Sunday Snippet: Diversity For Your Health
Recent research suggests that it is not only detrimental for development, it is bad for one’s health to specialize at younger ages! Athletic specialization is a significant cause of repetitive stress and overuse injuries. With the escalation of sports injuries in children and youth – specifically over 3.5 million as documented by the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) – the most prevalent is the overuse injury.
In an attempt to counter this disturbing trend, the AOSSM has launched the STOP campaign (Stop Sports Injuries: Keeping Kids in the Game for Life) to bring this to light and to offer solutions. One of the most notable solutions is the need for youth athletes to diversify by participating in a variety of sports and other activities. STOP spokespeople Sam Bradford (Heisman Trophy winner and St. Louis Rams quarterback) and John Smoltz (former all-star major league pitcher) recently have emphasized their multi-sport participation in middle and high school and that their favorite sports then were not the sports they ended up succeeding in as adults. (Read a recent related ESPN article).
What in the world does this have to do with Camp WeHaKee? Well, with the choices available to girls at WeHaKee, there is a plethora of opportunities for them to try new things, to discover their talents and gifts, to add new interests and to have fun in an active and supportive community. WeHaKee alumni have gone on to succeed athletically, academically, and professionally without the pressure to specialize at early ages. At WeHaKee, girls can specialize in life and ALL it has to offer!