Pressure from parents is one of main causes of early specialization
The area of early specialization by children in sport is an issue that has been debated by sport scientists across the globe and it is a subject we have looked at from a number of different angles over the years. There are many reasons for children dedicating themselves to one sport but there is a growing body of evidence that parental pressure is one of the main causes. The consensus among many experts is that early specialization should be avoided in the majority of sports for a variety of reasons.
Why diversify?
In a previous blog The role of sports specialization in overuse injury the benefits of pursuing a diversity of sports are made clear as it points out that
Over-training young athletes, especially in a specific sport, will likely lead to injury and may permanently compromise an athlete’s performance and/or long-term health. It is often recommended that sport specialization should be discouraged until the athlete is a senior in high school. Overuse injuries, surgeries, and permanent damage are all common physical consequences of over-training and sport specialization. Mentally, children will become less motivated and ‘burnt out’, stripping them of the benefits of youth sports
Meanwhile, in Early Specialization: Nine Reasons Why It Is a Bad Idea Brooke De Lench lists the following reasons as to why it is a bad idea:
- Interferes with healthy child development
- Comes with psychological risk from stress associated with over-involvement and expectations of parents and significant others
- Doesn’t guarantee future athletic success
- Hurts, rather than helps, skill development
- Is elitist
- Leads to overuse injuries
- Promotes adult values and interests, not those of children
- Increases the chances that the child will suffer burnout and quit sports
- Reduces the chance that children will stay active in sports as adults
Diversification may not be straightforward
However, the difficulty is that while it may be easy to argue the theory of diversification in sport, sometimes it is not straightforward for the athlete to follow that advice. Therefore, I think it is worth looking at some of the pressures that young athletes face from coaches, parents and themselves that combine to prompt them to specialize in a particular sport. Sometimes an athlete or their parents may be fully aware of the benefits of taking part in different sports, but still end up going down a particular path.
There are a lot of pressures that can be hard to avoid and there may be valid reasons as to why a child may be limited to one particular sport. These can include time pressures – for example parents’ jobs may not allow them the time to travel to multiple sports activities – while the fact that there may be a number of children in one household playing sports makes it impossible for all to play multi-sports. On top of this, there is the financial cost of travel and equipment that makes it difficult for parents to sustain. The young players may also be under time pressure due to study commitments and other interests such as music lessons.
Pressure to specialize
While these factors are understandable, there is no doubt that a problem exists where children are being forced to specialize at an early age and a lot of this comes down to pushy coaches, but probably worst of all, pushy parents. Unfortunately, not all coaches are involved solely for the good of the children and are overly competitive as they see success as reflecting well on them, and perhaps a route to furthering their coaching careers. As a result, they discourage children from staying involved in other sports and put the pressure on their athletes – subtly or otherwise – to devote all their energy to one sport.
Why do parents encourage early specialization?
However, while this is certainly an issue that needs to be addressed, it would appear that it is parents who put the greatest pressure on children to specialize. Some of the reasons why parents go down this route include the following:
- Many parents believe that their child has the ability to reach the elite level and are attracted by the fame and rewards that go along with this. As a result, they put pressure on the child to put all their energy into one sport out of fear that without intense practice and year-round dedication they will not develop the skills necessary to reach the top
- Parents believe that unless a child is involved in an academy or select programme, they will fall behind in terms of development. It has been stated that in doing this, parents are going against their own instincts which suggest that diversification will boost the child’s development
- The pursuit of college scholarships is another reason why parents want their children to excel at a particular sport. This is understandable given that Autumn Allison reminds us in Specialization forcing younger athletes to pick one sport, stick with it that
Average annual tuition costs for college range from $8,893 at an in-state public university to upwards of $30,094 at a private institution
However she warns that some perspective is required when attaching too much hope to this pursuit when adding:
In reality, approximately 2 percent of high school athletes will receive some form of athletic scholarship, according to the NCAA’s website. That number is even lower for full-ride athletic scholarships, which are often tied to the moneymaking sports: football and basketball
Education is required
While most parents are well-intentioned and are aiming to do their best for their children, they may be unaware that in forcing early specialization they could be doing more harm than good. As a result, it is important that they are aware of the dangers involved, along with the benefits of diversification to their overall development. Of course, there will be a time when athletes need to specialize but knowing when to do it is vital. According to Sue Hunt, chief marketing officer at the USTA, the key to dealing with the problem of early specialization is education as she points out:
We hope that by coming out and saying multi-sport play is really what’s best for children, that parents and coaches will be better educated and will end this growing trend.
Early specialization and winning is really about the parents. The kids just want to have fun.
Please share this post so others may benefit.
About Metrifit
Metrifit is an athlete monitoring system that gathers subjective and objective information from both coaches and athletes to drive behavior modification and improvement through insights modeled on descriptive and predictive analytics. It sounds complicated but Metrifit prides itself on its simple intuitive interface and advocates a simple effective approach that doesn’t overwhelm the athlete or the coaching/staff member. It has received high praise for its intuitive interface and it allows monitoring to be scaled for all levels of athletes and teams. Recent research by Anna Saw (Deakin University, Australia) has shown that use of Metrifit is associated with increased athlete sporting self-confidence. Metrifit is ‘athlete-centric’ helping to develop self-awareness, encourage creative thinking and emotional intelligence as well as developing ownership and responsibility within the athlete for their own success.
Our base product is also very affordable retailing at $499 per year for up to 30 athletes and 5 coaches and is also available at monthly price of $44.99 with option of cancelling your subscription with 30 days notice.
To find out more information please visit Metrifit Overview or contact us at
"The ability to acutely monitor stress and recovery and make the correct adjustments was critical to our health and performance throughout the NCAA tournament. Metrifit has a very strong educational component. With the information we get, I am able to clearly understand the habits and behaviors of our athletes, and how they may be impacting performance."
Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-12T11:42:14+01:00"The ability to acutely monitor stress and recovery and make the correct adjustments was critical to our health and performance throughout the NCAA tournament. Metrifit has a very strong educational component. With the information we get, I am able to clearly understand the habits and behaviors of our athletes, and how they may be impacting performance."Erik Helland
Director of Strength & Conditioning and Head Strength Coach Men’s basketball, University of Wisconsin
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/erik-helland/"We have found metrifit to be a great tool to ensure we can monitor and adapt our athletes training loads regularly. This programme has ensured our coaches and staff can maximize all training and recovery to each individual needs on a day to day basis. It is user friendly and provides excellent visual data that can be viewed by both practitioners and athletes. With the help of Metrifit support team, we have personalized it to suit our specific sport and training needs. It's a excellent athlete monitoring tool and is essential for assisting the team to perform at their best"Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2021-06-25T11:19:31+01:00"We have found metrifit to be a great tool to ensure we can monitor and adapt our athletes training loads regularly. This programme has ensured our coaches and staff can maximize all training and recovery to each individual needs on a day to day basis. It is user friendly and provides excellent visual data that can be viewed by both practitioners and athletes. With the help of Metrifit support team, we have personalized it to suit our specific sport and training needs. It's a excellent athlete monitoring tool and is essential for assisting the team to perform at their best"Lee Stutely
Team Manager and Athlete Support Services Coordinator at Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/lee-stutely/"The cutting edge technology of Metrifit enables Managers, Coaches and Players to use this innovative technology to gain these crucial percentage points over their opponents in a technologically advanced yet easy to use web-based platform. The data collated on a daily basis greatly informs Management Teams while the educational aspect of the system really appeals to modern day athletes who are constantly looking for that extra edge."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-14T13:24:03+01:00"The cutting edge technology of Metrifit enables Managers, Coaches and Players to use this innovative technology to gain these crucial percentage points over their opponents in a technologically advanced yet easy to use web-based platform. The data collated on a daily basis greatly informs Management Teams while the educational aspect of the system really appeals to modern day athletes who are constantly looking for that extra edge."Cian O’Neill
Kildare Senior Football Manager
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/cian-oneill-short/"Metrifit has provided me with an opportunity to get to know and understand our players on a different level. I've found our conversations to be more intentional, which has been so important in developing deeper, more authentic relationships. Ultimately, understanding their needs has allowed me to push buttons that leads them to be better people and inspires them to be better athletes"Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2021-04-27T11:10:43+01:00"Metrifit has provided me with an opportunity to get to know and understand our players on a different level. I've found our conversations to be more intentional, which has been so important in developing deeper, more authentic relationships. Ultimately, understanding their needs has allowed me to push buttons that leads them to be better people and inspires them to be better athletes"Ryan Osborn
Head Basketball Coach, Carmel High School
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/ryan-osborn/"The visualisation of data allows for easy discussion between athletes, performance staff and medical teams and offers the potential to predict and avoid issues which could hamper performance. Over the year the data has proven instrumental in our critical decision making. Metrifit is a excellent monitoring tool however the unsung additional aspect is the fantastic and tireless customer support."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-07-25T14:10:08+01:00"The visualisation of data allows for easy discussion between athletes, performance staff and medical teams and offers the potential to predict and avoid issues which could hamper performance. Over the year the data has proven instrumental in our critical decision making. Metrifit is a excellent monitoring tool however the unsung additional aspect is the fantastic and tireless customer support."Robert WalshStrength CoachNederlandse Ski Vereniging (Netherlands Ski/Snowboard Team)https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/robert-walsh-short-testimonial/"Metrifit has been used to gain a more in-depth insight into our student-athlete’s progressive athletic development and balance relative to their particular sporting and training activities, academic studies and total load. Metrifit doesn’t just help with optimising our Sports Scholarship students’ athletic performance. It assists us in helping them get the balance right between their sporting activities and academic studies."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-12T13:58:58+01:00"Metrifit has been used to gain a more in-depth insight into our student-athlete’s progressive athletic development and balance relative to their particular sporting and training activities, academic studies and total load. Metrifit doesn’t just help with optimising our Sports Scholarship students’ athletic performance. It assists us in helping them get the balance right between their sporting activities and academic studies."Richard Deuchrass
Lincoln University Athletic Performance Manager
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/richard-deuchrass/"Metrifit is an integral part of the set up within the senior and intermediate inter-county Camogie. The data collected daily on the individual players is critical to the decision making of the backroom team including, managers, trainers, selectors, physiotherapist and indeed myself. As a nutritionist it allows me to monitor the quality of the player’s diet, energy levels, sleep pattern and overall wellbeing."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-13T16:38:55+01:00"Metrifit is an integral part of the set up within the senior and intermediate inter-county Camogie. The data collected daily on the individual players is critical to the decision making of the backroom team including, managers, trainers, selectors, physiotherapist and indeed myself. As a nutritionist it allows me to monitor the quality of the player’s diet, energy levels, sleep pattern and overall wellbeing."Yvonne Treacy
Nutritionist, Wexford Camogie
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/yvonne-treacy-short/"While working with the Clare Senior Hurling team (2012-2014), Horse Sport Ireland (U25 European Eventing Champions) and currently with the Limerick Senior Hurling Team, Metrifit provides our team with critical information across a number of essential aspects of elite athletic performance. You don’t really know how your players are responding to training stimuli unless you have daily data and Metrifit provides and easy to use and highly effective means of finding this critical information."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-12T13:55:49+01:00"While working with the Clare Senior Hurling team (2012-2014), Horse Sport Ireland (U25 European Eventing Champions) and currently with the Limerick Senior Hurling Team, Metrifit provides our team with critical information across a number of essential aspects of elite athletic performance. You don’t really know how your players are responding to training stimuli unless you have daily data and Metrifit provides and easy to use and highly effective means of finding this critical information."Joe O’Connor
NISUS Fitness, S&C Coach Clare Senior Hurling, Horse Sport Ireland and Limerick Senior Hurling
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/joe-oconnor/"Metrifit has been hugely beneficial in supporting our coaches and back room staff to track and monitor our players training loads, performance and readiness to train. Having a one-stop shop for collating all relevant information across a holistic picture of the player allows us to help prevent burnout, injury and provide timely feedback and communication to all."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-12T14:01:46+01:00"Metrifit has been hugely beneficial in supporting our coaches and back room staff to track and monitor our players training loads, performance and readiness to train. Having a one-stop shop for collating all relevant information across a holistic picture of the player allows us to help prevent burnout, injury and provide timely feedback and communication to all."Eamonn Fitzmaurice
Kerry Senior Football, Manager
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/eamonn-fitzmaurice/"The success of young athletes using Metrifit was an interesting challenge in the Elite Soccer space… After six months of learning, creating habit with teenagers the project is a huge success…. 90% completion rate has allowed us deal with all the key KPI’s that are needed in their development. In our space with developing athletes…Metrifit is a godsend and is the most important tool in this space."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-16T16:51:01+01:00"The success of young athletes using Metrifit was an interesting challenge in the Elite Soccer space… After six months of learning, creating habit with teenagers the project is a huge success…. 90% completion rate has allowed us deal with all the key KPI’s that are needed in their development. In our space with developing athletes…Metrifit is a godsend and is the most important tool in this space."Niall O’Driscoll
Academy Directory, SJ.B (St. Joseph’s Bray ) Academy
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/niall-odriscoll-short/"Metrifit is an outstanding platform to track your athletes’ wellness. It’s simple to use, easy to implement and gives outstanding information on your athlete’s subjective wellness which can be used to assign training loads. I highly recommend Metrifit for any coach looking to begin implementing technology into their program"Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-12T17:58:50+01:00"Metrifit is an outstanding platform to track your athletes’ wellness. It’s simple to use, easy to implement and gives outstanding information on your athlete’s subjective wellness which can be used to assign training loads. I highly recommend Metrifit for any coach looking to begin implementing technology into their program"Brijesh Patel
Quinnipiac University, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/brijesh-patel/"As a school that cannot spend large amounts of money on athlete monitoring, Metrifit has provided us with a great tool for monitoring stress and athlete readiness at a great rate. Being athlete driven, we're able to get buy-in from the athlete, and drive individual or team wide conversations regarding lifestyle and performance education in the direction needed. Seeing acute and chronic stress on a real-time basis has greatly improved the way we schedule workouts and arrange travel during the season."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-20T22:26:45+01:00"As a school that cannot spend large amounts of money on athlete monitoring, Metrifit has provided us with a great tool for monitoring stress and athlete readiness at a great rate. Being athlete driven, we're able to get buy-in from the athlete, and drive individual or team wide conversations regarding lifestyle and performance education in the direction needed. Seeing acute and chronic stress on a real-time basis has greatly improved the way we schedule workouts and arrange travel during the season."Derek BolStrength & Conditioning Coach, Valparaiso Universityhttps://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/derek-bol/"Gaelic football is an intermittent high-intensity collision-based field sport requiring high levels of endurance, strength, power, agility, and speed as well as proficiency with gaelic-related skills. These components comprise the training modalities used at the elite level and the monitoring of such a vast range of modalities is central to peak performance. The athlete monitoring tool Metrifit allows us to do this and can keep us one step ahead of our competitors."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-12T14:23:50+01:00"Gaelic football is an intermittent high-intensity collision-based field sport requiring high levels of endurance, strength, power, agility, and speed as well as proficiency with gaelic-related skills. These components comprise the training modalities used at the elite level and the monitoring of such a vast range of modalities is central to peak performance. The athlete monitoring tool Metrifit allows us to do this and can keep us one step ahead of our competitors."Jason McGahan
Sports Scientist, Kildare Football, PhD Sports Science Researcher
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/jason-mcgahan/“I have been using Metrifit for the past number of years and I have found it to be an excellent piece of software. It is extremely easy to use and has proved very beneficial in preparing myself for competition. The ability to view my health and wellbeing stats everyday and see how this influences my performance in both practice and competition has been very helpful. I have been able to put more effort into key areas such as fluid intake, sleep and balanced golf practice and training. Having the ability to view my detailed stats helps me to understand exactly where I am and how I need to adjust my training or health choices. I have found using Metrifit this past year has been a crucial help for me to play well. As I now have turned 50 I am playing on The Champions tour in the USA and have played well during my first year. Metrifit has been as important as my golf equipment in achieving that success.”Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2019-03-04T20:48:39+00:00“I have been using Metrifit for the past number of years and I have found it to be an excellent piece of software. It is extremely easy to use and has proved very beneficial in preparing myself for competition. The ability to view my health and wellbeing stats everyday and see how this influences my performance in both practice and competition has been very helpful. I have been able to put more effort into key areas such as fluid intake, sleep and balanced golf practice and training. Having the ability to view my detailed stats helps me to understand exactly where I am and how I need to adjust my training or health choices. I have found using Metrifit this past year has been a crucial help for me to play well. As I now have turned 50 I am playing on The Champions tour in the USA and have played well during my first year. Metrifit has been as important as my golf equipment in achieving that success.”Robert Karlsson, Professional Golfer
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/robert-karlsson/"When our players have been only training with the national team Metrifit allows me to liaise very closely with our conditioning coaches to manage load and intensity of training during training camps. I recommend it to anyone who wants an easy to use monitoring system."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-15T12:51:46+01:00"When our players have been only training with the national team Metrifit allows me to liaise very closely with our conditioning coaches to manage load and intensity of training during training camps. I recommend it to anyone who wants an easy to use monitoring system."Dave Passmore
Head Coach, Irish Hockey
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/dave-passmore-short/"I've found Metrifit an invaluable resource. Not only to monitor daily wellness, readiness to train and training load within the squad, but also to monitor training load externally with additional external squads. Furthermore, Metrifit has acted as a key teaching tool, allowing young athletes associate good sleeping, eating and recovery habits to an improved sense of wellness and thus superior on-field performance."
Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-14T13:31:14+01:00"I've found Metrifit an invaluable resource. Not only to monitor daily wellness, readiness to train and training load within the squad, but also to monitor training load externally with additional external squads. Furthermore, Metrifit has acted as a key teaching tool, allowing young athletes associate good sleeping, eating and recovery habits to an improved sense of wellness and thus superior on-field performance."Tommy Mooney
Strength and Conditioning Coach at DCU Sport and with Dublin Minor GAA
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/tommy-mooney-short/"I wanted to reach out to thank Metrifit for an extremely successful season. Our Regis University women’s side won the ultra-competitive RMAC with a 11-0-1 record. Our student-athletes reported in post-season interviews the positive use of Metrifit that enabled their own reflection about their bodies and also found value providing information to coaches for our strategic planning purposes. On more than one occasion, we recognized deviations from norms and were able to step-in with a quick chat to help a player get back on track or refer her to the proper support personnel for further assistance. Fantastic! "Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2018-09-13T13:47:09+01:00"I wanted to reach out to thank Metrifit for an extremely successful season. Our Regis University women’s side won the ultra-competitive RMAC with a 11-0-1 record. Our student-athletes reported in post-season interviews the positive use of Metrifit that enabled their own reflection about their bodies and also found value providing information to coaches for our strategic planning purposes. On more than one occasion, we recognized deviations from norms and were able to step-in with a quick chat to help a player get back on track or refer her to the proper support personnel for further assistance. Fantastic! "J.B. Belzer
Head Coach, Women's Soccer at Regis Universityhttps://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/jb-belzer/"What’s more impressive is the ability to utilize the basics but at the same time have the capability to explore detailed and intricate correlative data points that helps us as coaches gain the most from our athletes. Metrifit has also served as an easy communications hub to ensure essential information is passed to the appropriate team. We are excited to what the future from Metrifit will bring."
Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-14T14:09:22+01:00"What’s more impressive is the ability to utilize the basics but at the same time have the capability to explore detailed and intricate correlative data points that helps us as coaches gain the most from our athletes. Metrifit has also served as an easy communications hub to ensure essential information is passed to the appropriate team. We are excited to what the future from Metrifit will bring."Michael Torres
CEO, Shift Performance, Miami
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/michael-torres-short/"Metrifit has been instrumental in helping our international Managers, Coaches and Medical teams to identify players who require modifications in training loads or who are struggling with some aspect of their preparation for, or recovery from, training and matches. One of the big strengths of this technology is that it allows our Managers and Medical teams to monitor players both during international competition and outside of these times."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-16T15:11:55+01:00"Metrifit has been instrumental in helping our international Managers, Coaches and Medical teams to identify players who require modifications in training loads or who are struggling with some aspect of their preparation for, or recovery from, training and matches. One of the big strengths of this technology is that it allows our Managers and Medical teams to monitor players both during international competition and outside of these times."Dan Horan
Head of Fitness for International Football/Fitness Coach Men's Senior Team
Football Association of Irelandhttps://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/dan-horan-short/"The Metrifit RTP platform is an excellent tool to monitor, evaluate and make the right decisions for your athlete’s well being and performance. It enables coaches and athletes to track and sift through all the variables that underpin well being and performance on a day to day basis and to address an issue or potential issue in real time. A simply wonderful product."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2019-03-04T21:38:45+00:00"The Metrifit RTP platform is an excellent tool to monitor, evaluate and make the right decisions for your athlete’s well being and performance. It enables coaches and athletes to track and sift through all the variables that underpin well being and performance on a day to day basis and to address an issue or potential issue in real time. A simply wonderful product."Dr. Dale Richardson
CEO Achieve Total Performance Pty Ltd
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/dale-richardson/“Metrifit has become a multifactorial platform that has helped up us provide deeper context to the decisions that we make on a daily basis in regards to the physical development of our student-athletes. We have intimately been utilizing both the subjective wellness questionnaire along with player training load data to drive professional conversation and actionable tasks to enhance the sporting results and quality of life for our student-athletes with unparalleled success.”Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-20T12:12:33+01:00“Metrifit has become a multifactorial platform that has helped up us provide deeper context to the decisions that we make on a daily basis in regards to the physical development of our student-athletes. We have intimately been utilizing both the subjective wellness questionnaire along with player training load data to drive professional conversation and actionable tasks to enhance the sporting results and quality of life for our student-athletes with unparalleled success.”Kevin Schultz
Associate Director of Strength & Conditioning
Director of Olympic Strength & Conditioning
University of Wisconsinhttps://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/kevin-schultz-full/"Metrifit is an amazingly easy-to-use yet comprehensive monitoring tool for training and recovery! The elite athletes we work with are able track and monitor their situations and states daily, in order to maximize their performance loads and recovery practices. This also helps our coaches customize the training programs more effectively. I'd recommend this for any serious team / athlete or coach in wanting to bring out the very best in their long-term performances! "Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-12T18:03:35+01:00"Metrifit is an amazingly easy-to-use yet comprehensive monitoring tool for training and recovery! The elite athletes we work with are able track and monitor their situations and states daily, in order to maximize their performance loads and recovery practices. This also helps our coaches customize the training programs more effectively. I'd recommend this for any serious team / athlete or coach in wanting to bring out the very best in their long-term performances! "Edgar K. Tham
Founder and Chief Sport & Performance Psychologist, SportPsych Consulting (Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines)
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/edgar-k-tham-2/"We have been using Metrifit for the past season at Cornish Pirates. It has been greatly beneficial for us to have our wellness and load management data on one easy to access system. We have found this invaluable over the past season whereby Coaches, Physios and Strength and conditioning coaches can monitor both the psychological and physiological load of our athletes on a daily basis."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-16T15:06:04+01:00"We have been using Metrifit for the past season at Cornish Pirates. It has been greatly beneficial for us to have our wellness and load management data on one easy to access system. We have found this invaluable over the past season whereby Coaches, Physios and Strength and conditioning coaches can monitor both the psychological and physiological load of our athletes on a daily basis."Paul Cremin
Head Physiotherapist, Cornish Pirates Rugby Club
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/paul-cremin-short/"When COVID altered college athletics as we knew it, Metrifit came to the rescue. This intuitive athlete monitoring, health and well-being system provides the athlete, coach, and sports medicine staff a way to monitor and balance the physical, emotional, health and well-being of our athlete’s. Metrifit provided that calm in the middle of the perfect storm for our entire athletic department for the future. Thank you to the entire Metrifit family for assisting our department with a seamless process."
Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2021-04-07T16:43:52+01:00"When COVID altered college athletics as we knew it, Metrifit came to the rescue. This intuitive athlete monitoring, health and well-being system provides the athlete, coach, and sports medicine staff a way to monitor and balance the physical, emotional, health and well-being of our athlete’s. Metrifit provided that calm in the middle of the perfect storm for our entire athletic department for the future. Thank you to the entire Metrifit family for assisting our department with a seamless process."Jennifer McIntosh
Head Athletic Trainer, Colorado School of Mines
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/jennifer-mcintosh/"The holistic approach of medical, physical, emotional and even tech/tactical; bringing together what we need to monitor and evaluate our University players. “If you can’t measure it – it doesn’t exist.” I know we were the first Canadian University to use the program and I know many more will be asking for it in the future! I highly recommend Metrifit."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-12T14:25:37+01:00"The holistic approach of medical, physical, emotional and even tech/tactical; bringing together what we need to monitor and evaluate our University players. “If you can’t measure it – it doesn’t exist.” I know we were the first Canadian University to use the program and I know many more will be asking for it in the future! I highly recommend Metrifit."Tino Fusco, B.Sc. ChPC
Head Coach, Women's Soccer, Mount Royal University (Canada)
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/tino-fusco-b-sc-chpc/"Metrifit has been a great asset in helping guide the numerous decisions we make on a daily basis, that have a direct impact on our athletes well-being and progress. The platform is extremely user friendly and the reports and analytics that reflect the data collected daily, can be catered to what you are most specifically curious to know about the athletes both individually and collectively"Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2021-04-29T15:31:16+01:00"Metrifit has been a great asset in helping guide the numerous decisions we make on a daily basis, that have a direct impact on our athletes well-being and progress. The platform is extremely user friendly and the reports and analytics that reflect the data collected daily, can be catered to what you are most specifically curious to know about the athletes both individually and collectively"Aaron Mansfield
Head Coach, LMU Lions, Loyola Marymount University
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/aaron-mansfield/“Metrifit has allowed us to gain better insight on our athletes and their individual stress response to training and outside factors. This has helped us to make daily adjustments when necessary, to further enhance their development which has led to higher performance levels, faster recovery, and a reduction in injuries. The new lifestyle profiling survey has been an invaluable insight into the lifestyle habits of my athletes and has helped focus on key areas that can be improved, benefiting athletes on their performance journey.“Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2021-04-27T11:02:12+01:00“Metrifit has allowed us to gain better insight on our athletes and their individual stress response to training and outside factors. This has helped us to make daily adjustments when necessary, to further enhance their development which has led to higher performance levels, faster recovery, and a reduction in injuries. The new lifestyle profiling survey has been an invaluable insight into the lifestyle habits of my athletes and has helped focus on key areas that can be improved, benefiting athletes on their performance journey.“Dan Rickaby
Assistant S&C Coach, Tulane University
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/dan-rickaby/"Our coaches through Metrifit basically have an ‘X-ray’ vision into the habits and lifestyles and stressors their athletes have on a day to day basis, especially when they are not together. Thus the professional authentic relationships created through the casual conversations, reflection process and application provided is priceless."
Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-12T14:21:17+01:00"Our coaches through Metrifit basically have an ‘X-ray’ vision into the habits and lifestyles and stressors their athletes have on a day to day basis, especially when they are not together. Thus the professional authentic relationships created through the casual conversations, reflection process and application provided is priceless."Brian Clarke
Head Strength and Conditioning Co-ordinator,Noblesville High School
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/brian-clarke/"We started using Metrifit to see if it gave us better predictability and allowed easier monitoring than our DIY excel sheets prior to the Tokyo qualifiers. In a sport where measuring training load is very difficult, Metrifit filled a huge gap in our ability to monitor our athletes’ performance state and recovery. After some months of collecting data I was able to clearly see when to back off and when to keep going with different aspects of the training programme, as well as when to provide extra care and support for our elite athlete – and without a doubt it is much more informative and sensitive than our DIY model, not to mention much easier! Looking forward to the next Olympic cycle with Metrifit as one of our essential tools."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2021-05-28T12:30:33+01:00"We started using Metrifit to see if it gave us better predictability and allowed easier monitoring than our DIY excel sheets prior to the Tokyo qualifiers. In a sport where measuring training load is very difficult, Metrifit filled a huge gap in our ability to monitor our athletes’ performance state and recovery. After some months of collecting data I was able to clearly see when to back off and when to keep going with different aspects of the training programme, as well as when to provide extra care and support for our elite athlete – and without a doubt it is much more informative and sensitive than our DIY model, not to mention much easier! Looking forward to the next Olympic cycle with Metrifit as one of our essential tools."Emma Hawke, PhD Exercise Physiology
Coach - Sweden Climbing, Olympic Offensive - Female Coach Swedish Olympic Committee, Senior Lecturer - Coach education programme (Sweden)
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/emma-hawke/"Metrifit provides immediate insight and feedback on the physical and mental states of the student-athletes. It allows us to adjust practices and training sessions to accurately meet needs. We have been able to identify potential injury concerns, track current injury status and monitor return to play progress."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-16T15:08:31+01:00"Metrifit provides immediate insight and feedback on the physical and mental states of the student-athletes. It allows us to adjust practices and training sessions to accurately meet needs. We have been able to identify potential injury concerns, track current injury status and monitor return to play progress."Kari Thompson
Head Volley Ball Coach, Southern Illinois University
https://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/kari-thompson/"Metrifit has enabled us to bring to life the complexiities associated with managing the academic, pastoral and sporting demands of pupils aged 13 - 18 in a UK day and boarding school environment It has provided another bridge between coaches and sports pupis, giving pupils a space to provide honest self reflection on wellbeing and providing coaches a head start on appropriate freshness and fatigue balance across the school week."Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System2017-06-19T14:14:37+01:00"Metrifit has enabled us to bring to life the complexiities associated with managing the academic, pastoral and sporting demands of pupils aged 13 - 18 in a UK day and boarding school environment It has provided another bridge between coaches and sports pupis, giving pupils a space to provide honest self reflection on wellbeing and providing coaches a head start on appropriate freshness and fatigue balance across the school week."Graham Williams
Athletic Development Coach, MSc ASCC
Millfield School, UKhttps://metrifit.com/blog/testimonials/graham-williams-short/0Metrifit Athlete Monitoring System
ReferencesWhy Kids Shouldn’t Specialize in One Sport by Jennifer Breheny Wallace
Early Specialization: Nine Reasons Why It Is a Bad Idea by Brooke De Lench
Specialization forcing younger athletes to pick one sport, stick with it by Autumn Allison
Hyperspecialization Is Ruining Youth Sports—And the Kids Who Play Them by David Epstein
Pushing too hard too young by Jacqueline Stenson
Steph Curry & Fear-Driven Early Sport Specialization by Joe Haefner
The role of sports specialization in overuse injury | Metrifit blog
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