By Kalyn Lichtenberger, Student Pharmacist with Karen Kier, Pharmacist 
On behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

On April 7, 1993, 20^th Century Fox released The Sandlot, a movie depicting the summer of 1962 when a young boy moves into a new community and his mother encourages him to join a group of boys to play baseball. 

The boys concentrate on baseball, and they idolize #3 of the New York Yankees, who is known by the nicknames of The Sultan of Swat, The Bambino and The King of Crash. Otherwise known as Babe Ruth. The plot talks about how the boys lose a Babe Ruth-signed baseball over the fence of a house, and it gets destroyed by a dog known as the “beast.”  

Ultimately, the boys meet the homeowner, who knew Babe Ruth. That character is played by James Earl Jones. The Sandlot has become an iconic coming-of-age movie, which grossed over 34 million in its first year and continues to be found on various channels.

Can specializing in a sport like baseball be harmful to our youth?

President Trump has reignited the Presidential Physical Fitness Award as part of the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.  The different fitness targets are based on gender and age and can be found here on the White House website. The goal is to get more of our youth active in fitness and sports.

The Women’s Sports Foundation has listed various benefits of youth sports, including those for female high school athletes. The Foundation’s research shows that female athletes are less likely to get involved with drugs (92% will avoid) and are three times more likely to graduate from high school than non-athletes.  

Another statistic indicates that 95% of the Fortune 500 business executives were high school athletes. The studies indicated this is partially due to teaching teamwork, communication skills and coping skills. A survey of parents of youth athletes demonstrated that the parents feel there are both physical benefits, such as heart and bone health, and mental health improvements with sports participation. 

It is estimated that 58% of our youth between the ages of 6-17 years participate in sports. The top five programs for boys include football, track and field, basketball, soccer and baseball.  For girls, the top five sports are track and field, volleyball, soccer, basketball and softball.  With the recent FIFA World Cup held in the United States, it will be interesting to see if soccer moves up in the rankings. 

With an increase in sports participation, there has been a similar trend of youth specializing and focusing on one sport rather than playing multiple sports. While sports can offer a wide range of benefits to your child, specialization may not be the way to go during ages 8-14.

A 2025 study published in the Journal of Hip Preservation sent a survey to 18-22-year-old college student-athletes regarding their sport participation and level, musculoskeletal injury and treatment history, and their mental and physical health. The purpose of the study was to determine if early specialization in sports was concurrent with a higher incidence of pain, injury and surgical interventions. It is important to note that the respondents to the survey were predominantly female (73.6%), and the most common primary sports were baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, track/cross country and volleyball.

The study was based on a survey, which means the results rely on participants remembering experiences; this can sometimes be inaccurate. The study indicated an association between early specialization and injury, but it does not prove that specializing in one sport directly causes these outcomes. Other factors, such as training intensity, type of sport and individual differences, may also contribute to injury risk.

Even with these limitations, many sports medicine organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommend that children participate in multiple sports during childhood and early adolescence. Playing different sports can help reduce repetitive stress on developing bones and joints, improve overall athletic skills and lower the risk of overuse injuries. It may help prevent burnout and keep sports enjoyable for children.

Overall, most children benefit from playing a variety of sports when they are young. Focusing on one sport is generally better delayed until later adolescence, when the body is more developed and training can be more structured.

So, have children hit the sandlot, the track, the pitch, the gym and the field with a wide variety of experiences!

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