Sports medicine stats: Age of single-sport specialization
Dr. David Geier is an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charleston, South Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina. He helps athletes and active people feel and perform their best, regardless of age, injuries and medical history. He has been featured in major media publications and shows over 2,500 times throughout his career.
When comparing college athletes to high school athletes who don’t play college sports, an interesting trend about the age at which both groups began playing only one sport emerges. A study presented at the 2014 meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) found that the former high school students who didn’t play college sports began single-sport specialization at an average age of 14.2 years, compared to an average age of 15.4 years for the college athletes.
Likewise, a study of Swedish tennis players found that the elite athletes played a variety of sports until age 14, while the sub-elite tennis players quit all sports other than tennis by age 11.
Source: Statistics presented in the Op-Ed column “Sports Should Be Child’s Play” by David Epstein in The New York Times June 11, 2014.
Through the stories of a dozen athletes whose injuries and recovery advanced the field (including Joan Benoit, Michael Jordan, Brandi Chastain, and Tommy John), Dr. Geier explains how sports medicine makes sports safer for the pros, amateurs, student-athletes, and weekend warriors alike.
When comparing college athletes to high school athletes who don’t play college sports, an interesting trend about the age at which both groups began playing only one sport emerges. A study presented at the 2014 meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) found that the former high school students who didn’t play college sports began single-sport specialization at an average age of 14.2 years, compared to an average age of 15.4 years for the college athletes.