Sports & Athletic Performance

Recently Answered

• QHow can I help my kids play sports without burning out?

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  A Scripps Health answered

  Playing sports brings many benefits, such as improved fitness and better social skills. But pressure to succeed at a young age has mounted in recent years, setting the stage for more physical overuse injuries. Injuries such as stress fractures in children were unheard of years ago but now have become more common.
  
  Pushing kids too hard can also overwhelm the mind. Sports specialization at young ages has penetrated down to the baby crib. Focusing a child’s effort on a single sport full-time with the hope of gaining a competitive edge can lead to emotional stress or burnout.
  
  Even good intentions (such as securing an athletic scholarship) can cause harm if they encourage inappropriate activities for a child, produce unrealistic expectations and are not coupled with important knowledge of development. Sports should be what kids do -- not who they are.
• QHow can I make sports fun for my child?

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  A Scripps Health answered

  To improve the youth sports experience and increase fun, parents and coaches should remember the “four Ps.” Participation (all kids need to exercise); practicality (don’t define success strictly by wins; also recognize personal improvement); protection (resist the urge to train too hard, too soon) and performance (redefine “success” as personal improvement instead of winning). Competition can be healthy if approached with knowledge, patience and support.
• QHow can I help develop my child's sports skills?

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  A Scripps Health answered

  Sports should be what kids do -- not who they are. Common pitfalls can often be averted if parents and coaches take the time to understand how kids develop their athletic abilities. Children build sports skills in a progressive sequence of stages that simply can’t be dramatically sped up, and each stage should be patiently and fully developed before moving on to the next.
  
  When parents and coaches understand how sports skills develop, they provide the best opportunity to maximize the child’s athletic performance while minimizing pressure.
  
  To help kids effectively gain sports skills, parents and coaches need to understand four core developmental processes -- physical, visual, chemical and emotional. To start, here’s a sampling of physical sports skill milestones that are important to keep in mind:

  • Ages 2 to 5: Most kids can’t yet effectively throw and catch (due to immature visual development); basic skills like running and hopping are acquired through unstructured play.
  • Ages 6 to 9: The brain communicates better with the body’s nerves and muscles -- as a result, a basic toss may progress to a more accurate throw, balance is improved, and running becomes more natural.
  • Preadolescence (age 10 to puberty): Control of body motions becomes more automatic; eye-to-brain pathways mature, allowing for better visual judgment of speed and location, and memory abilities allow mastering of more complex plays.
  • Puberty (usually ages 11-13 for girls; 13-15 for boys): Due to rapid physical growth, there may be a temporary decline in balance skills and body control as the body’s center of gravity changes and arm/leg lengths increase.
  • Mid to late teens: More aerobic gains are achievable with training; strength gains occur more easily, but heavy weights should be avoided until the skeleton fully matures.
• QCan my child wear a splint or a cast while playing a competitive sport?

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  A Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at P/SL answered

  A child may be able to play sports while wearing a cast, depending on what part of their body was injured and the sport they're in. For example, if a child has a broken arm and they can move the elbow, they may be able to participate in sports like soccer—but if the child has a broken ankle, they would not be able to participate in running sports.

• QWhat are the recommendations for practice allowance for student athletes?

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  A Dr. Jennifer J. Beck, MD , Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, answered on behalf of UCLA Health

  Recommendations for practice allowance for student athletes include the following:

  • Practice should be limited to about 18 hours per week.
  • Practice should not last for more than four hours per day.
  • Double-day football practices should be limited and not held on consecutive days.
  • If there are double-day practices, there should be at least three hours of rest between those practices. The only exception to this rule would be for golf, given the long duration of 18 holes of play.

  Practice allowance is really important because many youth athletes are over-training, which is leading to burnout as well as overuse injuries.
• QHow can I stay hydrated during a triathlon?

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  A Baptist Health South Florida answered

  If you’re competing in a triathlon, you should drink every 15-20 minutes. Alternate between water and sports drinks. During the run course, stop at a few water stations and pour water on yourself to help overcome the heat during the grueling final stretch.
  
  This content originally appeared online at Baptist Health South Florida.
• QWhat's the best technique for stand up paddleboarding?

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  A Int'l Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) answered

  The best technique for stand up paddleboarding is as follows:

  • start on knees, paddle while gaining balance
  • once balanced, gently place paddle crossways in front of knees
  • stand up with feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent
  • once standing, paddle to gain momentum
  • plant paddle under water surface and pull back toward ankle
  • to turn right, paddle on left with left hand lower on paddle
  • to turn left, move paddle to the right side and reverse hands

  A few short strokes on each side of the board and riders will move fluidly across the water in a straight line. Look forward or at the horizon instead of focusing on the feet. That’s it. Take a deep breath and enjoy the ride.
• QHow old should my child be before starting sports?

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  A Scripps Health answered

  Starting a child’s sports career at an early age may seem like a smart way to get ahead. But research shows that beginning very young -- age four or sooner -- provides no benefit to future sports performance and may contribute to injuries and burnout. Kids build their sports skills in a progressive sequence that can’t be dramatically sped up, no matter how early, often or hard they train. Motor skills such as balance and running don’t fully develop until age six or seven, while the ability to visually track moving objects doesn’t mature until age eight or nine. 
• QWhat is a triathlon?

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  A Int'l Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) answered

  A triathlon is a three-stage race that includes swimming, cycling and running that’s performed continuously. There are four different course lengths for a triathlon:
  
  Sprint: swim (0.47 miles); bike (12 miles); run (3.1 miles)
  Intermediate (or Olympic distance): swim (0.93 miles); bike (25 miles); run (6.2 miles)
  Long course: swim (1.2 miles); bike (56 miles); run (13.1 miles)
  Ultra: swim (2.4 miles); bike (112 miles); run (26.2 miles)
  
  The Ironman World Championship held in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii has attained near legendary status since launching in 1978. This is an ultra distance event, and is televised on major networks. As you can see above, the required lengths are brutal.
  
  Fun fact: The triathlon became an Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney Games, utilizing the intermediate distance.
• QWhat are common injuries among triathletes?

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  A Dr. Gautam P. Yagnik, MD , Orthopedic Surgery, answered on behalf of Baptist Health South Florida

  Triathletes can suffer injuries from the compound effect of adding too much training without proper care and guidance. Overuse injuries are common among triathletes preparing for competition. Studies have shown that the most prevalent sites of overuse problems are the knees, lower legs and lower back. Running and cycling are more likely to cause injuries. But even adding swimming, and overdoing it, can cause rotator cuff tendonitis or shoulder pain.
  
  Proper preparation, stretching, hydration, periods of rest and other precautions should be taken to avoid overuse injuries.