early specialisation in sport one basket only for my eggs?

Early Specialisation in Sport One basket only for my

eggs?High Performance Sport Leaders Network

DSR Leederville May 2016

Summary of Presentation

• What is Early Specialisation (ES) in sport? A clear definition that works for all

• Can ES result in improved performance at the highest level of sport and is it necessary?

• Considering the risks and benefits associated with ES compared with early sport sampling/diversification

• The importance of education for parents and coaches of junior athletes to ensure informed decisions are being made.

• Postulates for the role of deliberate play and early sampling.

Why Early Specialisation?

• History– Apparently, ES is not a recent phenomenon…“The evil of excessive training in early years is strikingly proved by the example of the Olympic victors: for no more than two or three of them have gained a prize as both boys and as men; their early training and severe gymnastics exercises exhausted their constitutions” Aristotle had concerns…“for children they [gymnastics exercises] should be of a lighter kind, avoiding severe diet or painful toil, lest the growth of the body be impaired”

Why ES – what are the drivers?

• High regard for sporting success and increased rewards at elite end of sport

• Increased pressure to succeed (v participate)• Parents belief in the need to start young for

ultimate success and financial reward• There is a robust relationship – time spent

practicing & achievement. But it is not linear and the success pathway is multi-factorial

How early is too early?US Kids Golf Foundation2015 World Champions

Boys 6 and Under

Luke ParsonsSalley, South CarolinaScore: -71st World Championship Win1 Regional Championship Win3 State Championship Wins15 Local Tour Wins

Uncertainty over the ES area• “the current lack of longitudinal research examining the

relative impact of formative pathway experiences makes it difficult to determine how, when or if these characteristics can be developed and planned” Gulbin et al. 2013

• “Despite decades of research in this area, the costs and benefits associated with early specialization in athlete development are still not clear:” Baker, Cobley & Fraser-Thomas 2009

• Each sport/parent/coach will need to develop their own approach

Deliberate Play v Deliberate Practice

• Cote 2009• Deliberate Play – an intentional and informal

activity designed to maximise inherent enjoyment

• Deliberate Practice – a highly structured activity that requires effort, generates no immediate rewards and is motivated by the goal of improving performance rather than inherent enjoyment.

What is meant by ES?• Four specific parameters - Baker, Cobley & Fraser-Thomas, 2009

– Early start age in sport– Early involvement in one sport– Early involvement in focused high intensity

training– Early involvement in competitive sport

• ES typically - low volume of deliberate play Cote, Lidor and Hackfort, 2009

Audience Participation

Consider the following questions in small groups:• What sports typically lend themselves to ES v

sports that benefit from early sampling?• What are the patterns, key factors for these?

Potential Positives of ES• Early Peak sports – gymnastics/ figure skating

high performance outcomes possible pre puberty• There is a positive relationship between time

spent practising and achievement – although not linear

• ES athletes may receive more/better coaching so potential skill acquisition and early selections on teams

• Enjoyment from improvement

Potential Positives of ES cont…

• Examples in soccer where a “special effort” as a child linked to adult elite performance

• High profile examples – Tiger Woods, Andre Agassi

• To realise benefits there is a challenge to provide appropriate monitoring of ES athletes – recovery, nutrition, physical

Critical Periods

• Equivocal support in literature – practically difficult to identify for individual athletes Phillips et al. 2010

• Sport skills sequential, but not the same for each individual. Young athletes unique and different properties Anderson 2002

• Human development varied – we can adapt to stimuli at later periods – plasticity Bruer 1998

Potential Negatives ES

• Uncertainty over outcomes – early success, especially pre puberty is often not transferred to success as an adult

• Unrealistic expectations on high achievers pre-puberty can lead to negative reactions after puberty where they are not well equipped to handle the pressure

Drop off in Swimmers in Top 100

Possible Negatives ES - Physical

• Overuse injuries e.g. shoulder tendonitis swimmers, stress fractures, growth plate closures. Stricker 2002, Dalton 1992

• Mattson & Richards 2010 feel no evidence that ES causes overuse injuries – can avoid with proper diet and training techniques. Coaches and trainers can identify early warning signs and take preventative measures

Possible Negatives ES - Skill

• ES in one sport may limit development of FMS – possibly issues later in life – proficiency barrier (Branta 2010)

• Early maturing athlete may be given key positions & may fail to develop broader skills – what if don’t develop requisite physique for that sport/position post puberty? (Ackland & Bloomfield 1996)

• Late maturing – possibly less attention and skill development – ultimately better physically capable – less skill due to less attention

Possible Negative ES – Psychological/ Sociological

• Burnout and increased stress Gould 2010; Callendar 2010

• Impaired identity development. If separated from peers – young athletes may have a narrow perspective on their identity Wiersma 2000

• Fun? Is ES at odds with having fun and making a longer term commitment?– Ice hockey – dropout group had started serious training earlier,

increased amount of off-ice training Wall &Cote 2007– Swimming – dropouts fewer extra-curricular, started dry land

training earlier less time unstructured play swimming, reached top-in-club earlier Cote et al. 2008

Possible Negative ES – Psychological/ Sociological

• Social isolation, rivalry, a sacrificed lifestyle and missed social opportunities Baker, Cobley and Fraser-Thomas 2009

• Lack of autonomy and burnout & may develop a sense of resentment and decreased motivation for sport – few direct comparisons in literature in this area

Potential Risks of ES

• USA National Association for Sport and Physical Education – 2010

“Specialization in a single sport is more likely to inhibit or distort balanced physical development, restrict skill development opportunities and undermine the forms of sport participation that maximize lifelong fitness and well-being”


• Consider the following questions in small groups:

• From your experience, how well do you think the coaches within the current junior sport system would be able to identify early warning signs and take preventative measures to protect young athletes, particularly those in ES?

Early Sampling an alternative pathway to elite performance

• Note limitation in literature – mostly cross sectional and recall

• Several studies showing varied pathways to elite performance– Gulbin et al. 2013 – non-linear progression on Athlete

Development Triangle – 256 scholarship holders, 27 sports

– < 7% had pure junior to senior developmental linearity– Some athletes “switched pyramids” going with another

sport

The Athlete Development Triangle

Delaying the decision to specialise

• It has been suggested that late adolescents have the psychological, social, emotional and physical maturity to meet the demands of competitive sports Cote 2009

• Also able to understand the benefits and costs of intense focus on one sport Patel, Pratt & Greydanus 2002


• Moesch (2013) centimetres, grams, seconds (cgs) sports –

• Elite v near elite – near elite more hours training when younger.

• Elite more hours from ~ 18 years old• cgs sports – more physical/ less tactical less

room for ES to benefit


• Early sampling and later specialisation - several examples of better adult outcomes – Portugal national team athletes played multiple

sports before specialising in final sport Leite, Baker & Sampaio 2009

– And Russian swimmers who began specialised training in swimming at 12-13 longer time on national team & ended careers later than swimmers starting at 9-10 Barynina & Vaitsekhovsky 1992

Oldenziel et al., 2004

Variability in Age of Onset of Training - Olympic Athletes

• Gullich (2007) analysed data of 4455 Olympians - age at onset of training in their main sport (in Vaeyens et al.2009)

• The initial age of discipline-specific practice varies markedly between and within many Olympic sports

• A considerable proportion of international athletes began training after the traditional ‘‘timing’’ of talent identification (i.e. 8–12 years),

• For many Olympic sports specific training from an early age is not an indispensable precondition for later senior success.

Positives from Early Sampling• Foundational personal, physical and mental skills required to

later specialise in one sport (Cote, Lidor & Hackfort 2009)

• Tendency for a greater amount of “play” activities – inherent enjoyment seen as a key to continuing to actively participate in sport

• Diversified sport experiences during childhood fostered positive peer relationships and leadership skills in University level athletes Wright & Cote 2003

• Deliberate play can have a positive influence on motivational factors - self determination theory and on an individual’s willingness to engage in more externally controlled activities Cote 2007

Value of sampling

• “It is so noticeable on a hockey team that the kids who played other sports and experienced different things are always the smarter players on your team, and they are able to handle adversity better. They deal with adversity better because they are thrown into different environments and they trust their skills that they may have learned elsewhere to get them through certain things”. (Brent Sutter, Edmonton Oilers)

Value of sampling


• Consider the following questions in small groups:

Consider athletes you know and/or coach. • How good are they at keeping motivated or

showing coping strategies for challenges in their sport?

• Do you think athletes from a wider sampling background show different qualities?

Athlete Development Multi-Factorial• Elferink-Gemser et al. 2013 Multi-factorial - rate

of learning, training, maturation – physical, tactical, psychological. Youth sport – the more mature tend to perform better. Often fail to see best future performers.

• Emphasise individual nature of pathways to expertise.

Athlete Development Multi-Factorial

• Future successful athletes have in common – capability to do more than others, derive more from same number of training hours, take responsibility for their progress – self-regulation of learning, reflective.

• System could help by - Providing a challenging environment, not by excluding based on current performance. Tracking learning, training and maturation related to their personal performance characteristics – guide them towards their goal.

Sport Cross Over – Talent Transfer

• Playing sports with similar underlying performance elements – facilitated a greater benefit from Early Sampling (Baker 2003)

• Able to transfer fundamental cognitive skills – dependent upon the degree of perceptual and information processing similarity between sports

• May be impeded if the athlete has specialised early and not developed FMS


• Consider the following question in small groups:

• Name some examples of successful talent transfer in Australian high performance sport?

• Why were they successful?

Does it matter where you are born?

• Birthplace Effect• Ready access to good infrastructure and opportunities to play

& competition – flourish• Wide range of age range competitors – broad array of sports• Children in smaller cities are more likely to engage in

unorganised physical activities such as cycling, running, skating and playing sports without the structure and adult supervision required in urban settings Cote 2007

• Can develop a “high sport self concept” – drives commitment to stay involved – more play and practice Cote 2007

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOcPTbN9ZF4




A model to guide

• Consider the FTEM model as a way to guide decision making about progression and specialisation in sport– It is about readiness to progress/ competency not

age per se – so a good model to consider decisions on when to progress.

FTEM Model

International Society for Sport Psychology – Position Stand: To sample or to specialize

• Postulate 1. Early diversification does not hinder elite sport participation in sports where peak performance occurs after maturation

• Postulate 2. Early diversification is linked to a longer sport career and has positive implications for long-term involvement

• Postulate 3. Early diversification allows participation in a range of contexts that most favourably affects positive youth development.

• Postulate 4. High amounts of deliberate play during the sampling years build a solid foundation of intrinsic motivation through involvement in activities that are enjoyable and promote intrinsic regulation.

International Society for Sport Psychology – Position Stand:

• Postulate 5. A high amount of deliberate play during the sampling years establishes a range of motor and cognitive experiences that children can ultimately bring to their principal sport of interest

• Postulate 6. Around the end of primary school (~13) children should have the opportunity to either choose to speciliase in their favourite sport of to continue in sport at a recreational level.

• Postulate 7. Late adolescents (~16) have developed physical, cognitive, social, emotional and motor skills needed to invest their effort into highly specialised training in one sport.

Final word…

• “Accordingly, before embarking on a specific type of activity and training, athletes, parents, and coaches should weigh the potential health, psychological, sociological, and motor benefits and risks associated with early sampling or early specialization in children ages 6-12.” Cote, lidor & Hackfort 2009

Thank You

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