this trend exist?
Perhaps the best example of a local sport in which specialized athletes are outpacing recreational players is soccer. According to Mike Guetschow, head coach of the Park City High School (PCHS) Boys Soccer Team for the past 10 years, a good athlete without club experience would have had a good chance of making the team less than a decade ago. Even five years ago, children were playing “rec ball” until age 13 and then joining organized teams at the high school. Now, professionals have replaced parent-coaches, and year-round club participation is the norm.
“Last year, when we won the state tournament, all 11 starters were full-time, soccer only,” says Guetschow, who lettered in four sports and didn’t specialize until college. Because of the specialized year-round club environment and the resulting rapid rise in the level of play, he says, “Not only would [a handful of his 2001 championship team starters] not start now, they probably wouldn’t even make the team.”
Andrea Juskaitis, who is entering her eighth season as the assistant coach for the PCHS Girls Soccer Team, has watched the team go from “a gung-ho group of young athletes that had no soccer background” to a tight-knit, highly skilled group of players. The coaching staff, she says, has been forced to cut girls that, even five years ago, would have made the team.
Bob Martin, who has 20 years coaching experience ranging from St. Mary’s College to the Utah Blitz, currently serves as coaching director and the under-14 boys coach for the Park City Extreme Soccer Club. He points out that his players seem to be able to reconcile multiple activities, such as ski racing and soccer. “I do see them pretty much going for it once they hit high school,” he says.
Soccer is far from the only streamlined sport in town. Matt Strader, who has coached the PCHS Baseball Team on and off for the past 15 years and serves as Field House Coordinator for Basin Recreation, attests that specialization in America’s favorite pastime is on the rise. He also serves as administrator for the new Park City Nine Baseball Club, which caters to young players in a similar fashion as the Extreme and Black Diamond soccer clubs.
In a ski town, this trend naturally extends to snow sports. “We definitely have watched the average age of freestyle competitors drop significantly,” notes Chris “Hatch” Haslock, who runs AXIS Freeride. A former Olympian who has coached at every level, Haslock was introduced to freestyle skiing and started competing at 19, making the Olympic team at 24. Today, he says, most skiers decide to concentrate on their sport by age 15.
Some youngsters look for that competitive edge outside the team environment. Tyler Barker, who runs the acceleration program at TOSH (The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital), assists athletes of all ages with improving speed and power development. Over the past year and a half, he’s seen increased interest, not just from older athletes, but also from children under age 11 who seek out his expertise to complement their soccer or football endeavors.
The Pros and Cons
Strader puts the benefits most succinctly, “If you specialize in one sport, you have more success in the skill development of that sport.” Though the Park City Nine Baseball Club is in its infancy, he believes that introducing young athletes to professional instruction will “open up doors.”
On the flip side, Strader is not alone in fearing burnout from such intense focus; he’s concerned that kids might peak too early and lose interest or never reach their full potential. Haslock, who draws from his own experience as a late-bloomer in the freestyle skiing realm, is convinced that there are “sleepers” out there.
“It’s not always the most talented person who ends up on top,” he says, pointing to gold medalist Ted Ligety as an example of someone who was not necessarily a young shining star, but whose passion combined with talent ultimately paid off.
Yet, Trine Vik, a Winter Sports School senior and Park City Ski Team member, says that burnout is all part of the dedicated athlete’s experience.
“I think everyone burns out a little bit. If you really love it and keep working hard, you can get a lot out of it,” she says. By cutting back on other activities and dedicating herself to skiing, she says she’s learned about hard work, commitment and an enhanced mental game.
Despite these perks, specialization may mean a loss of cross-over talents. For example, while Guetschow sees a heightened overall skill level in his players, he notes that finely-tuned soccer talent is sometimes restricted to the feet. “These kids don’t play baseball anymore, so when they get to high school, they don’t know how to track a ball in the air,” he says.
In a more global sense, he grapples with the pressure on children to put all their eggs in one basket. “The challenge is that if you don’t make the correct decision at the age of 12, it’s too late to change tracks.”
Haslock concurs. “Maybe we have the next Jonny Moseley who wouldn’t have been exposed to moguls if we’d made him choose,” Haslock says, because he attributes some of the freestyle skier’s success to his varied sports background.
Juskaitis (a Winter School teacher in addition to a soccer coach) is “in awe of the commitment level” of her students — not just in terms of their skiing goals, but in the quality school work they produce. “You can’t say anything negative because these kids have found something that they’re passionate about, and they are so focused.” Yet she’s concerned about their stress level and lack of balance.
“They are so specialized that it’s their whole world. Balance doesn’t exist anymore,” she says. Their schedules are devoid of “downtime,” and many fear pursuing other activities that might result in injury, thus jeopardizing skiing dreams, she says.
The jury is out as to whether specialization is responsible for increased injury in young bodies. Though hesitant to make broad conclusions about young children and injuries without empirical data, TOSH physical therapist Marlene Hatch has seen an increase in sprains and strains in children; athletes as young as 13 are also suffering serious injuries like ACL tears.
“I’m seeing, in the young kids, overuse injuries. Kids shouldn’t get overuse injuries,” she says. However, she points out that learning proper techniques through early involvement in organized sports may also help prevent serious injury.
Risk of injury aside, competitive sports can involve steep financial costs as parents shell out cash for professional coaches, equipment, travel, and tournament or race fees.
“You used to pack them a lunch and send them outside. Now, you have to take out a financial plan,” says Guetschow, who estimates that year-round soccer players spend $2,000 to $4,000 per year.
Ingrid Dancy, who has three children on the Park City Ski Team (two of her children also play soccer and tennis), agrees that cost is an issue. However, given her children’s love of their activities, she believes it’s worth it.
“Ski racing, in particular, takes a significant monetary commitment. But, on the other hand, it keeps the [kids] focused, and it keeps them out of trouble,” she says. “I’d rather put money into [sports] than drug rehab.”
Most coaches, parents and athletes agree that team and individual sports have enormous benefits. Dancy puts it simply, “It’s healthy,” she says. There are some young local athletes who buck the one-competitive-sport trend. Though most PCHS soccer players commit to year-round club teams, Wes Uribe balances soccer and football, while Greg DuBois plans to add football to his juggling act of ice hockey and soccer.
Both athletes struggle initially to “catch-up” with their year-round soccer-playing teammates, but they are unfazed by the challenge. As DuBois puts it, “It’s tough in the beginning of the season, but by the end, it all works out.” He even manages to play the guitar and sit down to family dinners each night.
Perhaps DuBois and Uribe excel in spite of the trend to specialize, while someone like Vik thrives because she’s followed one particular passion. Without the benefit of a lengthy scientific study or, better yet, a crystal ball, we’re left contemplating whether or not the perks, such as improved skills and increased dedication, outweigh the potential drawbacks, like burnout or lack of balance. For now, parents, coaches and athletes must ask, as Guetschow does, “Is it the experience or the results?” Maybe, it’s both.
A freelance writer and mom, Jane Gendron is yet to experience the specialized sports conundrum from a parent’s perspective (unless her 7-month-old’s persistent crawling to grasp the same toy over and over again counts). She is thoroughly impressed by the dedication, passion and concern expressed not just by the athletes, but also by the coaches and parents interviewed for this article.
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Reader Comments:
Mrs. Juskaitis is an awesome oach and teacher. She understands everything!