No doubt we all enjoyed the success of the United States Olympic team during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. However, in our work with children in the classroom and gymnasium, or in our research and outreach involving children and physical activity, we are reminded daily of the childhood obesity crisis that the United States is facing. At the same time, we are reminded of the increased frequency and severity of overuse injuries in young athletes and of the negative results of sport specialization among youths. If we take a step back and look at the state of children and sport participation, there appears to be what statisticians refer to as a bimodal curve.
On one curve are the children who fail to meet the daily physical activity requirements supported by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE, 2004), the American Heart Association (AHA, 2008), and others (a minimum of 60 cumulative minutes of daily physical activity). These are the children who are overweight and in danger of developing the many diseases associated with obesity (e.g., type 2 diabetes, heart disease) at a far too young age. On the other curve are the children who are spending up to 40 hours per week training and practicing their sports (often specializing in one sport) and dealing with burnout and overtraining issues far too early in their athletic life (Watts, 2002). As a result, these children are developing overuse injuries (e.g., stress fractures, growth-plate injuries) and serious traumatic injuries (e.g., ACL injuries) at a very young age. The American Academy of Pediatrics continues to reaffirm a position against intensive training and sport specialization for young athletes (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000). Professionals in the fields of sport and physical activity are left to wonder, what happened to the middle? How have children come to a point where they fall into such opposite extremes?
For professionals with a special interest in physical activity and sport participation for girls, there is significant concern about this disparity in health and physical activity behaviors among girls. Data gathered between 2003 and 2006 indicated that almost 16 percent of girls ages six through 11 and almost 17 percent of girls ages 12 through 19 are classified as overweight (BMI greater than 95th percentile; Ogden, Carroll, & Flegal, 2008). As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2007), girls in grades nine to 12 were significantly less likely than boys to meet recommended daily physical activity levels, to participate in daily physical education classes, or to participate on a sport team at any level. On the opposite curve, girls participating in sports are at a significantly higher risk of traumatic ACL knee injuries, and girls participating in highly intensive training programs during adolescence may experience significant physiological development issues, such as athletic amenorrhea (Mansfield & Emans, 2006).
This problem cannot be fully addressed in this editorial, nor do I have the expertise to fully do so. However, thinking back to the Summer Olympics, I believe there is an opportunity to get more girls involved in physical activity and sport participation and to provide different sport opportunities for girls who are specializing in one sport far too early in their athletic career.
In a recent article, Tom Farrey (2008) wrote about the challenges to 'U.S. Olympic supremacy.' Whether or not you agree with the notion of the need for this supremacy, Farrey provides a compelling argument to address the problem of the decline in United States domination in Olympic sports; he contends that the pipeline is broken. He defines the pipeline as the Olympic sport development system, the system that is supposed to identify and develop young athletes into potential Olympic champions. Farrey notes that the funds for national sports festivals in 38 different Olympic sports introduced in 1978 were gone by the 1990s. Similarly, funding for community-level, grassroots, sport development is no longer available.
It is time for a renewed commitment to grassroots-level sport development aimed at producing Olympic-caliber athletes. In particular, I propose a renewed commitment to such development for girls.
Yes, as a result of continued commitment to Title IX legislation, girls and women have found increasing success in Olympic sports, including volleyball, basketball, soccer, and softball (although softball will not be an Olympic sport at the 2012 Olympic Games). However, there are many other Olympic sports that would benefit from a greater involvement of young female athletes. Some of these sports include handball, roller sports, badminton, field hockey, water polo, weight lifting, judo, and table tennis. Of course, that is just a short list of Summer Olympic sports; there are also Winter Olympic sports seeking to develop new athletic talent. True, some of these sports do require resources and equipment for full involvement; however, others do not require extensive resources to at least introduce the sport to girls.
I see a renewed commitment to grassroots Olympic-sports development as one way to address the disparity of health and physical activity behaviors for girls. Girls who are not getting enough physical activity can be exposed to new sports for which they may not have preconceived notions about their abilities, or lack thereof. Providing girls with opportunities to participate in new and different sports may help to increase their physical activity and perhaps develop a greater interest in sport participation in general. Through our work in the classroom and gymnasium, research, and outreach efforts we can give girls exposure to these new sport opportunities. Programs like the Women's Sports Foundation's Go Girl Go! program are designed to help community-level organizations get more girls engaged in physical activity and provide healthy lifestyle choices. We can help to facilitate the involvement of community groups by applying for funding opportunities for this type of program as a way of introducing different Olympic sports to girls.
Subsequently, we need to educate girls who are already very involved in sport participation about other sport opportunities that are available to them. Participation in alternative sports can help girls to develop new skills, to rest from the overuse in certain sports, and to become interested in new sports, which can help address the issues of early sport specialization that we are witnessing in young female athletes today. Educating parents, coaches, and sport administrators about the challenges of early sport specialization (e.g., burnout, dropout, eating disorders), issues of overuse injuries, and realistic college scholarship opportunities could also help to generate more interest and support for less popular Olympic sports.
The ultimate goal is to get more girls interested in sports participation and to increase their amount of daily physical activity; exposure to different sports at an early age may help to achieve that goal. This is merely one suggestion to alleviate the two complex problems already mentioned, but as educators and researchers in the domains of sport and physical activity, we are challenged to think of new ways to address these issues. The future well-being of our students and children depends on our leadership in this area.
References
American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness (2000). Intensive training and sports specialization in young athletes. Pediatrics, 706(1), 154-157.
American Heart Association. (2008). Exercise, physical activity and children: AHA scientific position. Retrieved September 29, 2008, from http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4596.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007). Youth risk behavior surveillance system. Retrieved September 24, 2008, from http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/.
Farrey, T. (2008, Sept. 8). Treading water. ESPN The Magazine, 11(18), 128-133.
Mansfield, M. J., & Emans, S. J. (2006). Growth in female gymnasts: Should training decrease during puberty? The Journal of Pediatrics, 122(2), 237-240.
National Association for Sport and Physical Education. (2004). Physical activity for children: A statement of guidelines for children ages 5-12 (2nd ed.). Reston, VA: Author.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., & Flegal, K. M. (2008). High body mass index for age among US children and adolescents, 2003-2006. Journal of the American Medical Association, 299, 2401-2405.
Watts, J. (2002). Perspectives on sport specialization. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 73(8), 32-37, 50.
--Laura J. Burton (laura.burton@uconn.edu) is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT 06269, and a member of the JOPERD Editorial Board.
Guidelines for Authors
Authors who wish to submit a manuscript for peer-review should send a query (joperd@aahperd.org) to check for topic suitability and should consult the author guidelines available on our web site (http://www.aahperd.org/aahperd/template.cfm?template=joperd-submission.html).
