The National Athletic Trainers Association and similar organizations offer a set of recommendations for youths participating in sports: ·Youths should spend no more hours per week participating in sports than their age. A 9-year-old should spend no more than nine hours per week playing a sport. ·Young athletes should spend no more than eight months of the year playing a single sport. If they go beyond that, their chance of injury increases. ·Youths should also have two days off per week from practice or competition and should not participate on more than one team. Recreational sports, Garrison says, offers a number of opportunities for youths to develop physically and to learn social skills, problem solving and conflict management all in a fun setting. “They need the opportunity to fall in love with sports,” she says. “In recreational sports they get to meet new kids and parents. There is an anticipation of what’s next.”
Tolin also emphasizes the social advantage of youths playing multiple sports.
“They see different people through different sports instead of seeing the same 12 kids all year long,” he says, noting that youths who play on specialized teams may go for years playing with the same 10-15 other youths.
For a list of Shawnee County Parks + Recreation’s recreational sports leagues and registration deadlines, visit parks.snco.us and click on the Sports dropdown menu.
Below are the upcoming registration deadlines for youth sports:
Jan. 24 – Street Hockey Feb. 14 – SCABA Baseball Feb. 21 – Soccer March 20 – Shawnee County Fastpitch League (6U-12U) Softball March 20 – Oakland Soccer League April 10 – Baseball *Noted orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, M.D., was a leader in the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s Sports Trauma and Overuse Program (STOP), which provides a good reference for parents of young athletes.
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