For children who love playing sports, it only makes sense to let them play their favourite game as much as they want. It turns out over-specialization in one sport may do more harm than good in some cases.
Look no further than some of the greatest athletes in the world this generation — like Wayne Gretzky and Lebron James — as examples of superstars who grew up playing multiple sports. It not only improved their development as young athletes, but it helped them discover their true passion for sport.
Building a well-rounded athlete is the best path to success
TOP Sports is also preaching the importance of a well-rounded athlete. They’re Ontario’s largest multi-sport organization, which focuses on offering kids the opportunity to play multiple sports throughout the year, not just one highly specialized stream the rest of their lives.
David Montelpare is the General Manager of TOP Sports in Oakville and explains why their organization might be better for the long-term development of young athletes, but also provides a flexible schedule that is family-friendly.
“A lot of time you’ll see traditional youth sports clubs compete with each other to dominate the schedule of families, which makes it very hard for our kids to play multiple sports during the same season,” Montelpare said.
“What we’ve found is it leads to a lot of burnout, a lot of injuries from overuse, a lot of dropout rates, especially as they get into their teenage years. We’ve brought our three main sports — hockey, soccer and lacrosse — under one roof and we work all together to ensure there are virtually no conflicts between the schedules.”
Multiple sports equals less burnout and fewer injuries
Liken it to limiting your child to only one subject at school. If they only stuck with math the rest of their career, they’d limit their opportunity to become a well-rounded student. The same goes with committing to playing only one sport for their formative years.
Also, because these kids are using different muscle groups in different sports, they are less prone to overuse injuries. Young athletes specializing in one sport have a 46 per cent chance of injury compared to a 24 per cent chance of injury for multi-sport athletes.
There is also this myth that parents have to get their children into one sport as early and often as possible. By allowing children to explore multiple sports throughout the year, they not only avoid burnout, but they use different skills and team dynamics to navigate each separate sport.
“What we’ve found with teenagers specifically, by the time they turn 14 or 15, they’ve been doing the same sport all year round for the last 10 years, but they start to get tired of it and they ultimately end up dropping out,” Montelpare said.
“One of the benefits we see is a longer retention rate in those sports. If you’re playing multiple sports, you’re changing your sport every season, and it really keeps the kids in the sport longer.”
A family-friendly schedule with minimal conflicts
Based out of Appleby College, kids can play up to three organized sports at a competitive or recreational level with minimal conflicts. Hockey runs from October to March, and lacrosse and soccer programs run from late April to October, with a two-month break over the summer.
Compared to traditional sports clubs, TOP Sports programs feature a highly structured set schedule that doesn’t change week-to-week. The schedule provides families with ultimate visibility on their sports commitments for the whole season, with practices, games, and tournaments set months in advance, and dedicated breaks over major holidays.
March break and summer camps are also available
This is the first year for TOP Sports in Oakville, and they’re offering a March Break Hockey Camp at Joshua’s Creek Arena. Summer camp registration is also open with a KIDS Camp for 4 to 6-year-olds, and a Multi-Sport Camp for 7 to 12-year-olds.
Throughout these sports, children also learn the building blocks of life: teamwork, discipline, accountability, work ethic and respect.
“We want to make sure that the kids are enjoying their time in sport and they’re taking away the things they’re going to take away with them into life,” Montelpare said. “We’re not just building athletes, we’re building high-quality people.”
To learn more about the benefits of TOP Sports multi-sport model, visit Oakville.TopSports.ca. Registration is also open for March Break Hockey Camps and TOP Sports Summer Camps at Linbrook School.