Approximately 18 months ago I wrote a blog explaining how specialising in sport as a young athlete did not guarantee future stardom. It’s time to touch on the same theme again, following a hectic Winter sport season where the issue seems to have become worse, with so many “specialised” sport pathways offered to junior athletes.
At Southern Suburbs Physiotherapy Centre, we love seeing kids active, passionate, and enjoying their sport. But we’re also seeing more young athletes, some as young as eight, doing huge amounts of training and competition – huge! Many are part of so-called “elite” or “specialised” pathways, conveniently named “Representative” or “State” or “National” squads. These squads nearly always require training multiple times a week, at high levels, on top of other regular season sports and activities. There is no off season, no down time, in fact there is not even a “down day” in many cases.
And while dedication is admirable, it comes with a growing problem that we see in the clinic: overuse injuries. And even more interesting, and the key point that I would like to convey (again) is that the statistics tell us that the majority of the kids who are in elite junior programs won’t make it to elite senior sport!
Research shows that specialising in a single sport as early as 10–12 years old does not improve the chance of becoming an elite senior athlete. Junior success explains less than 5% of senior performance, and most senior elites were not elite juniors.
The Injury Reality: Young Bodies Under Heavy Load
Between the ages of 8 and 14, children’s bones, tendons, and growth plates are still developing. And they are often growing FAST! Fast growth means there can be an imbalance between the muscles and tendons (which are getting stronger) and the bones, which are highly vulnerable during these growth periods. When these immature structures are placed under repetitive stress—such as year-round, high-level training in one or more multiple sports—they simply don’t get enough time to adapt and certainly don’t get enough time to repair and recover.
It’s no surprise, then, that we’re seeing a rise in injuries like:
- Growth-plate pain (e.g. Sever’s disease, Osgood-Schlatter’s)
- Tendon irritation around knees and heels
- Stress injuries in bones and joints
These aren’t “normal growing pains”—they’re warning signs that the training load is too high for the stage of growth and development.
The Danger Period: Peak Height Velocity
Peak Height Velocity (PHV) is the fastest period of height growth in adolescence. This is an important concept because during and right after this period, the body is going through very rapid change (bones, tendons, muscle, coordination) and therefore injury risk and load management become especially important.
For girls, peak height velocity (PHV) typically occurs about 6–12 months before the onset of menstruation. So, it’s very useful to know that the fastest growth phase for your daughter, or young female athletes you are working with, is likely to be before they start menstruating.
For boys, we can only really rely on pure age data. The average age of peak height velocity (PHV) for boys is around 13–14 years. At PHV, boys will often grow at rates of a staggering 10–12 cm/year during the peak.
The Myth: Early Specialisation Creates Elite Athletes
Hopefully from the above information it is clear that young adolescents can be extremely vulnerable to pain and injury due to the high loads that are placed through immature skeletal systems. But this brings me to my main point: we simply don’t need these “specialised pathways” at very young ages.
There’s a common belief that focusing on one sport from a young age is the best way to increase the chances of reaching the top of that sport. But the evidence doesn’t support that idea.
Many high-quality reviews and studies show that:
Being an elite junior doesn’t guarantee being an elite senior. Most elite senior athletes did not specialise early. Many played a range of sports through their childhood and only focused later. In fact, approximately 95–100% of what determines senior success is not predicted by junior results. It is the late developers that often go on to have longer, more successful careers.
Specialising at 10–12 years old rarely improves your child’s chance of being an elite senior athlete, but it does increase the risk of overuse injury and burnout. Playing multiple sports builds a broader skill base—coordination, agility, balance, motor competence, fitness and strength—that actually benefits long-term performance.
The Better Path: Variety, Fun, and Balance
Here’s what we encourage for young athletes (and their parents):
✅ Encourage variety. Let your child try multiple sports, especially between ages 8 and 12. It develops better all-round athletic ability and reduces overuse injuries.
✅ Monitor load. How many training sessions and games (school, club, and representative)? Across how many sports? How many “double sport days”? Schedule at least one day off training per week and aim for some downtime between seasons.
✅ Prioritise fun. The most important thing at this age is enjoyment, social connection, and learning to love movement—not chasing early selection or “elite” labels.
✅ Watch for warning signs. Persistent pain, fatigue, or declining enthusiasm are cues that the body (and mind) need rest.
My Message For Parents
I do not for one minute blame parents for the loads that children are exposed to at such a young age. I have “been there, done that” with my own kids. The real problem I see is the fact that the programs are available to these young children. I just don’t see the need for an 8, 9, or 10 year old child to be at “representative”, “state” or “national” level – or in programs that are encouraging specialised training programs on top of domestic or local sport. We should just be letting this age group have fun, be active and happy, experiment across a range of sports, and be pain and injury free! We should be putting our attention to saving these programs for the 13-14+ age groups at a minimum.
Hopefully you now have enough knowledge to at least monitor your children through these vulnerable age periods and pick up on any presenting and persistent pains. And more than anything, take heart that if you say “No” to a particular additional team or training program, that you won’t be reducing your child’s chances of being a future star – in fact, you may actually be increasing their chances!
Anthony Lance
SSPC PHYSIOTHERAPIST
References available on request.
