Kids Fitness: Too much of one subject or sport is shortsighted
by Whitney Moore on Feb. 12, 2007, under Body, Family‘Just math class.
My fifth-grade daughter is excelling at math, so I want her just in math classes three to four days a week. She can get all the English, history, science, and arts she needs the other one to two days; but I’d like to still have 30-45 minutes of math those days as well, of course. We have a math scholarship to Stanford we’re aiming for in six years.”
What would you say to this parent? Obviously this parent has high goals for his daughter. Obviously she’s great at math and must have a passion for it!
Probably not in reality, but even if she does have that passion . . . does that plan really make sense? She’ll learn all other subjects in one day and math the other three or four days! I’d say that’s lacking balance.
Now reread that paragraph but substitute your favorite sport – basketball, softball, volleyball, soccer, hockey. Now, does that statement sound familiar? Perhaps even something you’ve heard yourself or your child’s coach saying? Now, what were we just saying about balance?
But you say, “My child will be behind those who practice that sport three or four days a week, and by the time she’s in high school she won’t stand a chance against those other girls!”
What’s the benefit of doing multiple sports early on? It certainly goes against the current mantra.
● The opportunity to experience different games and meet more kids. If all you have ever done is soccer, you may never discover your true gift for basketball or tennis.
● Increased coordination patterns.
● Balanced physical development.
Let’s go back to our math whiz.
Being optimistic, we’ll assume she really is a math whiz, but she struggles in English and history. Why should she take other classes?
● By just focusing on math, we take away a different set of experiences – struggle, frustration, hard work and the fulfillment of success born from such challenges.
● Her friends have more diverse interests, because she becomes friends with some of the English and history whizzes.
● Meanwhile, those other math whizzes are still her friends, because she fits into their niche as well.
● As she continues through the general education offerings, she develops an appreciation and interest in music and art. She even discovers a couple artist styles she likes!
These thought patterns – perseverance, self- confidence, getting up after being knocked down, associating current events with past events – would never truly have the opportunity to develop if she was only in history and art appreciation once a week.
The result of these different experiences is a more balanced person. She still excels at math, and it’s what she’s most excited about; but she’s developing a broader perspective and more experiences to draw from. She can use her more developed English vocabulary to write her application essay for that Stanford scholarship.
Perhaps you still see these as just two different worlds – academics and sports. Well, in the next column, we’ll look more specifically at how being a competitive single sport athlete from an early age affects physical development, interest, and injury likelihood.
Whitney Moore is owner of Moore Training. She has master’s degrees in health and exercise and food sciences and human nutrition, and trained Division I athletes at West Virginia University. She is an executive council member for the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Youth Special Interest Group. The past two years, Whitney has trained more than 600 Tucson children. E-mail: whitney@mooretraining.usa.
