Sports can be classified as either early or late specialization. Early specialization sports include artistic and acrobatic sports such as gymnastics, diving, and figure skating. These differ from late specialization sports in that very complex skills are learned before maturation since they cannot be fully mastered if taught after maturation.
Most other sports are late specialization sports. However, all sports should be individually analyzed using international and national normative data to decide whether they are early or late specialization. If physical literacy is acquired before maturation, athletes can select a late specialization sport when they are between the ages of 12 and 15 and have the potential to rise to international stardom in that sport.
Specializing before the age of 10 in late specialization sports contributes to:
- one-sided, sport-specific preparation
- lack of ABC’s, the basic movement and sports skills
- overuse injuries
- early burnout
- early retirement from training and competition
Disability sports are late specialization and it is critically important that children with a congenital disability or early acquired disability be exposed to the full range of fundamentals before specializing in the sport of their choice.
Early involvement in the FUNdamentals stage is essential in late specialization sports. Many sports resort to remedial programs to try to correct shortcomings.