To the People Who Have Convinced My 8-year-old That He Should Play Soccer Year-Round Or Else He’ll Fall Behind

Please read the article by Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe in the April issue of Parents and Kids.

In fact, read all the articles about youth sports which say that playing a sport year-round doesn’t help kids get better. It just hurts them.

Here’s a sample from Dr. Gwenn:

“Curt Schilling has one. So does Manny [Ramirez], Mia Hamm, Tom Brady and college athletes. What about your young athlete? Does he or she have this mystery thing? An off-season? . . . It’s a mystery why coaches and parents refuse to acknowledge the reams of data proving youth sports are out of control. And, it’s an even bigger mystery why community-based coaches, and parents, fail to heed the cries of these athletes whose bodies and minds are screaming out that enough is enough by record numbers of injury rates and emotional burnout.”

You go Gwenn.

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