Desire to play college ball

[riseball]

Riseball, I know it's not the best. This is her 1st year of select. She has a few friends on the team, so we wanted her to be comfortable and we didn't know much about the process. We're relatively new to softball.

The fact that you have some situational awareness puts you well ahead of most parents, experienced or otherwise.

 

[cbullard]

Haha...thanks Riseball. And thanks to everyone else as well. Who knows if DD would end up being good enough to play college ball anyways? This is really her 1st year playing....and she's made huge strides. Multiple people love her size and athleticism (which is why her current team wants her to pitch, SS, and CF).

Spoke with the prospective team's coach...and he wants her at pitcher, SS, 2nd, or CF. So, we'll see how it goes. I just tell her to work hard and stay humble.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

Playing only one sport I can see. However, specializing in one sport is an entirely different matter and I have to assume the study had controls for that.

But I can't get past that an Overuse Injury is not an objective diagnosis, it is a subjective medical opinion. Unfortunately the term "Overuse Injury" is largely undefined in the medical community in the respect that there is no consensus. It is used interchangeably as both a mechanism of injury and an injury diagnosis.

Common sense would lead one to believe overuse is more prevalent with the "1-sporter". But I also believe the "1-sporter" is more inclined to push themselves harder in the first place which would slap us into a chicken-or-the-egg quandary. I don’t think anyone can make a smart conclusion either way at this point.

 

[riseball]

Common sense would lead one to believe overuse is more prevalent with the "1-sporter". But I also believe the "1-sporter" is more inclined to push themselves harder in the first place which would slap us into a chicken-or-the-egg quandary. I don’t think anyone can make a smart conclusion either way at this point.

I think you have to clearly define "1-sporter".

There is the elite level pitcher that throws year round with appropriate breaks who is actively engaged in comprehensive strength training and a great diet.

Then there is a "athlete" that participates in one sport for 4 - 6 months out of the year and spends the rest of year doing nothing until "the season" comes around.

My money is on the latter for being at significant risk for "Overuse" or any other injury. Where the former is at no more risk of injury than the properly conditioned multi-sport athlete, and at less risk than the poorly conditioned multi-sport athlete.

Multi-sport athletes have a tendency to be better conditioned, but that does not preclude a single-sport athlete from being just as well conditioned or even better than their multi-sport counterpart. When you look at the incidence of a "Overuse Injury" you have to consider the training and the diet before drawing any conclusions.

 

[dbronstein]

We're way off the original topic, so I'm fine if this discussion needs to be shut down or spun into its own thread. Here's the summary of one study on specialization and injuries done at the Loyola University Health System in 2011. They looked at 154 kids (average age 13) who came in with sports injuries or for sports physicals (85 injured, 69 uninnjured) and gave them a 6 question survey to establish a level of specialization:

Do you train more than 75 percent of the time in one sport?
Do you miss time with friends to train?
Have you quit other sports to focus on one sport?
Do you consider one sport more important than other sports?
Do you regularly travel out of state for the sport?
Do you train more than eight months a year or compete more than six months a year?

They gave 1 point for each yes and a score of 4 or higher was considered specialized. The average score of uninjured athletes was 2.75, while the average score of injured athletes was 3.49. The study found that 60.4 percent of the injured athletes specialized in a sport, while only 31.3 percent of the uninjured athletes specialized.

I'm sure people will have fun picking apart the questions and the results but the research is pretty consistent that kids who only play one sport tend to have higher injury rates.

 

[dbronstein]

But I can't get past that an Overuse Injury is not an objective diagnosis, it is a subjective medical opinion. Unfortunately the term "Overuse Injury" is largely undefined in the medical community in the respect that there is no consensus. It is used interchangeably as both a mechanism of injury and an injury diagnosis.

Yes, this is true. There is agreement that the term covers all injuries that aren't acute (caused by a single traumatic event). The estimates are that overuse injuries account for 46-54% of youth sports injuries.

And as people have mentioned, the research demonstrates very clearly that the best way to prevent overuse injuries is through overall fitness and strength training.

 

[undergroundga]

Well, my dd is toast!

 

[riseball]

So pretty much any kid who only plays Little League 6 months out of the year and eats Twinkies and plays X-Box the rest of the year could be considered "specialized". And they had higher injury rate. Who would have guessed?

 

[undergroundga]

Well, my daughters toast! She's a 6 outta 6!
Is there a special modifier if your wife is an occupational therapist that specializes in shoulders and hand?

 

[riseball]

I would not describe her as injury prone, but committed!

I want to see the study that compares High School age kids who go year round at 1 or more sports with those that spend 3 months or more out of the year doing nothing. I still say that "Overuse Injuries" however defined are heavily influenced by inadequate or improper training.