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There is a continued debate about early versus late sport specialization. There are potential benefits and risks associated with early specialization; however, most literature is based on expert opinion or retrospective data (Butcher, Lindner, & Johns, 2002; Cote, Lidor, & Hackfort, 2009; Farrey, 2010). The positive experiences and development associated with the demands of early sport specialization may be overlooked because of the breadth of negative research and popular media reports. The purpose of this study is to describe the youth sport experience, with an emphasis on competitive club soccer, more objectively by focusing on the parents' perceptions and reasons for participation. We distributed electronic surveys to parents whose children participated as a member of a U8-U12 dub soccer team in a state tournament during the previous year. The results suggest the parents sensed improved skills in children who started participating earlier; however, parents of both genders reported the necessity of skipping other events, making sacrifices to participate, and negatively affected schoolwork. In addition, the longer the child participated, the less the family enjoyed soccer. Overall, burnout is considered a risk of early participation (Coakley, 1992; Jayanthi, Pinkham, Dugas, Patrick, & LaBella, 2012; Smith, 1986), but our data suggests that the family may be more at risk for burnout than the child because the child continues to enjoy and develop within the sport.
The United States Youth Soccer organization's website reports that more than 3 million youth participate in its recreational, competitive, and Olympic development programs. Recreational teams provide infonnal learning opportunities with less fatigue and stress when contrasted with competitive club sports (Malina, 2010). In addition to the increased level of competiveness, club sports are viewed as more selective and expensive (Farrey, 2010; Malina, 2010). Popular media references the exclusivity of youth competitive club teams and the decreasing numbers of participants as levels of competitiveness increase in the continued debate about early versus late sport specialization (Malina, 2010).
Rather than specializing in a single sport, recreational leagues are better suited for children who are interested in sampling various sports. Diversification, or sampling multiple sports, includes more informal sport activities and more time in deliberate play. In contrast, specialization consists of deliberate practice or training with the purpose of improving skills (Cote, Lidor, &...