What makes a champion? Let children try everything
If you wanted your child to become a top athlete as an adult, what’s the best path? The research shows it’s multisport.
The multi-sport advantage
Experts agree that physical literacy is the foundation for achievement in sport. It’s also essential for supporting active, healthy lifestyles. When kids are young, the multi-sport approach is the best for developing their physical literacy.
Multi-sport means encouraging kids to do a wide variety of physical activities and sports prior to their teen years. Even when kids show talent and enthusiasm for one particular sport or activity, they shouldn’t be made to specialize until they are well into adolescence. (The few exceptions would be acrobatic sports such as gymnastics and figure skating.)
Here are some key articles that explain the multi-sport advantage.
Multisport programs make physical activity fun and engaging
Besides being fun and excellent for developing physical literacy, multisport programs offer convenience and affordability for parents.
The role multisport plays in raising a happy, healthy child athlete
By playing multiple sports, the idea is that kids will experience fewer overuse injuries, less burnout, and less dropout from activity.
If you’re raising a child athlete, think long-term
Developing physical literacy optimizes both lifelong physical activity and athlete development
The top 5 reasons kids play sports
Kids play sports for the fun of it
Multi-sport initiative brings together Canada’s top national sport organizations
Check out the new multi-sport website
Specialization: What does it really mean?
Repetition of one activity to the exclusion of all others is rarely wise
6 tips to help coaches teach parents about LTAD
Useful information for community coaches
How playing multiple sports is good for your kids
Kids should participate in many different sports and physical activities
Can you guess the one thing that most elite athletes have in common?
Here’s a hint: it’s not single sport specialization
Specializing in sport could fast track your kids to the hospital, not the major leagues
Variety is crucial until the age of 14 or 15
Jordan Spieth versus Tiger Woods
A tale of two different approaches to childhood development
Why specializing early in one sport is a bad idea
Diversification is more important during a child’s first decade
Size matters when it comes to playing fields for kids
Children need an age-appropriate space to feel comfortable and have fun
Raising a happy, healthy, successful kid
Greatness is not born, it’s made
Video shows what happens when “play” becomes “practice”
Kids pay a high cost for early specialization
Multisport programs are thriving in Nova Scotia
Multisport programs are spreading across Canada