Kids, sports and injuries, according to sources

We try to keep this a (mostly) commercial-free zone. Today is an exception. The New York Times is offering a series of on-line sessions on the topic of sports, kids and injuries. The class meets weekly starting in late February and the instructors are first-rate, Times reporters Gretchen Reynolds and Alan Schwarz.

The cost is $135. I hear it's an easy A.

Overuse sports injuries in my family - and yours?

The Albuquerque Journal has a good article this week on overuse injuries and how they can derail the sports lives of youth athletes.

Journal reporter Amanda Schoenberg spoke with coaches, ex-athletes and a pediatrician who treats sports injuries. A few months back, Amanda also called here to chat about Until It Hurts and to pick up information about Ben's elbow injury and my regret over having done a lousy job recognizing that my son might be at risk.

At the end of the piece Schoenberg includes six tips for keeping kids healthy in sports.

1. Drink plenty of water before, during and after a game. Dehydration often leads to heatstroke, which can sideline children indefinitely.

2. Listen to your body. Many injuries are due to the stress and overuse of muscles. Rest may be the only solution.

3. Use the proper equipment. From shin guards to swimming goggles, choosing the right safety gear can help prevent injuries.

4. Don’t return to the game until fully healed. Missing one game now can save young athletes from missing an entire season later.

5. Keep constant communication. Problems can’t be solved unless someone is made aware of them.

6. Seek advice from a health care provider if severe or chronic problems develop.

New York Times weighs in on overuse injuries

Jane Brody wrote about overuse injuries in youth sports in Tuesday's "Personal Health" column in the New York Times. The headline: For Children in Sports, a Breaking Point. I was glad to see it for a couple of reasons.

First, it brought attention to an issue that doesn't get very much - or as much as it deserves. Despite forums like this one and the efforts of many sports medicine experts, overuse injuries (totally avoidable if a few basics rules are observed) remain an under-reported issue. Among parents and coaches (my observation), there just isn't a sense of urgency about the problem.

Second, Brody cited Until It Hurts. In the column, she devotes several paragraphs to my brain-lock moment as a youth baseball coach (when I paid scant attention to my son's complaints of a sore shoulder). On that score, she refers to my "misguided behavior" and "foolish shortsightedness." She got it right both times.

The column reached a lot of readers. Wednesday morning, it ranked among the ten most e mailed articles in the newspaper.

I like Brody's long view of the problem:

"Clearly we’ve gone too far when the emphasis on athletic participation and performance becomes all-consuming and causes injuries that can sometimes compromise a child’s future."

Ten Myths of Youth Sports, by someone very wise

I received this from a friend who wasn't able to tell me the source. Clearly, someone with much wisdom.

TEN MYTHS OF YOUTH SPORTS

1. The earlier the participation in sports the more likely to be an elite athlete and/or to earn a scholarship.

2. Specializing in one sport early on will increase chance of a scholarship or Olympic level achievements.

3. If a parent loves a specific sport and/or excels at a certain sport, his/her child will have similar genetics and should be directed to that same sport.

4. If a parent was not a good athlete and wishes s/he was, then living that dream through his child is a winning prescription.

5. Children have unlimited energy and can play forever, including multiple teams at once without getting tired.

6. Children are very flexible and bounce back quickly so they are not at risk for overuse injuries like tendonitis, stress fractures, etc.

7. Kids would rather sit on the bench and let the star players win the game rather than playing and losing.

8. Playing time is not important to kids.

9. Kids learn from being yelled at by coaches like a professional or collegiate coach.

10. Negative feedback on mistakes is a better teacher in kids than positive feedback for effort, for doing best, and for achieving a new skill, no matter how small it may seem.

Anyone care to add to the list?

Flash: Kids who do nothing but play tennis get hurt

Here's more evidence that kids who specialize in a single sport at an early age are (1) terrific players (2) prone to injury and (3) because of point two at great risk of never reaching their potential.

Loyola University Health System recently released a study of 519 kids whose one and only sport is tennis. These are talented, promising junior players aspiring to big things in the sport. The study followed these kids through more than 3,000 competitive matches, finding that they dropped out of events at a much higher rate than non-specialists, often due to injury.

The kids in the study began playing tennis at an average age of 6, began competing at age 9 and began to specialize at age 10. They practiced a median of 16 to 20 hours per week, and 93 percent said they competed at least ten months per year. The study's authors counsel parents not to follow this example.

Tommy John surgery comes to high school

For parents - and there will be plenty - spending July 4 weekend in
the bleachers at youth baseball tournaments, consider this.

The table below is a window into the operating room of James
Andrews, the prominent orthopedic surgeon and sports doc to many
pro athletes. Note the spike in kid athletes undergoing Tommy John surgery. Fifteen years ago, patients coming to Dr. Andrews for the ligament replacement operation were exclusively college and professional pitchers. Not a single high school pitcher. Certainly no patients younger than that.

Now, a different story. In 2008, kid players accounted for nearly one in three of Dr. Andrews' TJ patients. Frightening.

Click on the chart - much easier reading.

Debating whether sports injuries are truly declining

Dan Peterson writes about overuse injuries - with a generous mention of Until It Hurts - at Livescience.com.

Also, take a look at Dan's thoughtful blog on the intersection of sports and science, 80 Percent Mental.

This college coach has a lot of explaining to do

More from the overuse-injury desk.

Writing for ESPN Insider, Keith Law reports on a marathon college baseball game and the clueless decisions of the coaches involved.

"By now you've probably read about the 25-inning game yesterday between the University of Texas and Boston College, which featured incredible performances by Texas reliever Austin Wood (13 innings, 169 pitches) and BC reliever Mike Belfiore (9.2 innings, 129 pitches) to keep the game scoreless into the small hours. However, we must not overlook the unconscionable decisions by Texas coach Augie Garrido and BC coach Mikio Aoki to expose two talented young pitchers to potential arm injuries, demonstrating not only poor judgment but willful ignorance of the connection between overuse and arm injuries."

Law goes on to explain that Wood's pitch count was the second highest among college pitchers this year. And it's even worse. Wood had been used the day before, throwing 30 pitches.

I'd be very curious to hear the Texas coach defend this approach, or try to. Imagine asking a major leaguer like CC Sabathia or Zack Greinke to attempt something like this. You'd have a revolt on your hands.

A handy, definitive reference for college baseball pitch counts is Pitch Count Watch.

Thanks to Ben Hyman of Real Baseball Intelligence for the tip.