---
title: Why Our Youth Athletes Should Play Multiple Sports
description: Many people believe that specialization is beneficial but it's actually the opposite. When kids are involved in multiple sports it is proven to benefit them in many different aspects. This article goes over some of the key points as to why having youth participate in multiple sports is important.
---

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# [Why Our Youth Athletes Should Play Multiple Sports](https://empoweruptp.com/empoweru-blog/blog/why-our-youth-athletes-should-play-multiple-sports)

 Written by [Admin](https://empoweruptp.com/empoweru-blog/author/admin) | Nov 17, 2022 5:00:00 AM

# Why Our Youth Athletes Should Play Multiple Sports

Nov 17, 2022

In this day and age the pressures to win, scholarship aspirations, competitive spirit, and fear of falling behind dominate youth sports. As a result kids are being pushed to specialize in a single sport earlier and earlier. Many coaches and parents have turned their focus on helping kids become experts in the sport they excel at most. While coaches and parents are well intended in trying to help their kids succeed, early sports specialization may not be the right path to success for many. Let’s talk about some reasons **why early specialization may be detrimental to youth athletes physically & mentally! **

 

- ## **To Specialize or to Not Specialize?**

  

- ## **Specialization and Burnout **

 

 

- ## **Exposure to different roles can significantly benefit a youth athlete **

 

 

- ## **Exposure to different coaches, teammates and competition **

## **Let’s take a look at some of the stats of the recent professionals: **

- 30 out of the 32 first round picks in the 2017 NFL draft were multi-sport athletes in high school.
- In all, 222 of the 253 players selected in the 2017 NFL draft played more than one sport in high school.
- In a study completed on [NCAA Division 1 Athletes](https://www.amssm.org/News-Release-Article.php?NewsID=69), it was found that 88% of athletes participated in an average of 2 to 3 sports as children
- Tracking Football’s research shows that over 80% of current Division 1 football scholarship recruits played another sport in high school.

 

## **The Bottom Line**

Don’t let the pressure and fear of falling behind in a particular sport be the only decision making factor behind sports specialization especially at a young age. Enabling our youth athletes and kids to have a more varied experience in the sports realm can lead to overall improved motor skills/strength/mobility, decreased injury prevalence, higher sports IQ, and help reduce burn out towards sports. Let's keep our youth athletes and kids having fun in sports while enabling them to develop as well rounded human beings!

 

Thanks for reading!! 

 

-Dr. Dan

### ** Feel Better. Move Better. Score Better** 

 

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