A great number of present-day adolescent athletes (girls ages 12 to 18 and boys 14 to 18) participate in organized team sports. Many of these young athletes partake in a common theme of sport “specialization” whereby the selection of a specific sport of participation is played year-round, 24/7/365. Many of these young athletes aspire for their sport participation to evolve as a gateway to a college scholarship and perhaps even a professional occupation.

The athletes of today also live in a much different technological society than those athletes of decades past. The advances in technology have assisted in creating a more sedentary lifestyle off the field of play, as it’s no longer necessary to leave home to make a sale purchase, communicate with friends and write school reports, as information and instant gratification is available at one’s finger tips. The days of walking or riding a bicycle to a destination are often replaced with parents providing a car ride or carpooling with friends. The days of sandlot competition and playground pick-up games have frequently been replaced with various video games played at home while sitting on a couch.

The annual participation of many adolescents in their specific sport of choice is not limited to single game-day competition, and may include partaking in multiple sport teams during the course of a season — not to mention the time spent in team practice as well as private sport skill training lessons. The introduction to athletic performance enhancement training is an additional venue that has arisen in recent years to provide an advantage to the adolescent athlete. Additionally, health club memberships of individuals ages 6 to 17 continue to increase, as a rising number of private sports performance training centers have also marketed resistance training programs for these young athletes.

The combined physical stress of specific sport athletic competition, specific sport practice, sports skill training and resistance training programs performed in conjunction at the same period of time may lead to an over-training of the young body resulting in physical exhaustion. This excessive level of fatigue may not only lead to decreased athletic performance, but overuse-type injuries (i.e., sprains and strains) as well. Some guidelines to assist in the consistency of optimal athletic performance — and reduce the incidence of injury — include, but are not limited to, the following:

Young athletes should place an emphasis on “general physical preparation” vs. sports specialization at an early age. At the early stages of physical development, the neuromuscular musculoskeletal systems of the body may be considered “plastic” to speak, and easily adaptable to many learned physical undertakings. An analogy would include the ability and ease of a child to learn different languages vs. attempting the same task as an adult. Due to this physical “adaptability,” it’s recommended that the adolescent athlete participate in as many different sports as possible. As an example, playing soccer in the fall will emphasize foot-eye coordination, while playing baseball in the spring will place emphasis on hand-eye coordination. Participation in many different sports will create a more overall skilled athlete vs. an athlete limited to the skills of a single sport.

Emphasize sports specialization at a later age. As the athlete has become multi-skilled, he or she may then select his or her sport of specialization when they are older; thus, they will be competing as a better overall athlete. The age to initiate sport specialization would be approximately 14, whereby the athlete may continue to hone the skills of the specific sport of choice.

Recovery. If consistency in optimal athletic performance is desired, the ability to recover from the physical stresses of sport is as important as participating in competition. The athlete’s recovery includes:

— Limiting play to one team during the season

— Limiting private skill lessons during the season

— Eating healthy and appropriately

— Sleeping at least 8 hours at night

— Planning an off-season (not playing the same sport year-round), as even professional athletes have an off-season

Off-season training. This formal training would include resistance training as well as additional non-sport skill training. Included would be the training for the enhancement of the physical qualities necessary for the specific sport of participation (i.e., strength, power and speed). This type of training should occur in an appropriate health club or private performance enhancement training facility under qualified adult supervision. Appropriate timing and implementation of off-season training will better physically prepare the athlete for both optimal performance as well as resist the physical stresses of their sport of participation.

Participation in athletic activities should be reinforced for the health and enjoyment of the adolescent athlete. Appropriate levels of participation and off-season training should occur to allow for consistency in optimal athletic performance as well as minimize the risk of injury.

Robert Panariello, MS, PT, ATC, CSCS, is the founding partner and chief clinical officer at Professional Physical Therapy. He has bachelor degrees in physical therapy and physical education/athletic training from Ithaca College in New York. He also holds a master’s degree in exercise physiology from Queens College in New York. Rob has more than 30 years of experience in the related fields of sports physical therapy, athletic training and the performance training of athletes. His experience includes the study of the science of strength and conditioning of weightlifters and various sport athletes in Bulgaria, the former Soviet Union and former East Germany. He previously held the positions of Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at St. John’s University of New York (1986-1995), the World League of American Football NY/NJ Knights (1991) and the WUSA NY POWER Women’s Professional Soccer League (2001-2002). He continues to rehabilitate, athletic performance train, as well as serve as a consultant to many NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, collegiate and university teams, coaches and players.

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Are Adolescent Athletes Prepared for Their Level of Sports Participation? originally appeared on usnews.com