SmartTeams™ Talk: Dr. Neeru Jayanthi Explores The Myths And Dangers Of Sports Specialization

In a wide-ranging and powerful SmartTeams^TM Talk, Loyola of Chicago's Dr. Neeru Jayanthi asks sports parents, organizations, and medical professionals to just "let kids be kids," warns parents "not to drink the Kool-Aid" on the perceived benefits of early specialization, says we need to pay attention to the data establishing a strong dose-related link between specialization and serious overuse injuries such as stress fractures that keep an athlete out of sports for a month or more, and suggests two simple rules for youth sports: that kids (1) not play more hours per week in sport than their age; and (2) devote no more than twice the time playing organized sports than spent in free, unstructured play.