Dr. Joe Congeni, director of Sports Medicine at Akron Children’s, recently spoke with WAKR morning show host Ray Horner about the valuable lessons student athletes learned this fall. Below is a transcript of the discussion. Dr. Congeni: The high school fall sports season is coming to an end this week. And, over my 30 years […]
Everybody Wins When Practicing Good Sportsmanship
Playing youth sports benefits kids for a lifetime by teaching them valuable lessons on and off the field, such as teamwork, leadership, hard work and more. Unfortunately, players and coaches can get so caught up in winning that they sometimes lose sight of why they’re on the field. If your kids play sports, chances are […]
Sport specialization debate: Are kids winning or losing by focusing on one sport year-round?
A recent study published in Sports Health medical journal revealed negative consequences to sport specialization in youth. Though we’ve debated on this subject before, there’s now evidence to support young athletes should play multiple sports. In addition to the increased risk of overuse injuries and burnout, it also pointed to kids missing out on other […]
New study finds fault in hyperspecialization in youth sports
Hyperspecialization, when kids give up all other sports to focus in on one year-round, seems like the obvious track in building a star player. But, a recent study from UCLA proves diversification at a young age actually has more performance benefits in the long run.