Why 70 percent of kids drop out of organized sports

Participating in athletics can be highly beneficial for children and teens both physically and mentally. But too much organized sport participation can also be detrimental.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a clinical report, “Overuse Injuries, Overtraining, and Burnout in Young Athletes,” which outlines how sports participation can lead to physical and mental exhaustion, as well as musculoskeletal damage.

The report discusses the most common sports-related injuries, including overuse injuries, and how overtraining and overscheduling can cause burnout. Overtraining occurs when there is an imbalance of training and recovery that causes fatigue, impaired sleep and mood problems.

Advocate Children’s Hospital Sports Medicine Physician Dr. Sarah Pierotti and Pediatric Sleep Medicine Physician Dr. Innessa Donskoy share their thoughts on the report.

“Overuse injuries are common and are often overlooked as athletes cannot pinpoint an onset of injury and are often able to play despite the pain, decreased performance and limitations,” explains Dr. Pierotti. “Families are frequently unaware the injury is due to overuse, what an overuse injury is, how it evolved, or how to recover and prevent them. In addition to ensuring proper physical recovery with days off, proper sleep, activity modification, time off between seasons and mental health should be emphasized.”

Dr. Pierotti says that while participating in sports improves mental health, participation beyond a healthy amount can become detrimental.

“Part of mental recovery comes when kids can simply play in non-structured ways without repetitive drills, coaches and schedules of parents intervening,” she says. “Research has shown that nonstructured play can help prevent injuries.”

Dr. Donskoy says the report is an important first step in recognizing the importance of sleep in keeping young athletes healthy, safe and successful.

“The AAP discusses how factors including sleep can significantly influence the risk of overuse injury. Sleep is vital for our physical and psychological functioning and recovery, even from everyday tasks,” she says. “This importance heightens for athletes who are not only actively growing but also making tremendous asks of their bodies on their respective fields.”

Getting adequate, deep sleep promotes the release of growth hormone to aid in muscle recovery after vigorous exercise.

“Just as important as getting enough high-quality sleep is aiming to get this sleep in approximately the same time frame throughout the week,” says Dr. Donskoy. “Social jet lag or big swings in the timing of sleep can compromise alertness and lead to subpar performance at best – and injury at worst.”

The AAP offers recommendations for safely participating in sports:

• Keep exercises and drills age and/or developmentally appropriate
• Workouts should be interesting and fun
• Foster positive experiences with parents, coaches and peers
• Practice mindfulness
• Take breaks

“When it comes to youth sports, I recommend ensuring children are not over scheduled in structured participation and specifically avoiding just one sport,” says Dr. Pierotti. “In general, specialization should wait. Diversifying your child’s activities helps to prevent burnout and encourages the development of new skills and interaction with a variety of peer groups.”

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