Risk with No Reward

Recently, the father of a child in the Hustle and Muscle Mat Club of Washington, D.C., pulled his young son out a match because his son’s right knee was bothering him.

“One youth wrestling match is not going to make or break his wrestling career," the dad explains.  "He is 7 years old.  I want him wrestling because he loves the sport and is having fun at matches.  I don’t want him wrestling when he is in pain."

Fortunately, the knee injury turned out to be a mild sprain and the son was back on the mat within a week. No harm was done and he was eager to wrestle again. The physical benefits of seriously treating any potential injury are obvious, but so too are the mental and emotional benefits, the dad points out. The last thing a youth athlete needs is pressure to perform when he or she could be hurt or otherwise unable to compete.  

"That is when kids start disliking the sport and drifting away," the dad says. 

Failure to develop. Burnout. Permanent injury. Those are all potential long-term risks of a youth sports mentality that focuses too much on short-term success.

Sadly, this happens all too often in today’s youth sports-obsessed climate. Parents pushing a child to compete in a championship match when he limped off the mat after the semi-finals; coaches creating an environment where a child is fearful of reporting the dizziness or blurred vision she experienced after a collision in practice; or a young wrestler taking extreme measures to cut weight and risking their health.

Competition will end for every wrestler at some point, notes Jeff Newby, Executive Director of USA Wrestling Utah. “But each wrestler will always need their health,” he points out. “Wrestling is a sport and sports are for fun. There is no reason to risk a serious injury for a sport we play for fun."

Complicating this approach, however, is the fact that advances in medical care now help athletes return to competition faster than ever. Twenty-five years ago an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear could be career ending. Today, well-conditioned and trained athletes can get back to competing in 6 months. His point was injuries are going to happen.

Dr. Matthew J. Matava, a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Physical Therapy at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, is affiliated with STOP (Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention) Sports Injuries, an organization initiated by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) in 2007 with a goal of focusing on the issue of overuse injuries in young athletes. The organization emphasizes the need to treat injuries the right way the first time.

“Anytime there is an injury, whether serious or one that keeps an athlete out of just a few practices or competition, use it as a learning experience,” Matava says. “What's a week off, a month off or even a season when you are 10, 12 or 14 years old? You have the rest of your youth to get back to competition. Don't endanger it now by focusing on the short term.”

Barry P. Boden, a doctor who specializes in sports medicine in Rockville and Germantown, Maryland, says that parents and coaches play a key role. "They have to create the right environment and guide the athlete,” he says. “Winning is not everything. An injury may slow you down, but let that be all it does. Don't let it come back to haunt you."

James Leath wrestled in high school and now serves as the social media director for the Changing the Game Project, a national organization that provides research, resources and tips on long-term athletic development in youth sports. He faults many parents for sacrificing their son’s or daughter’s childhood in pursuit of unrealistic athletic greatness in the future.

"Becoming a champion and getting some scholarship, statistically, will never happen,” Leath notes. In the meantime, these parents are missing the journey and failing to enjoy the real point of youth athletic competition. "Will it have been wasted challenging inferior opponents for worthless trophies to be put in a box in the attack shortly after high school?” he asks. “Or will the highs and lows of being an athlete translate into lessons that they carry with him long after they rolled up their last mat?"

Mike Clayton, National Coaches Education Program Manager for USA Wrestling, says coaches must know the limits of youth athletes and which skills they should be focusing on at what age. He emphasizes three key elements to succeed as a youth wrestler: technique and positioning (head up, back straight, hips in, knees off the mat, toe pressure), importance of a healthy diet, and having fun with their teammates and coaches.

"Anything short of these three key points may result in a shorter career for your wrestler," Clayton says. And burnout is a real issue for kids these days, he notes. "Remember, 70 percent of American kids will be done with competitive sports by the age of 13."