A Catholic pediatric PA and former collegiate hurdler and Varsity Catholic missionary weighs in
This is Part II in a 3-part series on elite youth sports and early sport specialization.
Pope Leo XIV’s intention for month of June is for the values of sport, and that sports, “… May be an instrument of peace, encounter and dialogue between cultures and peoples, and may promote values such as respect, solidarity, and personal growth.”1 I fully believe that sport, at its best, does all these things.
The youth sports landscape has changed over the years, with increased emphasis on elite youth sports and early sports specialization. As a former collegiate athlete and Varsity Catholic missionary, and now in my role as a pediatric PA caring for many youth athletes, I was deeply curious what the evidence shows regarding these changes.
Follow along in this three-part series – The Gamble, The Risk, and The Reward?- examining what current evidence and Church teaching have to say around the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of elite youth sports and early sport specialization. Part I is available here. This was originally posted on my Substack, which you can read here.
Wear and Tear
Sports-related injuries are the bread-and-butter of pediatric clinics. As a pediatric PA, I often congratulate kiddos in the exam room. They’re staying active, found a sport they love, and occasional injuries will happen that aren’t related to hyper-intense training.
Look, I once sprained my finger hurdling. That was not an overuse injury. That was just confusing.
But elite youth sports are a whole different ball game (yes, roll your eyes, pun intended). Kids playing a year-round sport put repetitive stresses on developing bones, and they may be performing skills and playing aggressively in ways that aren’t developmentally appropriate.
At baseline, children in club sports have more injuries than non-club athletes.2 Unsurprisingly, kids have more injuries with increased time playing at an intense level of competition when compared to free play.3 Sport specialization is associated with an increased risk for injuries, and high school athletes that specialize in a single sport are 70% more likely to have an injury than the students who play multiple sports.3,4
A child may be doing great as an elite preteen softballer, but as they put themselves at greater risk for injury over the years, they may find themselves unable to keep playing a sport they love. One study showed 20% of highly competitive athletes listed injury as the reason for quitting their sport.4
Year-round training without a break shouldn’t be the new norm for kids. Even at the collegiate level, our coaches stressed cross-training. In-season we paused from running once a week and swam instead. After outdoor season finished, I did virtually no running for a month and instead biked, swam, and played a lot of beach volleyball. Think of any favorite professional athlete, they too have down seasons. I try to remain objective, but truly I’m aghast hearing about incessant single-sport practice without breaks in young, developing bodies.
Mental Health
There are very real mental health benefits to youth sports, and those benefits extend to high-level athletes.6,7 However, adolescents who specialized in a sport reported greater levels of physiological burnout compared to athletes who didn’t specialize. These psychological symptoms included a reduced sense of accomplishment, sport devaluation, and exhaustion.8 Adolescent athletes deserve as much attention to their minds as they do to their growing bones.
Abuse Risks
Abuse (emotional, sexual, and physical) can happen anywhere at any time by anyone. I am a Catholic; the heartbreak of abuse in our church is not new. The good news is there are ways to mitigate risk. And so, I do not say this to fear monger but to alert: Competing at an elite level, specializing in a sport, and increased hours of weekly sports participation are all known risk factors for abuse.9,10,11 (
The US Center for SafeSport, created by Congress after it was revealed that a pedophile doctor abused child gymnasts for years, detailed factors in elite youth sports and early sports specialization that lead to abuse.10 Practices are long and at random times of day (early before school, late into the evening) when very few “outside adults” are present to witness.12 Club sports tend to be tight-knit communities where coaches and mentors and organizers are all in cahoots together. This can lead to ostracization for athletes if they speak up about abuse concerns. Often, the child has been training with the same team and coaches for years, which creates a strong sense of loyalty and can prevent reporting abuse. After years of training in a small community, think the same gymnastics gym with the same coach for fifteen years, athletes and their parents can think things are normal. This is how elite athletes are trained, this is just how things are done. The coach must yell at their athletes and call them idiots because how else are you going to get perfection? The runners have to sprint injured because our competition is busy getting faster. The diets must be insane and comments on body shape must be said because how else are those figure skating jumps going to soar high? Add to all this that we are talking about children who may be fearful of speaking up to adults, or may not recognize that what is being done to them is abusive.
Parents enrolling their children into elite sports may not have the experience of competing at a high-level themselves. Many are following the guidance of society/coaches/their begging kids to keep moving up to a greater level of intensity of their training. I need to pause to emphasize that this is not bad in itself. Pursuit of excellence is good. There are a lot of really, really good people in the world of sport. There are also a lot of icky people who get their kicks domineering U10 soccer leagues. My purpose isn’t to make you creeped out by the prospect of creepy people, but just to be as present and aware as you possibly can be.
Unfortunately, I can speak from experience. A former coach of mine, at a high level, resigned a few years after I left the team when they were alleged to have violated an anti-abuse policy. I thought what was happening on the team was normal for a competitive organization. I’ve heard many stories of abuse and inappropriate behavior on travelling club teams and school ball teams and college teams. Recently, I read autobiographies by runners Kara Goucher and Mary Cain, both of whom ran under the now-disgraced coach Alberto Salazar with the Nike Oregon project. They detailed their stories of abuse under a coach treated practically like a god.13,14 Cain trained with Salazar as a minor and adult, Goucher only as an adult. In both cases, they didn’t recognize that what was happening was abuse at the time. Given the increased risk for abuse with early sports specialization and elite level sports, I share all of this because I want to emphasize that abuse doesn’t always look like abuse to those in the midst of it. Often, especially in sports, it looks like the way winners are made.
Faith and Identity
Rev. Joshua Whitfield wrote an excellent article for America magazine titled Soccer vs. Sunday Mass: How youth sports are undermining religion- and hurting our kids.15 You should actually take a break from reading this and go read his article. I’ll wait.
Welcome back.
Perhaps your favorite quote was the same as mine: “The Romans went about it all wrong. If they wanted to wipe Christians off the face of the earth, they didn’t need to arrest them or try them, persecute or kill them. Better something else. Better to have made a spectacle for them than of them. Perhaps if the ancients weren’t so bloodthirsty, they would have understood better the power of distraction over destruction. Would early Christianity have survived the cultural allure and power of today’s youth sports? I’m not sure.”
Is current American Christianity surviving youth sports? I’m not sure. If in 10 years we find out some foreign government used funding youth club sports to distract the citizens of the United States, would we be totally surprised given how all-consuming the youth sports culture has become?
It’s incredibly frustrating that sports schedules are piled on weekends, especially Sundays, and that youth sports are such a money-making machine that kids who want to be in a sport have limited options outside of selling their soul to wear a softball jersey. I acknowledge I’m fortunate to live in an area where I could find a mass at all hours from Saturday afternoon to Sunday night so to fulfill my mass obligation. My kids aren’t begging to be in the competitive leagues. I could be reading this a few years later like, “lol, plz. U don’t even KnOw.” But I also come from a world of sport and living mission through sport and I’m passionate that sports are both good for our souls and can destroy us at the same time.
Sports are so good for our children and so alluring. How slyly the devil works in parents’ hearts to have us say, so casually, “We don’t go to mass during baseball season. It’s too busy and we have games.” What message does that send to our kids? We are perfectly comfortable making an idol of sport because that’s what the culture has told us is good and pleasing. We can talk about Jesus and do a team bible study and pray before games, but if we’re skipping church for basketball, we’re showing our kids the that if there is ever a choice between sport and God, sport wins.
We didn’t kill anyone, we didn’t use the name of God in vain, we didn’t cheat on our spouse, and yet, we’ve just possibly committed repeated mortal sins by missing mass on the Sabbath and putting false idols before our King. Yes, priests can give mass exemptions in extraordinary circumstances, and we can enjoy things without idolization. I don’t know your soul and I’m certainly in no position to pass judgement. What I do know is that sin is real, the devil is real, and he’ll use anything he can, as innocent as it seems, to distract us from heaven. I would be failing my Varsity Catholic training if I wrote some emotionally pleasing platitude like, “God sees our hearts and knows we love him. We don’t have to worship Him in a church, and it’s okay that you put Him to the side when soccer gets busy.” God does see our hearts and knows we love him, and he has made it very clear through scripture and His commandments that our bums better be in the pew come Sunday, and we had better not be putting any false idols before Him. He’s obsessively loving like that. He wants all of us, not just the parts of our hearts that seek Him when it’s convenient.
Consider all the informal ways our faith is passed down through family meal times, prayers before bed, summer nights on the porch, rosaries as a family (ha, haha, hahaha she cackles, knowing how not peaceful and serene occasional rosaries with our ornery children are). Chaotic sports schedules interrupt it all. All those beautiful things can still happen, but it’s much harder. God may absolutely be calling you to a crazy life of drop-offs and pick-ups and dinner in the car, and I’ll admit those car conversations are some of the best I have with my kids. But if mom and dad are ships in the night because dad needs to travel to Texas for baseball with the youngest, mom needs to bring sister and her friends to California for gymnastics, and big brother needs to be in Hawaii for a special training and forgot his socks, we are now all in a middle school math word problem that no one can solve. Family life, especially as Catholics with between none to a thousand children, is tiring as it is. Are we showing kids that their desires get to run the entire family schedule? Is God calling us to navigate a Tetris-like schedule every week? Maybe. Maybe not.
There’s also so much stress put on families with elite team politics between all the money and the perceived high stakes. Again, maybe this is where God is calling us to spend our time. He could be asking for a voice of truth amid Zoom calls with coach and angry parents upset that their kid isn’t getting playing time. But how much discord does deciding to change teams last minute or add a new player or concern surrounding a coach’s style bring to what should be healthy leisure time?
Elite leagues, camps, and private lessons are far from affordable for most families. As discussed in Part I of this series, it’s such a money-making racket that private equity firms want a piece of the youth-sports pie.16,17 We are called to be prayerful financial stewards of the resources God has given us. I kind of want to barf at the thought of how much debt families may go into for a child’s sport, or how much good the amount money currently being poured into club leagues by large donors could do for access to sport and the creation of safe, open spaces for kids to play. Again, discernment of finances is between you and God, and I can think of plenty of instances where the monetary cost is worth it.
What happens when the competitive, year-round, elite, specialized sport… ends? Because it will, whether it’s before graduation or after an Olympic gold. Eventually our bodies grow old, and we won’t be able to run as fast or play as hard (Though I’ll be the first to admit I’m delusional because, like, what if the marathon is really my event and I just haven’t run one yet and I qualify for the Olympic trials?). We can absolutely raise our children to find their identity in God, to offer their workouts as a prayer, to know we love them regardless of the outcome. Anyone can be at risk to lose their identity in something other than God, they don’t have to be an elite athlete. However, the pressure, money, and time these kids and their families empty into their sport adds another layer of burden when or if a child decides they want to step back. Who are they without their sport if every waking hour of the family was devoted to a singular goal? Who are they if they are injured, or burned out, or abused? Will they be forthcoming with their struggles, or will they crumble under the burden of the enormous sacrifices they and their parents made?
Adding it all up
Pressure is a privilege, and encouraging children the values of hard work and perseverance are worth our investment. At the same time, I want to be sure our youngest of athletes feel free to learn and grow and move within environments that are challenging and appropriate and fun for them. There are very real physical, emotional, and potential abuse risks to elite youth sports and early specialization. I don’t think it’s too off-base to suggest there are questions regarding eternity that need to be asked, as well. We’re left with that question still lingering in the air: Are these risks worth it? Do elite sports help reach the goals of athletes and their families?
To be continued. Part III will be available 6/29/26.
Addendum:
This post is not meant to be an all-inclusive on abuse prevention, but I’m very passionate about this topic and want to provide recommendations to prevent harm towards our children. The American Academy of Pediatrics provided recommendations on creating a safe environment in youth sports. To summarize a few key points:
o All adults involved should have training on recognizing abusive behavior and appropriate and non-abusive training methods.
o There must be a code of conduct policy explicitly stating the organization’s expectations for athletes and adults, and everyone should be familiar with what is considered motivational coaching behavior and training methods versus that which crosses the line to physically and emotional abuse (this is harder than it may seem!)
o Both youth and adults should know what needs to be reported and how to report.
o There should be no direct communication via phone, texts, or social media from an adult to a youth athlete, but rather parents should be involved in all communication.
o Any private training should be in a highly visible location, preferably with other adults nearby.
o All youth athletes must travel with a parent, not alone, and parents should have detailed travel plans.
o Training facilities should provide athletes with adequate privacy and security.
The views are not necessarily those of my employer, and this Substack is not meant to intended to replace medical advice from a licensed provider. Please see your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.
References:
1. Holy See Press Office. Bulletin. Published June 2, 2026. Accessed June 20, 2026. https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2026/06/02/260602e.html
2. Dahab K, Potter MN, Provance A, Albright J, Howell DR. Sport Specialization, Club Sport Participation, Quality of Life, and Injury History Among High School Athletes. J Athl Train. 2019 Oct;54(10):1061-1066. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-361-18. PMID: 31633407; PMCID: PMC6805066.
3. Myer GD, Jayanthi N, Difiori JP, Faigenbaum AD, Kiefer AW, Logerstedt D, Micheli LJ. Sport Specialization, Part I: Does Early Sports Specialization Increase Negative Outcomes and Reduce the Opportunity for Success in Young Athletes? Sports Health. 2015 Sep-Oct;7(5):437-42. doi: 10.1177/1941738115598747. Epub 2015 Aug 6. PMID: 26502420; PMCID: PMC4547120.
4. Howard B. Injury rates higher for athletes who specialize in one sport. National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Published December 20, 2016. Accessed June 20, 2026. https://www.nfhs.org/stories/injury-rates-higher-for-athletes-who-specialize-in-one-sport
5. Butcher J, Lindner KJ, Johns DP. Withdrawal from competitive youth sport: a retrospective ten-year study. J Sport Behav. 2002;25(2):145-163
6. Guddal MH, Stensland SØ, Småstuen MC, Johnsen MB, Zwart JA, Storheim K. Physical activity and sport participation among adolescents: associations with mental health in different age groups. Results from the Young-HUNT study: a cross-sectional survey. BMJ Open. 2019 Sep 4;9(9):e028555. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028555. PMID: 31488476; PMCID: PMC6731817.
7. Snedden TR, Scerpella J, Kliethermes SA, Norman RS, Blyholder L, Sanfilippo J, McGuine TA, Heiderscheit B. Sport and Physical Activity Level Impacts Health-Related Quality of Life Among Collegiate Students. Am J Health Promot. 2019 Jun;33(5):675-682. doi: 10.1177/0890117118817715. Epub 2018 Dec 26. PMID: 30586999; PMCID: PMC7213817.
8. Giusti NE, Carder SL, Vopat L, Baker J, Tarakemeh A, Vopat B, Mulcahey MK. Comparing Burnout in Sport-Specializing Versus Sport-Sampling Adolescent Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Orthop J Sports Med. 2020 Mar 2;8(3):2325967120907579. doi: 10.1177/2325967120907579. PMID: 32166094; PMCID: PMC7052469.
9. Dallam, S. J., Ortiz, A. J., Timon, C. E., Kang, J. S., & Hamilton, M. A. (2024). Interpersonal Violence in Elite U.S. Athletes: Prevalence and Mental Health Correlates. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 33(9), 1135–1153. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2024.235099
10. U.S. Center for SafeSport. Grassroots to games. U.S. Center for SafeSport. Accessed June 21, 2026. https://uscenterforsafesport.org/grassroots-to-games/
11. Pankowiak, A., Woessner, M. N., Parent, S., Vertommen, T., Eime, R., Spaaij, R., Harvey, J., & Parker, A. G. (2023). Psychological, Physical, and Sexual Violence Against Children in Australian Community Sport: Frequency, Perpetrator, and Victim Characteristics. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(3-4), 4338-4365.
12. Parent S, Clermont C, Radziszewski S, Vertommen T, Dion J. Child Maltreatment and Links with Experiences of Interpersonal Violence in Sport in a Sample of Canadian Adolescents. Social Sciences. 2023; 12(6):336. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12060336
13. Goucher K. The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike’s Elite Running Team. Hachette Books; 2023.
14. Cain M. This Is Not About Running. Random House; 2026.
15. Whitfield JJ. Soccer vs. Sunday Mass: How youth sports are undermining religion—and hurting our kids. America Magazine. Published January 13, 2025. Accessed June 23, 2026. https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2025/01/13/youth-sports-catholic-rest-249675/
16. Drape J, Belson K. Youth sports are a $40 billion business. Private equity is taking notice. New York Times. Published July 9, 2025. Accessed June 21, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/business/youth-sports-private-equity.html
17. Maddox C. What families are really spending to keep kids in sports. Kiplinger. Published May 28, 2025. Accessed June 21, 2026. https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/family-savings/what-families-are-really-spending-to-keep-kids-in-sports
18. American Academy of Pediatrics. Creating a safe environment to prevent abuse in youth sports: a parent checklist. HealthyChildren.org. Accessed June 21, 2026. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sports/Pages/Creating-a-Safe-Environment-to-Prevent-Abuse-in-Youth-Sports-A-Parent-Checklist.aspx
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