Burnout When You Specialize Early In Sports

ST 180224

We already are a small nation. Made worse by the fact that most Asian parents tend to prefer degrees to medals. So no surprises as the author noted that many coaches observe that students who specialize early in sports to gain direct admission to the preferred school tends to lose interest after maor exams. 

Just like the author, Gino has written previously about Singapore losing talented young athletes from the Sports School. Many of these 'talented' kids who are early maturers (at 13 years old when they go to Secondary school) don't carry on competing and drop out. 

Previously, another article from the Straits Times, (260818) on why we should not turn childhood into a race for results, the author wrote about how US Olympian Katie Ledecky describe swimming as "really just for her still a hobby". She has by the age of 21 won five Olympic gold medals and a silver, owns six world records and a US$7 million dollar deal with a swimwear company.

She was quoted in a New York Times article saying "I feel lucky that I could enjoy swimming," and "people need to relax ... and take a step back and realize that you don't have to be great at this young age. It's not about immediate results". Ledecky said she recalled she had not raced in events longer than 25 yards (22.9 metres) until she was eight years old.

May I suggest that your child not be involved in more hours of organized sports than their age. Expose them to as many different options as possible while waiting as long as you can to find a sport for them to specialize. Then you can support them as much as possible.

This is exactly what author David Epstein suggest in his book Range: Why Generalists Triumph In A Specialized World,

The Sunday Times article is on page A21 under Views. Go take a look.